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The Japanese government is interested in cooperating with the United States to
develop a limited layered ballistic missile defense system. The main WMD threats
Japan faces stem from
North
Korea and
China. North Korea's test of
a Taepodong-1 missile over Japanese territory in August 1998 played a catalytic
role in bolstering domestic support for a limited missile defense system in Japan. North Korea has already deployed perhaps
100 Nodong missiles that can reach Japan. In addition, China has
50 nuclear-armed intermediate-range missiles able to reach Japan. Tokyo is
also interested in missile defenses as a means of strengthening the U.S.-Japan
alliance and fortifying U.S. deterrence against North Korea.
Because Japan's constitution and political culture place strong restrictions
on its military capabilities, Tokyo has been cautious about embracing the
idea of missile defense. Many Japanese are also reluctant to embrace U.S. BMD
plans fully because of concerns about costs, technological effectiveness, and
the negative regional security and arms control implications of such a system.
In December 2003, the Japanese government made a formal decision to deploy
a missile
defense systems to defend Japan. Japan has said that its missile defense
system would not be part of the global U.S. systems. However, Japan is
purchasing many elements of its missile defense system (including nine
ship-based missiles intended for deployment by 2007) from the United States
and is cooperating with the United States to build a joint defense against a
possible North Korean missile attack. In September 2005, the United States
informed the Japanese government that its contribution to the cost of building
a joint missile defense system, scheduled to begin deployment in 2006, would
be almost triple the original estimate of $3 billion. As Japan has been
cutting back its defense spending, it may try to renegotiate its contribution.
Japanese views on U.S. deployment of national missile defenses are mixed.
Some believe that such defenses would strengthen the U.S. defense commitment
to Japan and enhance extended
deterrence. But others believe that U.S. deployment, unless linked to
an agreement with Russia, would undermine U.S.-Russian nuclear stability
and could imperil the nuclear arms reduction process.
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Further Reading:
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NTI, Evan Medeiros,
"Theater
Missile Defense and Northeast Asian Security" |
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Ken Jimbo,
"A Japanese Perspective on Ballistic Missile Defense" |
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CNS, Stanley Foundation,
"Ballistic
Missile Defense and Northeast Asian Security: Views from Washington, Beijing,
and Tokyo" |
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RAND, Michael Swaine, Rachel Swanger
and Takashi Kawakami,
Japan and Ballistic Missile Defense |
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CNS, Umemoto Tetsuya,
"Japan-U.S. Cooperation in Ballistic Missile Defense" |
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The Nonproliferation Review,
Daniel Pinkston,
"Stakeholders in the North Korean Missile Development Program" |
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