Japan deploys anti-North missiles in Tokyo

Japan has deployed Patriot missiles in its capital as it readies to defend the 30 million people who live in greater Tokyo from any North Korean attack, officials said today.

 

Two Patriot Advanced Capability-3 surface-to-air missile launchers were stationed at the defence ministry in Tokyo before dawn, a ministry spokesman said, while Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said "we are proceeding with measures including deployment of PAC-3 as we are on alert".

 

Local reports said batteries would be deployed in another two locations in the greater Tokyo area."The government is making utmost efforts to protect our people's lives and ensure their safety," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters today morning."As North Korea keeps making provocative comments, Japan, cooperating with relevant countries, will do what we have to do."For the moment, the most important thing is to implement sanctions under the UN Security Council resolutions," Abe said.

 

Tokyo's response thus far to the threats emanating from Pyongyang has been low key and today's moves are the most visible yet that it is rattled.

 

PAC-3 batteries will also be installed in the semi-tropical island chain of Okinawa, Onodera told a television programme broadcast yesterday.

 

Japan's armed forces are authorised to shoot down any North Korean missile headed towards its territory, a defence ministry spokesman said yesterday.

 

In addition to the PAC-3s, Aegis destroyers equipped with sea-based interceptor missiles have been deployed in the Sea of Japan (East Sea), the defence official said.

 

Tokyo's moves came as North Korea said yesterday it was withdrawing all workers and suspending operations at a lucrative joint industrial zone with South Korea, with reports of heightened activity at the North's nuclear test site and at a missile battery.

 

Intelligence reports suggest Pyongyang has readied two mid-range missiles on mobile launchers on its east coast and plans a test-firing before the April 15 birthday of late founding leader Kim Il-Sung.