As the six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear program shift the focus to providing energy and other economic benefits to Pyongyang, Japan is being pushed to face a tough decision. To maintain diplomatic unity or to pursue domestic interests -- that is the question.
At stake is how much Japan will commit itself in a joint aid package to encourage North Korea to abandon its nuclear arms program. At the same time, it must clear the large hurdles Tokyo has created with its stated policy of refusing to provide economic benefits unless it gets a clear guarantee of prospects for resolving the abduction issue.
Japan is believed to have conveyed the policy directly to North Korea on Monday when the country's chief delegates at the six-party talks met bilaterally for the first time since the latest round of talks resumed Thursday.
Japan's chief delegate Kenichiro Sasae also conveyed the position to his counterparts during the six-party session, but drew all but muted reactions from the other parties.