Japan keeps the smart unilateralism coming:
A bill opening the way for Japan to unilaterally impose economic sanctions on North Korea was passed into law Monday.The bill to amend the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Control Law cleared a plenary session of the House of Councillors Monday night.
Two ruling coalition parties -- the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito -- as well as the largest opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) voted for the bill. The opposition Social Democratic Party, which supported the bill in the House of Representatives, abstained from voting in the Upper House on the grounds that they should see the results of six-nation consultations on Pyongyang's nuclear program.
The revised law enables the government to increase its pressure on Pyongyang to solve disputes over the abduction of Japanese nationals by North Korea.
A bill sponsored not only by the LDP, Japan's de facto ruling political party, but by the DPJ, the strongest minority party and one that opposed military deployment to Iraq, is law with nearly all of Japan behind it. In the Houses of Representatives and Councillors, votes passed with overwhelming support. This is yet another sign, I'm happy to report, of a Japan steadily gaining confidence under Junichiro Koizumi's leadership. As the Japanese continue to take matters into their own hands, they will inevitably depend less on international busybodies - including the United Nations - and more on their own moral compass, national pride, military strength and genuine allies. In the short term, this strengthening of Japanese resolve may allow the United States to circumvent China more and more when dealing with North Korea. But most importantly, Japan's confidence can only impress other democracies to act swiftly, decisively and apologetically against threatening despots. Bravo.