It Makes a Difference to the Sheep

THIS IS NOT WHAT I EXPECTED: Japanense Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba apparently declared that Japan might launch a pre-emptive attack on North Korea "if it had firm evidence Pyongyang was planning a missile attack." This will do little to calm the fears of a still rather Japanophobic DPRK. Does it signal a possible break towards supporting Bush's more hard-line or will the Japanese government backtrack and repudiate the statement? I suspect the latter.