Japanese parliament urges N. Korea to stop missile launch+

TOKYO, March 31 Kyodo -
As the day of North Korea's planned rocket launch draws closer, Prime Minister
Taro Aso on Tuesday referred to a need for debate on the issue at the United
Nations and the Japanese parliament unanimously adopted a resolution urging
Pyongyang to abstain from launching a long-range ballistic missile.
Aso said the expected launch, considered to be a cover for a test-firing of a
Taepodong-2 missile, would be ''a violation of a U.N. Security Council
resolution'' and indicated the need for discussion on a possible new U.N.
resolution.
''It is natural that we have discussions, keeping in mind the possibility of
adopting a new resolution,'' Aso told a press conference on plans to draw up
new economic stimulus measures.
Earlier in the day, the House of Councillors and the House of Representatives
adopted a resolution that states that the possible missile launch would
''damage peace and stability not only in Japan but also in northeast Asia'' and
''simply cannot be tolerated,'' adding that ''Japan will demonstrate its firm
protest against the notice of the launch.''
The adoption of the resolution comes in the face of Pyongyang's claim that it
will put a satellite into orbit between April 4 and 8.
It also urged the Japanese government ''to cooperate with other countries in
the world to continue urging North Korea to refrain from launching the
missile'' and the North ''to listen sincerely to the voices of the
international community.''
''Should North Korea go ahead with the launch, (Japan) will first resolutely
deal with the case at the United Nations Security Council,'' Aso told the upper
house plenary session in the morning.
Meanwhile, Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers held a meeting on the launch
Tuesday morning, at which one lawmaker said, ''Local residents are worried. The
government should do more to inform the public, such as by distributing a
manual on how to deal with it.''
Some of the lawmakers showed doubts about whether the Japan-U.S. alliance would
work in this instance given the recent remark by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert
Gates to the effect that Washington would not intercept a missile because it is
unlikely to reach the mainland United States.
A senior Defense Ministry official responded that Japan and the United States
are working closely on the case, saying that Tokyo will receive information
from U.S. Navy warships deployed around Japan if North Korea launches a
missile.
Separately, Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said the two countries are
collaborating with each other in ballistic missile defense by ''effectively
combining the capabilities of the two countries so that they can respond to any
situations that might occur.''
==Kyodo