AMN / TOKYO
Japan’s annual defence report has stressed the need to introduce a new ballistic missile defense system for the country, citing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea.
The white paper submitted to the Cabinet on Tuesday says North Korea still poses a serious and imminent threat to Japan.
It notes that it was significant that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un clearly committed to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula in his June 12th summit with US President Donald Trump.
But it says the North remains an unprecedented, serious and immediate threat.
Japan’s 2018 defence white paper also took aim at China’s rise as a military power, saying Beijing was sparking strong security concerns in the region and international community, including Japan.
Tokyo insisted that there is no change concerning the threat of North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missiles.
In response, Japan is steadily upgrading its capacity to shield the nation from the North’s arsenal, including a plan to spend some 4.2 billion dollars over the next three decades on installing and operating US radar systems.