Japan rules out intercepting North Korean missile tests
Defence minister’s comments highlight sensitivities imposed by pacifist constitution
Japan will not seek to shoot down North Korean missile tests unless they threaten its territory, the country’s defence minister has signalled in an interview with the Financial Times.
Some US analysts have suggested intercepting ballistic missile tests as a way of stepping up pressure on Pyongyang, but Itsunori Onodera said Japan had not shot at two recent missiles passing through its airspace because they were projected to land safely in the Pacific.
“Whether it is Japan or any other country, I think that shooting down a ballistic missile could be construed as a military action,” said Mr Onodera. “Unless you judge it is an attack on your own country, I think it is difficult to shoot down such missiles.”
His remarks highlight the sensitivities imposed by Japan’s pacifist constitution as it responds to a series of missile and nuclear tests by North Korea, as well as the paucity of options for putting effective pressure on Kim Jong Un’s regime.
North Korea fired Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missiles over Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido on August 29 and September 15, prompting thousands of residents to evacuate, but Japan did not try to intercept them using the destroyers it keeps constantly at sea.
“The recent missile tests by North Korea passed at high altitude and there was no fear of them falling in our territory or territorial waters so we did not shoot them down,” Mr Onodera said. Were a missile targeted at US territory in Hawaii or Guam, then Japan could intercept them under its new national security legislation, he said.
Intercepting a ballistic missile test would require a destroyer equipped with the Aegis defence system to be in the right place at the right time. Security analysts who oppose shooting down test missiles say a failed interception could embolden Pyongyang.
Having become defence minister for the second time in August — he also held the post from 2012 to 2014 — Mr Onodera’s term has been defined by the North Korean missile threat. Japan is planning to acquire a land-based Aegis missile defence system to supplement its destroyers and its short-range Patriot missiles.
“To be at sea around the clock, 365 days a year, is tough in terms of equipment and personnel. Therefore I think it is important to strengthen our deployment of ground assets, including Aegis Ashore,” he said.
Despite the unpredictability of President Donald Trump, Mr Onodera said he had “no doubts whatsoever” about US commitment to defending Japan. He welcomed Mr Trump’s tough rhetoric, including calling the North Korean leader “Rocket Man” in a recent speech at the UN. “As part of putting pressure on North Korea, we welcome President Trump’s strong language,” Mr Onodera said.
He said America’s security commitment in the region was crucial. “If a conflict breaks out in east Asia, even temporarily, then Asian economic growth will halt. That will have a direct effect on the US economy. I think regional stability is very important not just for the United States and Japan, but for China and South Korea as well.”
Mr Onodera said Japan was strengthening its cyber defences but had not detected a particularly large volume of hacking attacks from North Korea. He said Japan’s current stance on cyber warfare was defensive, indicating Tokyo was not seeking to launch its own hacking attacks against Pyongyang, which was a possible option for the US.
“Whether as a nation Japan is permitted to conduct a cyber offensive attack — I don’t think that discussion is settled,” he said. “It would help if society, especially in the United States, could define what constitutes a cyber attack and what form a counterattack can take.”