Japanese Legislature Seeks to Give Defense Chief Greater Authority in Future Missile Defense Decisions

The lower house of Japan’s parliament yesterday backed giving the country’s defense chief authority to fire interceptors at incoming enemy missiles without consulting the prime minister or Cabinet, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, June 10).

The upper house of parliament is likely to approve and enact the law before March 2006, a lower house official said (Associated Press/Yahoo!News, June 14).

A sea-based missile defense system Tokyo is developing with Washington is scheduled to move from research to development in the next fiscal year, but some Japanese lawmakers warned that their country expected to be fully included in the benefits of the project.

“If Japan loses out through the project or is excluded from some areas of the development, we have to question the wisdom of the technological exchange,” said Seiji Maehara, of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan.

A final test of the Aegis-based project prior to moving into the development phase is scheduled for March 2006 off the coast of Hawaii, Asia Pulse reported (Asia Pulse, June 15).

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