Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Thursday denounced the sinking of a South Korean warship that Seoul has blamed on North Korea but did not elaborate on how Japan might respond to the incident.
"Our country strongly supports South Korea," Hatoyama said in a written statement. "North Korea's action is inexcusable and, along with the international community, we strongly condemn it."
The statement followed a report by the South Korean military and private-sector experts that concluded North Korean forces had used a torpedo to sink the corvette Cheonan, killing 46 sailors.