Japan orders SDF to shoot down any new N Korean missiles

Easier said then done... The physics are akin to knocking a tennis ball off its trajectory in mid-flight by throwing another tennis ball at it.

Strange; wasn't it an actual " Act of WAR " when North Korea fired not one, but TWO ICBM's completely ACROSS the ENTIRE Country of Japan ( violated The ENTIRETY OF Japan's Airspace ) last year and they were NOT shot down!? Why NOW ?

If a North Korean missile is shot down by Japan ... wonder what the reaction will be on North Korea's side? Should be interesting ...

As if NK's rocket toys can ever fly straight over Japan territories. I say as soon as those missiles reaches Japan ADIZ, just go ahead and shoot them down. There is no need to be gentle with them.

What will NK's reaction be when Japan shoots them down? Fly more missiles for Japan to use as target practice. Other than a few kidnapped victims, NK got nothing as leverage.

Cool! Target practice! However, the North Koreans are gonna see it as an attack and will make the. Even more determined to play Asian bad boy.

This is all geopolitics. Making tensions with kim. Cause each time NK launchs a missile over Japan theyvsay it in advance

It would be interesting if NATO held their war games in south korea close to the border.

Imagine China, South Korea and NK's reaction if Japan started lobbing missiles into the water in the Sea of Japan/East Sea. NK is becoming more and more desperate and more and more stupid.

boweevil If your tennis ball is a tennis ball-seeking ball, it's not as hard as you may think. The Aegis missile defense system can simultaneously track and then destroy multiple targets. Hopefully.....

North Korea thinks weapons are toys but they forget who is the master in this game.

The MSDF is one of the few militaries in the world that have ALREADY shot down missiles in flight from their AEGIS destroyers.

I don't think they're going to attack Japan with this test, but if they do I'm confident in the MSDF to protect the country.

We hear this every time -- but it never happens, nor will it ever happen.

Why not give a launch site to koreans? In Japan far east

I'm actually surprised this isn't already in effect, and that it's only until the 25th. What happens when one of NK's missiles "inadvertantly" strikes Okinawa, or Tokyo? You don't put away your umbrella in the middle of a rainstorm and wonder why you're getting wet. Shoot down the missiles, and keep your guard up.

"Japanese Aegis destroyers in the Sea of Japan are equipped with advanced radar equipment able to track multiple targets and carry missiles designed to take out targets at the edge of space".

All well and good. But simulations are simulations and designs are designs. What happens when it really comes down to it? No doubt, they are as good a deterrent as any, but no weapon is 100% effective. And if they should fire and miss what a propaganda coup for NK. I'm not suggesting that they are ineffective but it is never wise to put too much faith in these sorts of things. Neither am I suggesting that NK should be allowed to fire missiles.

If nk can launch rockets everytime in air space of other countries US must do same thing beyond peninsula by sea on sky of Pyongyang everytime,kidnap their citizen,bomb same village and insults on fat kim by media.

@boweevil

Actually, it's not that difficult.

I'm sure Japan is using some of the technology America uses. NK technology is considerably archaic compared to the U.S. The U.S. has quite an extensive missle defense program which can be found at stations on land and on naval ships. The NK missles have a distinct radar signature and NK does not have stealth capabilites that can mask missle flight paths. Using American technology, the NK missles could be tracked as soon as they are fired and can be destroyed as soon as they enter Japananse Air Space...and even sooner if desired. More highly advanced nations would pose greater difficulty for missle defense programs...but not NK.

The difference between a rocket and a missile is semantics.

Has anyone bothered to ask where Japan's airspace begins and ends? What is its vertical limit?

Is North Korea asked permission for all the commercial flights that fly over North Korea every day?

Where would everyone like North Korea to point its tests?

And sure, it was in the news that South Korea tested some longer ranged missiles. But the news did not bother to tell us where they were pointed at all.

No, don't shoot down North Korean missiles. Odds are strongest it will fly over. Why make it crash on Japan if you don't have to? And if you think it will crash on Japan, shooting it down won't accomplish anything unless there is a live warhead on the North Korean missile. But there won't be. Shooting it down just robs Japan of the chance to accuse North Korea of anything, since North Korea will just say it would have flown over if not for shooting it down.

But I don't think an interceptor will have much chance of succeeding. And if a North Korean missile were to crash, Japan is 90 percent empty mountain anyway.

Juggernaut

No. It's not semantics.

Militarily, there is a difference. Rockets can be fired by handheld devices, whereas missiles can't …compare rocket launcher with missile launcher.