North Korea: "Glorifying Imperial Japan's Crimes"
"Rightward Shift Will Not Change"
North Korea has described Sanae Takaichi, the new Prime Minister of Japan, as someone who "will lead the country down an even more perilous path."
On October 30, the Workers' Party's official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, published an article titled "What Do the Movements in Japanese Politics Indicate?" in which it commented on Prime Minister Takaichi. The newspaper pointed out, "She has glorified the criminal acts of Imperial Japan and has a history of justifying visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, a symbol of militarism."
Regarding Prime Minister Takaichi's campaign pledge during the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election to "explicitly state the existence of the Self-Defense Forces in the Constitution," the newspaper criticized, "Through military expansion and constitutional revision, she seeks to turn Japan into a complete war state and ultimately realize the old dream of the 'Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere' that was never achieved in the past."
The article concluded by warning, "It is clear that the rightward shift in Japanese politics will never change, and Japan will continue down an even more dangerous path."
Prime Minister Takaichi, who took office on October 21, is Japan's first-ever female prime minister. She is regarded as a staunch conservative even within the conservative political camp, has inherited the policies and values of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and continues to pursue nationalist actions such as downplaying Japan's wartime responsibility.
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