Missile defense program brings arms race for preemptive attack strategy -- Akahata editorial, August 28The Defense Agency will request 140 billion yen as expenses for the country's missile defense in FY 2004 budget.
The amount is about ten times as much as the sum budgeted for "the Japan-U.S. technical research on missile defense" since FY 1999. The amount, however, is only a fraction of the cast of taking part in the U.S. missile defense system, reportedly somewhere between 1.2 trillion and 5.9 trillion yen.
The agency seeks to field standard missiles (SM3) and surface-to-air guided patriot missiles (PAC3) in 2007, following the deployment of a missile defense shield in the United States from next year.
Koizumi makes a vow to Bush
The missile defense program goes with the preemptive attack strategy of the Bush administration because in order to attack an enemy before being attacked it's necessary to neutralize the counteroffensive capability of the enemy's missiles.
The Bush administration in its Nuclear Posture Review Report emphasized that missile defense is necessary together with a strategic nuclear force.
Possessing the nuclear capability to attack any enemy, the United States never allows anyone to strike back. This clearly shows the whole point of the missile defense program in which U.S. unilateralism is militarily ensured.
So as not to bow down to the U.S. military threat, other countries will inevitably gear up to develop and deploy new types of nuclear weapons. As a matter of course, European nations are criticizing the U.S. strategy for bringing on another arm race.
By participating in the U.S. missile defense system, Japan will be involved deeply in the U.S. preemptive attack strategy.
Prime Minister Koizumi has so far justified Japan's participation in the joint technical research on missile defense by saying, "Deployment and R&D are different matters." In May, however, U.S. President Bush during the bilateral summit meeting urged Koizumi to develop and deploy the missile defense.
When U.S. President Bush urged Japan to contribute to U.S. strategy on the grounds that the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty is a global military alliance, Koizumi pledged to "speed up the study" of Japan's participation in the MD program along with the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq. He said that Japan would do more to "increase the credibility of the alliance".
The Koizumi Cabinet is using North Korea's missile test launches to justify the need for a missile defense system for defensive purposes.
In their September 2002 "Pyongyang Declaration", Japan and North Korea agreed that security issues, including ones related to missiles, should be solved peacefully through negotiations.
The MD program is designed to give the United States freedom to start nuclear wars. How can Japan's participation in such a program be "defensive"?
According to the Defense Agency, SM3s (Standard Missile-3s) from Aegis ships will be used to shoot down enemy ballistic missiles at the midcourse stage; and if this fails, Patriotic PAC3 missiles will intercept them at the terminal stage.
Even if Japan uses weapons it bought from the United States to intercept enemy missiles at the midcourse or terminal stages, Japan will be incorporated in the entire U.S. MD system, including the booster stage.
At the booster stage, which is instrumental to intercept and hit enemy missiles just launched, no one can tell where they are headed for. Every action to intercept and destroy enemy missiles at this stage is a preemptive attack.
Asia critically views Japan's participation in MD program
Asian countries are critical of Japan's decision to take part in the MD program. It is because the government decision concerns a major arms buildup that conflicts with the Japanese Constitution's call for a peaceful resolution of international conflicts and pits Japan against other Asian countries, in particular its neighbors.
We demand that the Koizumi Cabinet immediately withdraw all its plans relating to the MD program, including the most recent budget request. (end)