Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe yesterday said Japan is to form a space defense unit to protect itself from potential threats as rivals develop missiles and other technology, and that the new unit would work closely with its US counterpart recently launched by US President Donald Trump.
The Space Domain Mission Unit is to launch in April as part of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, Abe said in a policy speech marking the start of the year’s parliamentary session.
Japan must also defend itself from threats in cyberspace and from electromagnetic interference against Japanese satellites, he said.
Photo: Reuters
Concerns are growing that China and Russia are seeking ways to interfere, disable or destroy satellites.
“We will drastically bolster capability and system in order to secure superiority” in those areas, Abe said.
The space unit is to be added to an existing air base at Fuchu in the western suburbs of Tokyo, where about 20 people would staff it ahead of a full launch later in the year.
The role of the unit is to conduct satellite-based navigation and communications for other troops in the field, rather than being on the ground.
Abe’s Cabinet in December last year approved a ¥50.6 billion (US$459 million) budget in space-related projects, pending approval from the parliament.
The unit would cooperate with the US Space Command that Trump established in August, as well as the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
Abe has pushed for the Japan Self-Defense Forces to expand its international role and capabilities by bolstering cooperation and weapons compatibility with the US, as it increasingly works alongside US troops and as it grows concerned about the increasing capabilities of China and North Korea.
Abe, in marking the 60th anniversary of the signing of Japan-US security treaty on Sunday, vowed to bolster Japan’s capabilities and cooperation with the US, including in the areas of space and cybersecurity.
He said that he is determined to settle Japan’s “unfortunate past” with North Korea, as he hopes to “sum up” his country’s postwar legacies before his term expires next year.
He reiterated his intention to hold talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un without the conditions he had demanded in the past — denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and resolving the decades-old issue of abductions of Japanese citizens by North Korea.
Part of Abe’s plan while in office is to achieve his long-cherished goal of revising Japan’s US-drafted constitution that prohibits use of force in settling international disputes.
Despite Abe’s push, chances are fading for the revision due to a lack of public interest and the opposition’s focus on other controversial issues, such as Japan’s recent dispatch of naval troops to the Middle East and questionable public record-keeping at Abe’s annual cherry blossom viewing parties.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was