TOKYO: Japan is mulling an early warning satellite that can detect missile launches, a government official said on Wednesday, amid worries about North Korea's missile power.
Pyongyang launched a rocket on April 5, which Japan saw as a disguised missile test. The launch has sparked calls for Japan to consider possessing an early warning satellite and beefing up its missile shield.
Asked whether Japan is considering an early warning satellite after North Korea's rocket launch, Kei Oguro, an official at the government's Strategic Headquarters for Space Policy, said: ‘I think there certainly are views like that.’
But he was unable to confirm whether the idea will be included in the draft of the government's first comprehensive space strategy. The strategy is expected to be announced in May.
The Yomiuri newspaper on Wednesday quoted the draft as saying: ‘Seeing the move in April 2009 when North Korea launched a missile despite calls to refrain from the United Nations Security Council and the international community, the role of space has heightened compared to before.’
Following the North's launch, defence minister Yasukazu Hamada said earlier this month that Japan should consider having an early warning system to boost the reliability of its ballistic missile defence system.
Amid worries about North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilities and a regional space race rose, Japan introduced a new space law last year that allows military use of space, ending a decades-old pacifist policy.
The law, which allows the military to launch its own satellites for spying and warn of missile launches but rules out offensive weapons in space, opened ways for the nation's space industry to compete globally.
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