Japan, U.S. Spend Billions on Missile Defense

Japan and the United States are spending billions of dollars on collaborative initiatives intended to counter the missile threat posed by North Korea, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, Dec. 21, 2007).

The effort includes a Joint Tactical Ground Station at the Misawa Air Base in northern Japan.  The facility and a nearby X-band radar (see GSN, Sept. 28, 2006) are designed to provide early warning capabilities that would give the allies time to bring down enemy missiles before they reach their targets.

A U.S. Patriot air defense battalion is stationed at Kadena Air Base on the island of Okinawa and Japan is deploying its own Patriot systems (see GSN, Jan. 15).

The two nations are also working together on sea-based defenses.  Japan and the United States are the only two countries to conduct missile intercept exercises using Standard Missile 3 interceptors launched from ships (see GSN, Dec. 18, 2007).  Tokyo in coming years hopes to place SM-3 interceptors on military vessels.

“Japan is one of our strongest allies in the ballistic missile defense arena,” Brig. Gen. John Seward, deputy commanding general of operations at the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command.

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency requested $8 billion in this fiscal year for development of a working warning and response system.

However, Washington’s focus has been drawn increasingly drawn toward a potential Iranian missile threat to Europe or the United States, AP reported (see GSN, Jan. 28).  This comes even as North Korea boosts its strategic weapons development:  Pyongyang in 2006 conducted its first nuclear weapon blast and possesses missiles capable of reaching Japan.

“Around Japan there are countries that could launch ballistic missiles against us,” said Japanese Defense Ministry spokesman Ro Manabe.  “But in Europe, they do not have an imminent threat like that.  In the near future, it may be possible that some countries, like Iran, may get that capability.  But there are such states currently in this region.  That is a basic and significant difference.”

Despite its work with the United States, and the 50,000 U.S. troops stationed in the Asian nation, Japan must be prepared to provide its own missile defenses, Seward said.

“Most assets in Japan are Japanese,” he said.  “The Japanese would have to defend themselves” (Eric Talmadge, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Jan. 28).

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