ID :
77840
Tue, 09/01/2009 - 12:33
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/77840
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Defense Ministry seeks 176 bil. yen to bolster missile defense
TOKYO, Aug. 31 Kyodo -
The Defense Ministry said Monday it is seeking 176.1 billion yen to build up
Japan's ballistic missile shield after North Korean rocket launches earlier
this year, as part of an overall 4,846.0 billion yen request for appropriations
in the fiscal 2010 budget.
To brace for future missile launches toward Japan, the ministry plans to deploy
batteries capable of launching Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptors
across the country, including the Tohoku, Hokkaido and Okinawa areas.
The PAC-3 system constitutes the lower part of Japan's two-layer ballistic
missile shield, which is designed to shoot down missiles in their terminal
phase if the sea-launched Standard Missile-3 interceptor fails to intercept
them outside the atmosphere.
PAC-3-capable batteries have been deployed to cover the populous Tokyo, Osaka
and Nagoya regions and are scheduled to be set up in the Kyushu area by next
spring.
The 176.1 billion yen request also includes outlays for Japan-U.S. joint
development of a ballistic missile defense system based on Aegis destroyers.
The ministry's overall request for fiscal 2010 budget allocations is up 3.0
percent from the initial budget of the current fiscal year which began in
April.
If an increase materializes, it would reverse the trend of downsizing defense
expenses in Japan. The government has trimmed its defense budget for seven
years in a row up to fiscal 2009.
Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada urged ministry officials at a meeting Monday to
''try hard to secure requested budgetary spending by fully explaining'' the
ministry's needs within the government. ''It could send the wrong message to the
world if cuts in the nation's defense expenses continue beyond the seventh
year,'' he said.
With a new government led by the Democratic Party of Japan set to review the
country's budgetary compilation process, it is uncertain how the request will
be treated by the DPJ-led administration that is scheduled to be launched
around mid-September.
Following the DPJ's landslide victory in Sunday's House of Representatives
election, acting party leader Naoto Kan said the Finance Ministry should stop
accepting fiscal 2010 budgetary requests from other ministries and agencies.
The DPJ insists budget requests submitted under the Liberal Democratic
Party-led government should be put back on the drawing board.
Defense ministry officials said they did not pay particular attention to a
possible change of power when they compiled the request.
Among other projects, the ministry is also asking for 116.6 billion yen to
build a helicopter-carrying destroyer to reinforce the country's capability to
provide security for marine transport.
It also hopes to procure 58 new tanks for 56.1 billion yen in fiscal 2010 to
replace old combat vehicles that were deployed more than 30 years ago.
==Kyodo
The Defense Ministry said Monday it is seeking 176.1 billion yen to build up
Japan's ballistic missile shield after North Korean rocket launches earlier
this year, as part of an overall 4,846.0 billion yen request for appropriations
in the fiscal 2010 budget.
To brace for future missile launches toward Japan, the ministry plans to deploy
batteries capable of launching Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptors
across the country, including the Tohoku, Hokkaido and Okinawa areas.
The PAC-3 system constitutes the lower part of Japan's two-layer ballistic
missile shield, which is designed to shoot down missiles in their terminal
phase if the sea-launched Standard Missile-3 interceptor fails to intercept
them outside the atmosphere.
PAC-3-capable batteries have been deployed to cover the populous Tokyo, Osaka
and Nagoya regions and are scheduled to be set up in the Kyushu area by next
spring.
The 176.1 billion yen request also includes outlays for Japan-U.S. joint
development of a ballistic missile defense system based on Aegis destroyers.
The ministry's overall request for fiscal 2010 budget allocations is up 3.0
percent from the initial budget of the current fiscal year which began in
April.
If an increase materializes, it would reverse the trend of downsizing defense
expenses in Japan. The government has trimmed its defense budget for seven
years in a row up to fiscal 2009.
Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada urged ministry officials at a meeting Monday to
''try hard to secure requested budgetary spending by fully explaining'' the
ministry's needs within the government. ''It could send the wrong message to the
world if cuts in the nation's defense expenses continue beyond the seventh
year,'' he said.
With a new government led by the Democratic Party of Japan set to review the
country's budgetary compilation process, it is uncertain how the request will
be treated by the DPJ-led administration that is scheduled to be launched
around mid-September.
Following the DPJ's landslide victory in Sunday's House of Representatives
election, acting party leader Naoto Kan said the Finance Ministry should stop
accepting fiscal 2010 budgetary requests from other ministries and agencies.
The DPJ insists budget requests submitted under the Liberal Democratic
Party-led government should be put back on the drawing board.
Defense ministry officials said they did not pay particular attention to a
possible change of power when they compiled the request.
Among other projects, the ministry is also asking for 116.6 billion yen to
build a helicopter-carrying destroyer to reinforce the country's capability to
provide security for marine transport.
It also hopes to procure 58 new tanks for 56.1 billion yen in fiscal 2010 to
replace old combat vehicles that were deployed more than 30 years ago.
==Kyodo
