Posted on 08/31/2003 12:42:27 AM PDT by FreepForever
Hours after North Korea reportedly threatened to test a nuclear bomb, the Japanese Defense Ministry asked Parliament to spend $1 billion a year through 2007 to build an American-designed missile shield to defend the main cities of the Japanese archipelago.
Under the plan, elaborated and accelerated in recent weeks, Japan would spend $1.2 billion next year, nearly 10 times the amount spent on missile defense over the last five years.
"Given recent behavior, we cannot discount the possibility that North Korea's nuclear weapons program is already quite advanced," the Defense Ministry wrote in a White Paper prepared before reports Thursday from talks in Beijing that North Korea had threatened to test a nuclear bomb.
Noting that North Korea has 600 to 750 ballistic missiles capable of reaching Japan, the document continued: "We must monitor the military standoff on the Korean Peninsula and the development, deployment and spread of ballistic missiles."
In a two-tier shield, Japan would deploy SM-3 missiles that would be launched from its four Aegis guided-missile destroyers, ships that could be stationed in a picket line close to North Korea's shore. As backups, batteries of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles would be stationed on land.
"This is Japan's revolution in military affairs," Lance Gatling, an American aerospace consultant here, said in an interview about the spending plan. "Guess what? The Russians are not going to invade. So the Japanese are spending less money on defending against a massive, conventional invasion and are going to spend more money on missile defense and intelligence."
With the new blueprint, Japan - the world's fourth-biggest military spender, after the United States, Russia and China - realigns portions of its $42 billion defense budget to parry the new threat from North Korea.
"There has been a sea change, a dramatic turnaround," said Hideaki Kase, a conservative author. "Finally, we are taking North Korea seriously as a threat for the first time."
To track down, capture and analyze spy boats, the Japan Coast Guard is to get $85 million. Nearly two years ago, the coast guard sank a North Korean spy boat that appeared to be returning from a drug run to Japan. Salvaged from the bottom of the East China Sea, the boat is on display at a maritime museum near Tokyo, drawings as many as 7,000 visitors on weekends.
To deal with guerrilla attacks, Japan's military is seeking $240 million. North Korea has 100,000 special forces soldiers, said to be the world's largest such unit.
"Japanese people are very nervous about security of their 53 nuclear power plants," said Toshiyuki Shikata, retired commander of Japan's Northern Army, soldiers based on the northern island of Hokkaido. "They fear North Korean units would try to infiltrate Japanese territory to sabotage nuclear power plants on the Japan Sea."
To give further mobility to Japanese troops, formally called Self-Defense Forces, the military wants to buy a 13,500-ton destroyer this year, the largest ship in Japan's navy since World War II. This $1 billion ship would carry 11 helicopters. Aware that its constitution forbids Japan from possessing offensive weapons, Defense Ministry officials stressed to reporters that the deck would not be strong enough to hold vertical takeoff attack jets, like the Harrier.
Finally, the military's wish list, which is likely to be approved by Parliament, includes $1 billion for a GPS "smart" bomb guidance system and $220 million for a Boeing 767 aerial refueling tanker. Currently, Japan's F-15s carry 1950's-era "dumb" bombs and the jets do not have the fuel range to strike North Korean missile launching sites and fly back to Japan.
Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said that Japan would not stand idly by if, during a time of crisis, North Korea started fueling and arming its missiles.
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Bad news for the People's Republic. Japan has an excellent military, except that it is severely limited in some areas due to their constitution. If they amend it at some point China will very quickly find themselves next to a lethal, high tech, and well organized neighbor.
China's military is largely bloated and inept, and would have a tough time dealing with the Japanese as it is. If Japan starts down the road of 'remilitarization' to defend against North Korea, they will create formidable defenses against the Chinese as well. If Japan crosses the line into 'offensive weaponry' on a large scale, China can forget about any Pacific designs.
Not a good day to be the bad guy. Right about now they must feel pretty stupid for backing North Korea for so long.
Time for an amendment.
Here's a few "everyone knows" that have been proven wrong:
"Everyone knows...
And absolutely correct, BTW.
Considering that Japan has a long history of Lefist domestic terrorism, a ground-based missile defense emplacements would be a prime target for attacks by sympathetic groups and sabatours.
Disclosure: jriemer does not nor ever has worked for the Boeing company or any of its subsidaries or suppliers.
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