(IPS) feature Reports of spy ships and last week's fatal clash with an alleged North Korean vessel around Japanese territorial waters are threatening to change Japan's much-touted image of a pacifist nation.

On Dec 22, Japan's coast guard opened fire on an intruding ship suspected of carrying North Korean spies off the coast of the Amami-Oshima island, the first such clash in Japan's postwar history. Fifteen crewmen died when the ship exploded and sank.

This week, the Japan Defence Agency (JDA) released information from a survey that appears to justify the attack. The survey lists 27 spy ships operating in waters around Japan, most of them belonging to North Korea, which Japan regards as its main security threat. Spy ships from China and Russia have also been identified.

Experts say the unprecedented attack implies far-reaching consequences on the domestic front and is bound to raise questions about Japan's relations with East Asia.

The attack has also brought into the spotlight the language and spirit of Japan's postwar pacifist constitution, which restricts the use of force by the military and coast guard to self-defence. The constitution further states that the country's troops should be kept within Japanese territory.

Historical enmity with neighbours

Naoto Kan, secretary-general of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, says, ''I don't think you can call firing shots to stop a ship an act of self-defence.''

Osaka University professor Yasuhiko Yoshida expresses similar concern. ''Japan should have been careful given historical enmity with its closest Asian neighbours,'' he says.

He points out, furthermore, that relations with North Korea are becoming even more important given the upcoming soccer World Cup to be hosted jointly by Japan and South Korea.

According to Hitoshi Takase, a Japanese specialist on North Korea, spy ships have often been used to transport stimulant drugs for the past few years and the sunken ship had probably left North Korea's Namho port, southwest of Pusan, bound for Kyushu.

Japan's tough reaction follows a new law passed in November that authorises patrol boats to shoot at suspicious ships in Japanese territorial waters, though not in foreign territory.

Earlier, in 1999, after an intrusion by a North Korean spy ship, Japan passed another law paving the way for the coast guard to attack suspicious intruders without the consent of the prime minister.

Call to arms

Such tough measures, in fact, have won the backing of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. He is unequivocal in his call for Japan to have tougher self-defense laws, underscoring his plan for an expanded role for Japan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF).

''It is deplorable that we have a situation in which vessels that are armed and suspicious are lurking off the coast of this country,'' Koizumi told reporters, soon after the event.

JDA chief General Nakatani also appears in favour of tougher self-defence measures. During a recent press conference, he called a 1992 law as a ''hop,'' the 1999 guiding laws as ''steps,'' and ''I call the enactment of the special terrorism law as a jump.''

For some experts, the latest development should enable smooth passage of legislation being prepared by the government to allow the SDF participate in future UN peacekeeping missions.

This move comes in the wake of what happened after the Sept 11 acts of terror in the United States. Japan was able to send some 110 sailors abroad the Maritime Self-Defense Force to deliver relief supplies for Afghan refugees in Pakistan under a special antiterrorism law enacted Oct 29.

The new law took only three weeks to pass in the Diet, the country's legislature, a remarkably swift process when compared with past parliamentary actions involving Japanese armed forces.

Japan's coast guard, however, has been attacked by China and North Korea after the November law was passed. Meanwhile, comments from South Korea indicate the rise of a new wariness against their former coloniser who is now a rich and powerful neighbour.

Following the recent clash at sea, North Korea has also strongly denied any connection to the ship and accused Japan of a smear-campaign.

Indeed, a pro-Pyongyang Korean residents association has stated that Japan's ''fuss'' over the ''non-existent'' issue has offended North Korea's dignity and ''extremely provoked'' its people.

Some commentators expect a clearer picture about the attacked ship's mission to emerge on Monday, when autopsies of the men on board will be conducted in Japan. Authorities want to determine if the men on the ship committed suicide to avoid capture, a practice that North Korean intelligence has pursued in the past.

Today, the Japanese media reported the suspected ship sent a suicide message before it sank. The Japanese coast guard also raised the suicide issue last week, stating it was likely that the ship blew its engine and sank on purpose.