Japan Says Interceptor Missiles Developed With US Can Go To Third Countries

MISSILE DEFENSE

File photo of a SM-3 missile test. Tokyo has been rushing to develop a missile defense system with the United States since North Korea stunned the world in 1998 by firing a missile over the Japanese mainland into the Pacific.

Tokyo (AFP) Jul 14, 2005
Japan's defense chief said Thursday his country could offer interceptor missiles it was developing with the United States to third countries, a sensitive issue under pacifist Japan's controls on arms exports.

"It is possible to approve it depending on the case," Defense Agency Director-General Yoshinori Ono told a parliament committee when asked about the issue.

Ono said Japan would consider each case carefully and only consider such exports if the United State requested them, Jiji Press news agency reported.

Japan last year eased a decades-old ban on weapons exports. It has since considered offering naval equipment to Southeast Asian nations to help combat piracy, a concern for the nation dependent on oil imports.

Tokyo has been rushing to develop a missile defense system with the United States since North Korea stunned the world in 1998 by firing a missile over the Japanese mainland into the Pacific.

Japan renounced the use of force in its 1947 constitution imposed by the United States after World War II.

Embracing its pacifist role, Japan in 1967 said it would ban all weapons sales to communist and other countries perceived to threaten world peace. The self-imposed ban was tightened in 1976 to rule out all military exports.

In a step away from it, Japan said in December it could export missile parts to the United States under "strict controls" for national security, with exports to third countries to be considered on a case-to-case basis.

All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

MISSILE DEFENSE

Timing Of BMDO Tests Must Be Based On Performance Benchmarks, Not White House Schedule: Experts

Washington (UPI) Jul 07, 2005
Three outside experts commissioned by the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency have warned that the ground-based strategic missile defense system being developed by the Bush administration is bound to suffer additional test failures and may not function properly if its testing regime is not revamped and made a higher priority.

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.