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Japan Set to Approve Missile Defense System
Japanese officials will soon approve the development of a missile defense system to defend against the North Korean threat, the Mainichi Shimbun reported today (see GSN, Nov. 24). In a meeting Wednesday, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told senior ministers that he is approving a joint missile defense project with the United States. He intends to have the system formally approved soon in a meeting with top government officials, according to the Mainichi (Associated Press/Hindustan Times, Dec. 4). Japanese defense officials plan to spend $4.62 billion between fiscal 2004 and fiscal 2008 on a two-stage missile defense program developed by Washington. Part of the system would be deployed in 2007 and it would be fully operational by fiscal 2011 at the earliest (Reuters/CNN.com, Dec. 4). “I understand there will be a move in that direction in the course of budget planning,” Koizumi said of a missile defense plan. “We will make a full study,” he added. The prime minister said he had instructed defense officials to investigate “Japan’s comprehensive defense system with a new era in mind” (Agence France-Presse, Dec. 4).
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