Report: Japan seeking missile defense ( 2003-08-12 13:33)
Japan's Defense Agency,
worried about the threat from North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile
programs, hopes to have an anti-missile system in place within three years, a
major Japanese newspaper reported Tuesday.
The agency is expected to increase spending considerably in the coming years
for the initial setup costs and high-tech telecommunications systems for the
advanced missile defense, the national Asahi newspaper said. The agency will
request nearly $1.2 billion next fiscal year.
That request will be nearly nine times greater than the $132 million Tokyo
spent on missile defense research from 1999 to 2003.
Japan has 27 Patriot anti-missile batteries, but they can only down missiles
with a shorter range and slower speed than the ballistic missiles North Korea is
believed to be developing. One of the those missiles — the Taepodong — was
test-launched over Japan's main island in 1998.
The upgraded system would create a two-layer defense system.
The first layer uses Aegis-equipped naval destroyers, which have
top-of-the-line surveillance systems, to track incoming missiles and intercept
them with ship-to-air missiles, Asahi reported.
Backup would be provided by an enhanced version of the Patriot PAC2, capable
of downing ballistic missiles with a range of 620 miles, the daily newspaper
said.
In a government report last week, the Defense Agency urged accelerated
research on an anti-missile system to protect against possible nuclear and
terrorist attacks. It also stressed that North Korea's nuclear ambitions are one
of Japan's biggest security concerns.
Japan's overall defense budget remains among the world's largest. In 2003,
Japan expects to spend $42 billion on defense, or less than 1 percent of its
gross domestic product.
