In her April 5 letter "Launch watch worsens anxiety," Caterina Oda writes "For years we've been watching with alarm this long-festering crisis that North Korea exacerbates whenever it wants to make a political statement. Is there any end in sight to this abusive relationship?" I would like to make three points: First, many Japanese are busy reminding the world that Japan was forced into the attack of Pearl Harbor by the United States. Shouldn't the Japanese remember their arguments and be aware of the harm the economical sanctions imposed on North Korea by Japan might do?

Second, why shouldn't North Korea be allowed to test its rockets, whatever their purpose may be? The U.S. has never hesitated to test rockets or nuclear weapons, and Japan enjoys hypocritically hiding under the U.S. nuclear umbrella.

Three, why exactly is it that Japan needs to launch rockets to put up satellites? The U.S. and European Union have launching facilities and it would have been much cheaper for Japan to ask the U.S. or EU to launch its satellites. Japan has numerous rocket test centers spread over the country, including several in Akita Prefecture. One rocket-engine test center was located just a few hundred meters from where I lived for 10 years.

joergen jensen