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Country:	Japan
Associated Country:	United States

Details

Japan’s role in ballistic missile defense began in 1999, when North Korea tested its long-range Taep’o-dong 1 ballistic missile, which flew over Japan and landed into the Pacific Ocean. Since then, Japan has authorized its Defense Force to shoot down enemy warheads, and has worked closely with the U.S. in the development of BMD systems.(1)

 

In December 2004, the U.S. and Japan signed an agreement allowing for extensive ballistic missile defense cooperation between the two countries, including the mutual transfer of related technologies.(2) The following year, the two nations published “U.S.-Japan Alliance: Transformation and Realignment for the Future,” which predicted considerable future cooperation.(3)

 

In December 2005, Japan announced that it would pay one third to one half of the cost of the joint missile defense shield, $1-1.5 billion of the estimated $3 billion total cost.(4) Shortly thereafter, U.S. State Department released an official statement that Japan had become the U.S.’s most significant missile defense partner.(5)

 

Japan’s current BMD role includes the Aegis sea-based missile defense system; land-based Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptor missiles; and the new mobile land-based X-band radar.

 

Aegis Sea-Based Missile Defense

Japan is currently working with the U.S. to develop and deploy the Aegis sea-based missile defense system, which features Standard Missile-3 interceptor missiles deployed on Aegis-equipped cruisers and destroyers. Japan plans to deploy 36 SM-3 missiles bewteen 2007 and 2010 on four Aegis-equipped destroyers: Kongo, Chokai, Myoko, and Kirishima. Japan may also install the missile defense system on two new destroyers that are being built in Nagasaki.(6)

 

The U.S. and Japan recently test-launched a SM-3 equipped with an experimental “clamshell” nosecone, designed by Japan to more quickly release the interceptor’s kill vehicle. In the standard configuration for previous tests, the SM-3 missile must maneuver to eject the barrel-shaped kill vehicle, a process known as “pitch and ditch.” The newer nosecone eliminates the need for such maneuvers, which in turn means the kinetic kill vehicle can collide with and destroy its target more quickly.(7)

 

Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Interceptors

Japan plans to deploy 124 Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptor missiles by 2010. The first 32 interceptors will be purchased from the United States, designed to be deployed at the military air bases perhaps as early as next year, and the remainder domestically produced in Japan.(8) Japan has 24 air defense artilleries nationwide, and requires at least 30 PAC-3s to provide a basic defense of its airspace. However, to defend against limited, short-range attacks, such as those from North Korea, it requires more than 30 interceptors.(9)

 

The initial Japanese deployment plan includes Tokyo and six other major urban centers, as well as four military bases in Saitama, Shizuoka, Gifu and Fukuoka prefectures. Sources indicate that each base will each receive four PAC-3 launch systems between 2006 and 2010. There will also be a total of two backup units overall. Of these 18 systems, 15 of them will have eight missiles each.(10)

 

Mobile X-Band Radar

 

Japan is also deployed a new mobile X-band radar, designed to detect and track ballistic missiles. The X-band radar operates at a frequency of 10 gigahertz, and provides surveillance, acquisition, tracking, and kill assessment for missile defense systems. Built by the U.S., the radar has a longer detection range, enabling it to respond to ballistic missiles launched from deep within a continent, and is also capable of differentiating missile shapes.(11)

 

The X-band radar will be deployed in the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force’s Shariki base in Tsugaru, located in the northeastern Aomori prefecture. The radar will face the Sea of Japan, and will be operated by approximately 10 U.S. military personnel and 50 civilians. According to the report, the X-band radar is expected to be fully installed by December 2006.(12)

 

 

 

 

Footnotes

 

1. CNN, 22 July 2005.
2. Japan Times, 16 December 2004.
3. Kyodo, 1 November 2005.
4. Associated Press, 15 December 2005.
5. U.S. Department of State, Press Release, 10 March 2006.
6. Kyodo, 10 January 2006.
7. U.S. Missile Defense Agency, 8 March 2006.
8. Kyodo, 14 November 2005. 
9. Kyodo, 10 October 2005.
10. Kyodo, 14 November 2005.
11. Asahi Shimbun, 17 October 2005.
12. Kyodo, 10 March 2006.

U.S. Approves $458 Million Sale of SM-3 Interceptors to Japan

June 7, 2006 :: Department of Defense :: News

The Pentagon has approved the $458 million sale of nine sea-based Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) missile defense interceptors and associated equipment to Japan, according to an announcement yesterday by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. Congress now has 30 days to approve the sale, after which the missiles will be deployed on Japan’s Aegis-equipped cruisers and destroyers. The SM-3 units, along with Japan’s Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles, will provide an initial ballistic missile defense for mainland Japan. The sale illustrates the seriousness with which Japan treats the need for such defenses. (Article, Link) 

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BMD as Koizumi’s Heritage for Japan

May 4, 2006 :: UPI :: Analysis

Japan is now America’s “most important global ally in the development of global missile defense” largely due to the efforts of Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, writes the UPI’s Martin Sieff. Koizumi is required to step down in September as leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party and as prime minister after five years in the top job, but “the ballistic missile defense alliance he has fashioned with the United States will live on after him.” No other U.S. ally can compare to the financial and industrial resources Japan now brings to BMD development. Japan is assisting in the development of the sea-based Aegis ballistic missile defense system; its industries are shortly expected to begin building Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptor missiles; and it has expressed its eagerness to explore airborne laser technologies. Sieff predicts that close cooperation between Japan and the U.S. will continue for many years, as the joint development programs offer a “potential bonanza” of access to cutting edge technology for Japan’s major industries. In addition, BMD has repeatedly proven popular with the Japanese public, so much that “post-Koizumi governments that might otherwise be tempted to cut back on them risk being punished in the voting booths if they do so.” (Article, Link) 

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