There is an open movement in Japan from the outset of this year to buckle down to the study and development of a rail gun, a new-type weapon.

Not long ago, the Defense Ministry made public to the press that it would develop the one and only rail gun which could destroy targets on the ground, at the sea and in the air.

Actually the Japanese government included ￥ 6.5 billion (nearly US$ 57 million ) in its budget for the 2022 fiscal year as the cost for developing the new-type weapon. It also set as its target to deploy this weapon for action after 2028 by speeding up the study of securing energy efficiency and technology of high-speed running fire on the initiative of the Defense Ministry from this year.

The thing is that Japan is justifying itself linking the development of such ultra-modern weapon to hypersonic missiles being developed by our country, China and Russia, saying that the former is to correspond to the latter.

There is a proverb saying that “Who lives ill, fear attends him.”

Japan is making a fuss about “threat” from its neighboring countries without any reason. This is nothing but a mere show to cover up its hostile acts and wild ambition for reinvasion as it is a dangerous move of the Japanese reactionaries to become a military power without fail by accelerating the development of the ultra-modern weapon under the pretext of the “unprecedentedly deteriorated security situation of its neighbors”.

Last year alone, Japan persisted in its moves to deploy ultra-modern strike weapons including development of long-range cruise missiles and new-type surface-to-air ballistic missiles, possessing an aircraft carrier, building new-type Aegis warship, launching and commissioning different class of ultra-modern submarines.

This year, it is trying to squander tens of billions of US$-the biggest amount ever-on the military expenditure.

We take measures to strengthen national defense capability to actively cope with the security environment created on the Korean peninsula and in the region. These measures are quite natural as they are aimed at ensuring security of the state and people.

Japan, a war criminal state, will not have to take trouble to worry about its own security if it approaches its history properly, clears itself of its super-class crimes against the humanity in the past and is truly in pursuit of peace without committing any crime against its neighboring countries.

Japan, with a stain on its name as a war criminal state, should be well aware that development of the new-type weapon constitutes all too dangerous act which harms regional peace and security, and brings its own self-destruction.

If Japan moves at full speed to become a military power while picking on the other and resorting to the same old trick of inciting confrontation, it will only invite a terrible catastrophe.

Ra Guk Chol

Researcher of Institute for Studies of Japan

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, DPRK