The U.S. government's stance of keeping all options, including military action, "on the table" to deal with North Korea is testing the nerves of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his administration.
North Korea's latest ballistic missile test Wednesday prompted questions about what Tokyo intends to do if the U.S. opts for military action.
President Donald Trump repeated that all options remain on the table in a telephone conversation with Abe on Thursday morning.