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2 Japan shields itself from
attack By Hisane Masaki
Base in Shizuoka prefecture,
central Japan. During fiscal 2009, the system will
be deployed at Gifu Base in Gifu prefecture,
central Japan, Hakusan Sub Base in Mie prefecture,
central Japan and Aibano Sub Base in Shiga
prefecture, western Japan. During fiscal 2010, the
system will be introduced to Ashiya Base, Tsuiki
Base and Koradai Sub Base, all in Fukuoka
prefecture, which is on the northern tip of the
southernmost main Japanese island of Kyushu and
closest to the Korean Peninsula.
Meanwhile, the US has also deployed PAC3
missiles at its
Kadena Air Base on Okinawa,
the first such missiles at a US base in Japan. The
deployment is significant given the fact that the
huge bulk of US bases and nearly 50,000 troops
stationed on Japanese soil are on the southernmost
Japanese island, making it a potential main target
of North Korean attacks. Japan has asked the US to
deploy PAC3 missiles at US bases in the Tokyo
metropolitan area as well, most likely at Yokota
Air Base and Yokosuka Naval Base.
In
addition to deploying PAC3 missiles, Tokyo plans
to install Standard Missile-3 (SM3) interceptors
on its Aegis-equipped destroyer Kongo by the end
of this calendar year instead of by the end of
fiscal 2007 on March 31, 2008, as had been planned
earlier. Japan also plans to finish refitting its
three other Aegis ships so they can carry the SM3
system by the end of fiscal 2010.
Japan
and the US envisage a two-stage interception
system to deal with a possible missile attack.
First, Aegis vessels from both countries would try
to intercept an incoming missile in space by
launching SM3 missiles. If unsuccessful, the PAC3
missiles would provide the next line of defense.
Last August, the US Navy sent the USS
Shiloh, a cruiser equipped with both the Aegis
missile-tracking and engaging system and SM3
interceptor missiles, to Yokosuka Naval Base in
Kanagawa prefecture, adjacent to Tokyo. The Shiloh
is one of three upgraded Aegis-equipped warships
and is the first to be deployed outside the US.
At present, eight Aegis-equipped warships,
including the Shiloh, are stationed at the base.
Another such warship is expected to be deployed
there as early as June. But among the eight
Aegis-equipped warships currently stationed at the
base, only the Shiloh can shoot down short- and
medium-range missiles. The US Navy said recently
that it plans to upgrade and install that
capability in most of the Aegis-equipped warships
at the base by 2009.
Japan and the US are
now jointly developing an advanced version of the
SM3. The Japanese government decided in December
2005 to start the joint development of the new
sea-based interceptor missile. The development
cost is estimated at a maximum of $2.7 billion,
with Japan shouldering up to $1.2 billion, while
Washington is paying for the remaining maximum
$1.5 billion. Japan's share will be spread over
nine years starting in fiscal 2006. The two allies
plan to begin production of the next-generation
interceptor missile in fiscal 2015, which will be
deployed on Aegis-equipped destroyers.
Japan and the US had conducted joint
technological research into the new missile since
1999, after North Korea's test-firing of a
Taepodong-1 missile, which flew over Japan and
fell into the Pacific in August 1998.
In
December 2004, when it adopted a new National
Defense Program Outline, Japan also eased a
decades-old ban on arms exports, enabling the
export of parts and components needed for the
joint development and production of the advanced
missile-defense system. This easing of the
arms-export ban paved the way for Japan to move
into the development stage of a new interceptor
missile.
The three-point arms export ban
was adopted in 1967 under the government of prime
minister Eisaku Sato and covered three specific
groups of countries: countries in the communist
bloc; countries to which weapons exports are
banned by United Nations resolutions; and
countries involved or feared to be involved in
armed conflicts.
In 1976, the government
of then Takeo Miki announced a "unified government
view" on the ban, placing the nation's weapons
exports under a total ban for all practical
purposes. In 1983, however, the government of
prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone exempted military
technology exports to the US from the arms-export
ban.
Last September, the US military
activated a unit operating a high-powered X-band
radar at Air SDF's Shariki Sub Base in Aomori
prefecture, northern Japan, that is capable of
tracking ballistic missiles in the region, a key
part of the joint missile-defense project. The
high-resolution radar is so powerful that it can
identify baseball-size objects from thousands of
kilometers away and is designed to differentiate
between decoys and real missile warheads. The US
military also plans to deploy the JTAGS (joint
tactical air-to-ground station) system at its
Misawa Air Base, also in Aomori prefecture, this
summer. It will be the first time for the system
to be deployed in Japan. JTAGS is a transportable
information-processing system that supports
forward-deployed combatant commanders with
early-warning data on ballistic-missile launches.
Japan and the US are preparing to upgrade,
by this autumn, the Concept Plan 5055 for a
contingency on the Korean Peninsula, which was
worked out by the SDF and the US military in 2002.
The plan calls for Japan's support for the US,
including the use of Japanese airports and
seaports by US forces transporting supplies to the
peninsula and the provision of medical treatment
at Japanese hospitals for injured American
military personnel. But it does not include
specific names of such facilities and other
detailed information, leaving its practical
implementation in doubt. In addition to being far
more detailed, the revised plan will spell out how
Tokyo and Washington would respond to direct
attacks against Japan, especially missile strikes.
Last May, Japan and the US signed a final
agreement on the realignment of US bases and
forces in Japan, which includes the movement of
Japan's Air Defense Command to the United States'
Yokota Air Base. There they will create a joint
missile-defense command center in fiscal 2010. The
creation of the center is aimed at strengthening
Japan's ability to detect and deal with enemy
missile launches.
Meanwhile, Japan's
multibillion-dollar spy-satellite program made
significant headway with the successful launch of
the nation's fourth such satellite late last
month. The program was prompted by North Korea's
1998 test-firing of a Taepodong-1 missile.
The successful launch of the new satellite
atop the domestically developed H2-A rocket has
completed Japan's planned four-satellite system,
which provides the nation with an all-weather
capability to survey virtually any point in the
world at least once every day, and keep watch on
North Korea's military movements.
Two of
the satellites have optics that produce images of
objects as small as a meter in diameter when
photographed from outer space. The other two,
including the newest one, use radar imaging to
penetrate cloud cover.
Hisane Masaki
is a Tokyo-based journalist, commentator and
scholar on international politics and economy.
Masaki's e-mail address is yiu45535@nifty.com.
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