Concern that the North Korean security situation could deteriorate after next month's Winter Olympics in South Korea is seen as likely to be behind Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's decision this week to attend the games' opening ceremony, despite ongoing tensions between Tokyo and Seoul over the scars of their shared past.
Even as Japan's government welcomes North Korea's participation in the "celebration of peace" in Pyeongchang, it is making contingency plans for possible conflict on the Korean Peninsula.
While speculation had built that Abe might skip the Feb. 9 ceremony in Pyeongchang, he said Wednesday he wants to meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in and "tell him of the need for Japan, South Korea and the United States to work together and maintain the maximum level of pressure to deal with the threat from North Korea."