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| Sunday, 25 December 2005 |
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Japan to develop missile shield with US TOKYO, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Japan will step up its efforts to build a next-generation missile shield with the United States after cabinet approved on Saturday to move a joint research project to the development stage. The system is seen as a measure against nuclear-armed North Korea's ballistic missile arsenal, and Tokyo and Washington began studying the project shortly after Pyongyang test-fired a missile over Japan in 1998. "In order to secure a capability to deal with the future threat of ballistic missiles in the current global environment, it is appropriate to proceed with joint Japan-U.S. development," Japan's top government spokesman, Shinzo Abe, said in a statement. Experts say it would take only about 10 minutes for a North Korean missile to reach Japan, and public concerns about the threat have risen after Pyongyang declared in February for the first time that it had nuclear weapons as well. The next round of six-country talks aimed at ending North Korea's weapons programme is likely to held in January, but no date has been set yet. Tokyo eased a blanket ban on arms exports last year to open the way for the joint development project with Washington. Japan has already spent about 26 billion yen ($221.5 million) for joint research on the system, and another 3 billion yen ($25.56 million) was set aside in the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which was approved by the cabinet on Saturday. |
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