The decision, coming at the cabinet’s regular meeting on February 15th, was not intended to coincide with Kim Jong-il’s 63rd birthday the following day. But it did show that Japan’s government, having long suspected that North Korea already possessed nuclear weapons, would not be intimidated into a fundamental policy change by confirmation of the threat.
虽然日本政府在1月15日的内阁例会上，即金正日63岁生日的前一天，达成这一决定并非刻意安排， 但也确实表明了日本政府不受胁迫的决心。日本政府早就怀疑北朝鲜已经拥有核武器，不会因为这一威胁的确认便被迫对相关政策进行根本性大调整。