Jumping the gun on missile defense

mainichi ^ | 12/21/02

[Ranger]

Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba said on Tuesday while visiting Washington D.C. said that both the Japanese and U.S. governments are proceeding with their joint missile development program "with a view to development and deployment."

If concrete steps are being taken to turn what was supposed to have been a joint research project into a missile deployment plan, this would signify a major change in Japan's defense policy. Given that no debate has taken place on this issue within Japan, this change comes as a bolt from the blue.

At his press conference on Wednesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Fukuda insisted that the government was not planning to go beyond the research phase, saying, "It is only natural to conduct research on all matters. You could see this as one theme under consideration." Fukuda's remarks revealed that he had not been informed ahead of time of Ishiba's comments.

So what should be made of Ishiba's declaration? Does it mean that defense officials and the Prime Minister's Office are not seeing eye to eye? Even if this declaration were merely an expression of the views of defense officials, if it has given the U.S. the false impression that the Japanese government has made a decision on this issue, it must be characterized as problematic.

The missile defense program was a response to North Korea's test-firing of a missile which overflew Japan in August 1998. At the time, the Japanese people were shocked that a missile had been launched over their heads, and the House of Representatives adopted a resolution pledging to "take all measures to protect the nation."

The missile defense program was launched with this crisis as a backdrop. If the program proceeds to the development and deployment stages, however, Japan will have to consult closely with the U.S. military.

And there is still sufficient time to conduct a thorough debate to work out issues related to Japan's exercise of collective self-defense. Out of concern for opponents of missile defense, the government had the chief cabinet secretary state that the transition to the development and deployment stages would require a separate decision.

The joint Japan-U.S. missile defense research project is a five-year program. Given Japan's exclusively defensive posture, the focus of the research has been on a Navy Theater-Wide Defense (NTWD) system, which can be deployed on Aegis cruisers and other ships in order to intercept missiles.

The research is being conducted on four components: 1) nose cones, which protect the warhead from atmospheric friction; 2) kinetic warheads which destroy enemy missiles; 3) infrared sensors which identify and lock onto targets; and 4) rocket motors for three-stage interceptor missiles.

If a decision is made to proceed from the research to development and deployment stages, the Japanese government should declare that the research has been completed, and announce the results of its research effort. And then the government as a whole must debate whether development and deployment are necessary. It is only natural that the debate be conducted by the Diet under strict civilian control.

And sufficient precautions should be taken to avoid fostering misunderstandings with neighboring countries. It is a fact that the dialogue between Japan and North Korea has come to a standstill, and that concern over North Korea has not been allayed. While it is necessary to be prepared, it is important that a debate be conducted in accordance with proper procedures so as not to arouse qualms among the public. (From the Mainichi Shimbun, Dec. 19)