Japan Examining Ways to Accelerate Response to Missile Attack, High-Level Official Says

Japan is examining ways to accelerate a military response in the event of a ballistic missile attack, such as one launched by North Korea, a senior Japanese government official said today (see GSN, Oct. 5).

“Under current procedures we could not respond in time after a missile is prepared and appears ready to strike Japan,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said.

To conduct military action, the Japanese prime minister now must first hold a meeting of the Cabinet and national security council, according to Agence France-Presse. Japanese defense chief Yoshinori Ono reportedly said this weekend, though, that he wants the prime minister to be able to bypass the meeting requirement in the event of a missile launch.

The Japanese military has requested a 35-percent increase in funding in the next fiscal year for missile defense and intelligence efforts, including money to upgrade Patriot Advanced Capability 3 missile interceptor systems (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Nov. 22).

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