Text Fwd: Japan Plans Advanced Space-Based Missile Surveillance

* Text informed by Rick Rozoff
Japan Plans Enhanced Space-Based Missile Alert System
Wednesday, June 3, 2009

The Japanese government plans to make improvements to satellites in order to augment its capability to quickly detect a North Korean missile launch, Reuters reported (see GSN, May 26).

The satellite-based early warning system falls under the nation's recently revised space policy. Tokyo placed four spy satellites into orbit following North Korea's 1998 missile test, but the data-collection technology has since become outdated.

Under the new plan, approved by a panel led by Prime Minister Taro Aso, Japan would increase the quality and quantity of satellite imagery of areas of interest. Tokyo would also seek to improve the efficiency with which information is transmitted, and it plans to create a missile early warning system.

One group of ruling-party lawmakers suggested that Japan should pass a bill authorizing the inspection of North Korea cargo ships (see related GSN story, today). Such activities are now prohibited under the nation's pacifist constitution.

The group hopes to push through a cargo-check bill by the end of July, according to Liberal Democratic Party legislator Ichita Yamamoto

"The fact that the LDP is discussing this and that we are coming up with draft bills could send a message to North Korea," he said.

However, it is not clear how many lawmakers would be willing to take this step, since inspections might be regarded as an act of war by Pyongyang (Isabel Reynolds, Reuters, June 2).

A panel of Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers today said Japan should be permitted to attack North Korea in order to stave off aggression, Agence France-Presse reported.

"North Korea may obtain nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles," said former Japanese defense chief Gen Nakatani. "Naturally, we need to be able to strike enemy bases within the realm of the self-defense of our country."

The lawmakers, who could submit their idea to Aso next week, propose allowing Japan its "own capability of attacking enemy bases under the joint missile defense program with its main ally the United States," according to Hiroshi Imazu, the panel's chairman (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, June 3).

Text Fwd: Japan Considers a More Aggressive Missile Defense Policy

* Text fwd from Bruce Gagnon

http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20090526_7949.php
Japan Considers a More Aggressive Missile Defense Policy
Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Following North Korea's suspected missile test in April and its nuclear blast yesterday, Japanese lawmakers could consider first-strike capabilities as a way guarding against attacks from its antagonist, Kyodo News reported (see GSN, May 15).

"Japan should have the ability to strike enemy bases within the scope of its defense-oriented policy, in order not to sit and wait for death," according to a draft proposal from a subcommittee of the defense panel of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

The panel also plans to recommend establishing a satellite system to provide early warning of incoming missiles (Kyodo News I/Japan Today, May 24).

Speaking today in support of the first-strike proposal, former Defense Agency head Gen Nakatani warned that North Korea might soon be able to target Japanese cities with its warheads.

"If (the North) succeeds in nuclear miniaturization, its (nuclear-tipped) missiles would be able to hit mainland Japan," Nakatani said. "That would pose a grave and realistic threat to the security of our country. Therefore, we have no choice but to consider switching from the existing passive missile defense to an active missile defense where launch targets on enemy ground can be directly attacked."

However, former ruling-party vice president Taku Tamasaki urged a cautious tack on North Korea, suggesting that Tokyo collaborate with regional powers China and Russia to push a U.N. Security Council resolution.

He remained noncommittal on the question of first-strike, indicating that any decisions should be made during the process of formulating the new National Defense Program Guidelines, which are due by the end of the year (Kyodo News II/Breitbart.com, May 26.)

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Japan: Ruling Party Panel Wants Military First Strikes

* Text informed at StopNATO*
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE54O04S20090525
Japan panel wants "first strikes" against enemies: report
Reuters, May 24, 2009

TOKYO - A Japanese ruling party panel is to propose that pre-emptive strikes
against enemy bases be allowed despite the country's pacifist constitution,
Kyodo news agency said on Monday, weeks after a North Korean missile launch.

North Korea fired a ballistic missile in April that flew over northern Japan
after warning that it planned to launch a satellite, prompting the government to
deploy missile interceptors to the area.

"Japan should have the ability to strike enemy bases within the scope of its
defense-oriented policy, in order not to sit and wait for death," Kyodo quoted
the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) committee as saying in its proposal.

The committee also plans to call for Japan to develop early-warning satellites
to detect the launch of missiles toward the country, Kyodo said. Japan currently
depends on information from a U.S. early-warning satellite, the agency said.

While some lawmakers have called for strike capability, Defense Minister
Yasukazu Hamada is among those are cautious about the prospect, though the
government's stance is that such strikes should be allowed if an attack were
certain to take place.

The panel's plans are set to be submitted for consideration ahead of the
compilation of a five-year government Defense program by the end of the year,
Kyodo said.

(Reporting by Isabel Reynolds; Editing by David Fox)
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