August 30, 2006 :: AFP :: News
Japan’s Defense Agency yesterday requested a more than 50 percent increase in its missile defense budget, reports the AFP. The article quotes an official in the Liberal Democratic Party, who stated that the agency has requested 219 billion yen ($1.87 billion) for missiles defenses, up 56.5 percent from the current year. The increased budget is mainly to pay for the early deployment of more Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) interceptor missiles, but also includes costs for Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) interceptors for Aegis-equipped U.S. warships as well as advanced radars and joint research and development with the U.S. on missile interceptors. Japan is moving forward with efforts to build a joint missile defense system with the U.S. following North Korea’s July 5 test launch of seven missiles into the Sea of Japan, including a long-range Taep’o-dong-2. The LDP official notes that the Defense Agency’s proposed total budget for fiscal year 2007 is up 1.5 percent from the current term to 4.86 trillion yen ($4.2 billion).
(Article)
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