Japan yesterday approved a plan to develop with the US a next-generation shipborne missile defense system, amid growing concern about North Korea and rising tension between Japan and China.
The government decided to launch development of the system in the financial year starting in March next year. It is based on the US sea-based Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) after six years of joint research.
"The missile defense system is purely and solely defensive in nature to protect the lives and assets of the people," Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said in a statement after the decision.
"It is appropriate to proceed with the joint development in order to secure the capability to deal with the threat of ballistic missiles," he said, despite lingering doubts about the precision of such a system.
Japan has been in a hurry to build a missile defense system with the US since North Korea stunned the world in 1998 by firing a missile over the Japanese mainland into the Pacific.
Analysts say North Korea is developing long-range missiles capable of reaching Alaska, Hawaii and perhaps the US West Coast.
Japan's Defense Agency said earlier this month that the US and Japanese militaries are looking at a site in Aomori, about 580km northeast of Tokyo, to base a radar system for the missile shield. The high-resolution radar is expected to be able to discriminate targets from decoys.
The Cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi approved a ?3 billion (US$2.5 million) budget for the next financial year for development costs as requested by the Defense Agency.
It also earmarked ?700 million for remaining work on the joint research.
Abe, the top government spokesman, said that the joint missile project would be carried out without infringing on Japan's strict control on exports of arms.
The SM-3 is part of an anti-missile shield which includes the land-based surface-to-air PAC-3.
SM-3s intercept ballistic missiles when they reach their highest point outside of the atmosphere and PAC-3 missiles are used to destroy missiles that evade SM-3 interceptions.
The SM-3 interceptors will be based on destroyers equipped with the state-of-the-art Aegis air-defense system.
Fukushiro Nukaga, the state minister for defense, said last week Japan would shoulder about US$1 billion to US$1.2 billion of the cost of the nine-year project. The US side is expected to chip in US$1.1 billion to US$1.5 billion dollars.
"The system will contribute to stability in the region as it will strengthen our country's defense capability ... amid the proliferation of ballistic missiles," he told reporters yesterday.
"We hope to spare no effort in explaining the purpose of the [missile] policy pursued by Japan and the US," he added.
The missile-defense project has been a major part of the strengthened Japan-US military alliance in recent years and is excluded from Japan's ban on arms exports.
In 1967, Japan banned exports of weapons to the Communist bloc, countries under UN sanctions and those in international conflicts. The government tightened the ban in 1976 preventing all arms exports regardless of destination. But transfer of military technology to the US was made an exception.
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