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http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/6C6293FC-5C0E-4FBF-B1F2-E9A53B23A25B.htm
Japan moves to build missile system*
("There is no intention of departing from conventional defence policies or
for Japan to become a military power" : Mamoru Kotaki, defence ministry
press secretary )
Japan has said it is seeking to build an anti-missile system as quickly as
possible and will move its Air Defence Command to a US military base.
The missile system will cover all of East Asia and have the potential to
reach the northern tip of Australia and part of Alaska, a Japanese defence
ministry report said on Friday.
The report also revealed Japan's Air Defence Command would be moved to a US
military base on the outskirts of Tokyo. Japan's defence ministry, in its
first annual report as a fully-fledged ministry, said on Friday it would try
to deepen its co-ordination with US troops.
Japan started working with the US on developing a system after North Korea
shocked Tokyo by test-firing a long-range missile over the country in 1998.
'Co-operation with US'
The annual paper said North Korea was "improving its capability of managing
ballistic missiles" and "trying to further extend their firing range".
North Korea's ballistic missiles "are now regarded as more practical", the
report said.
"It is necessary to finish deploying a ballistic missile defence as quickly
as possible," said the report, adding that there was a need for Tokyo to
strengthen co-operation with the US military.
Earlier this week, Pyongyang conducted a series of missile launches that
heightened tension in the region. It fired its first nuclear test last
October.
Japan has budgeted $1.3bn (161 billion yen) to develop and deploy its
missile defence system up to March 2008, up 4.4 per cent from the previous
year.
Mamoru Kotaki, the ministry's press secretary, said the missile system will
take priority in the reduced defence budget.
The US last year installed Japan's first anti-missile system on the southern
island of Okinawa.
Primary mission
The defence report also said that Japan has made "international
peacekeeping" a primary mission for its military.
The move underscores a continuing transformation of Japan's post-World War
II military.
The report said Japan will continue to increase its participation in such
missions in a "proactive'' manner".
Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister, citing the threat of a
nuclear-armed North Korea and the expansion and modernisation of China's
military, has sought to champion a constitutional overhaul that would allow
for a much freer hand in security policy.
Japan's annual defence expenditure is roughly $42 bn, the overall figure
hovering around one per cent of its GDP, compared to the US' three per cent.
Kotaki, the ministry spokesman, said Tokyo was not seeking fundamental
changes in its basic defense policies.
He added: "There is no intention of departing from conventional defence
policies or for Japan to become a military power."
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