Japanese lawmakers show mixed reactions to N. Korea delisting

TOKYO-The U.S. move to remove North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism drew mixed reactions from Japanese politicians on Thursday, with some wary that the issue of North Korea's abduction of Japanese nationals may be marginalized and others praising the development as a step toward denuclearizing the North."I'm concerned that the abduction issue may not only be put off, but could even lead the North Korean nuclear threat to increase," Yukio Hatoyama, secretary general of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, told reporters. "Japan should not lift its economic sanctions unless there is concrete progress on the abduction issue. If the government cannot protect ordinary citizens' lives and assets, we have no choice but to urge it to give up power," Hatoyama said.In a statement, he also said the Japanese government should "use every occasion" to highlight the abduction issue, such as during the upcoming Group of Eight summit Japan will host in early July.DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa criticized the government for insufficient handling of the matter, stressing that the U.S. action is based on "its own global strategy and its own interests."Sharing a similar view, a senior ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker said, "The United States is behaving without regard for others. The logic is that they want to settle the matter during the (President George W.) Bush administration."But the lawmaker also welcomed North Korea's submission on Thursday of a long-delayed account of its nuclear activities that has led the U.S. to take steps to remove the country from the list. "The abduction issue is an unpleasant issue, but nuclear problems affect more people's lives," the lawmaker said.Taku Yamasaki, a former LDP vice president, meanwhile, told reporters that the development should be "accepted positively as a process toward realizing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."Yamasaki denied that the abduction issue will be left behind, saying that the Japanese government "should powerfully undertake negotiations."Mizuho Fukushima, leader of the tiny opposition Social Democratic Party, said she assesses the move positively "to a certain degree, given the progress seen on the nuclear issue," but called for the government to make further efforts to resolve the abduction issue through talks between Japan and North Korea.Japan and North Korea, which have no diplomatic ties, remain at odds over the number and fate of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s.Japan has called for the United States to refrain from taking North Korea off the list until progress is made on the abduction issue.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D91HQ9101&show_article=1&catnum=0
As in the days of Noah....