North Korean leader Kim Jong Un entered his second year in power Monday, the first anniversary of the death of his father and longtime ruler Kim Jong Il.
Like it was under his predecessor, the Pyongyang regime continues to pose a security threat to Japan. This was underscored by the country's launch last week of a long-range rocket that reportedly succeeded in putting a satellite into orbit. Japan and the West, however, believe the launch was another test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
China, with its growing assertiveness over the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, is also a regional security threat that Shinzo Abe, the prime minister-in-waiting whose Liberal Democratic Party scored an overwhelming victory in Sunday's election, must waste no time in addressing.