Japan Press Weekly

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2017 November 29 - December 5 TOP3 [POLITICS]

Public opinion prefers ‘dialogue’ to ‘pressure’ for solving N. Korea issue

More and more people began expressing their support for the settlement of the North Korea issue through dialogue. This was shown in a Kyodo News opinion poll conducted on December 2 and 3.

In the survey, regarding a question about measures that should be taken to respond to North Korea advancing its nuclear and missile technologies, the percentage of the respondents in favor of “dialogue” increased from 42.7% in the previous survey in September to 47.8%. In contrast, the percentage of those who places the importance on the “strengthening of pressure” fell to 46% from 52.6% in the previous survey.

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has been labeling North Korea’s continuing nuclear and missile development as a “national crisis” and insisting that pressure on the North be strengthened. Furthermore, PM Abe repeatedly argued that dialogue for the sake of dialogue with Pyongyang is meaningless, expressing full support for U.S. President Trump’s “all options on the table” stance. However, the UN and many national leaders seek to settle the North Korea crisis in a peaceful manner.

Past related articles:
> Shii in statement: PM Abe should urge President Trump to engage in talks with N. Korea [November 3, 2017]
> Abe at UNGA denies importance of diplomatic efforts in solving N. Korea problem [September 22, 2017]