Gov't orders SDF to destroy N Korean rocket 'if necessary'

@YubaruApr. 01, 2012 - 08:05AM JST

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IKbuGSIqNM

The fly is falling trash. The Patriot and Aegis are like ken. The men is like you. But NK satellite will fly in space for peace I hope .

All world are look at NK, so your worry is hypertrophy.

If this were so the regime in NK wouldn't have lasted quite so long. The ONLY way for NK to get anyone in the world to even remotely focus on them for any amount of time is to pull stunts like this.

It's all so sad.

@YubaruMar. 31, 2012 - 09:25PM JST

Quite an analogy here I do believe, the head of NK is very small.

All world are look at NK, so your worry is hypertrophy. Reaction of Japan and SK are comedy.

That is not important. Head of rocket is very small for a-bomb. It can be used only for peace. That is more important.

Quite an analogy here I do believe, the head of NK is very small.

By all means shoot it if it enter your territory.

@YubaruMar. 31, 2012 - 03:52PM JST

Want legal means? Here it is, any unauthorized passage through any sovereign country's airspace is legal reason enough to take action.

Noda would attack falling trash form rocket. So courage. Patriot and Aegis will fight with falling trash. That is comedy!

Unless NK allows international inspectors from neutral countries come in and examine the missile prior to launch there is no way to trust them, based upon history, to believe it is just a satellite they are launching.

That is not important. Head of rocket is very small for a-bomb. It can be used only for peace. That is more important.

The Japanese govt will be blamed if the derbis fell on Japanese soill!

BessonovYan, fancy this I agree with you for once. I do not see a legal means for Japan to attack the North's missile

Want legal means? Here it is, any unauthorized passage through any sovereign country's airspace is legal reason enough to take action.

Unless NK allows international inspectors from neutral countries come in and examine the missile prior to launch there is no way to trust them, based upon history, to believe it is just a satellite they are launching.

@PT24881Mar. 31, 2012 - 01:55PM JST

Anyway, the focused set up of the Pac-3s near the senkaku/Diaoyu zone makes it quite clear the "target" is not NK.

That is very important reason. So may be you are right.

"The order gave Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka the power to have the projectile shot down “if necessary,” as Japan grows increasingly worried that the rocket may pass over—or fall into—its territory"

This vague phrase is important -- what if the SDF actually launches the missiles ( but misses the target ), at there is a way out -- we did launch the missile for warning the NK.. To successfully hitting the target, Japan will have to rely on support from the U.S. supporting data via satellite..

Anyway, the focused set up of the Pac-3s near the senkaku/Diaoyu zone makes it quite clear the "target" is not NK.

BessonovYan, fancy this I agree with you for once. I do not see a legal means for Japan to attack the North's missile. Unless it is going to impact in Japan and from what I read the North has adjusted the flight path to avoid this possibility. The government in Tokyo needs to take a deep breath and calm down.

Japan make mistake like USSR. Japan lose money for military equipment. Patriot that is very expensive. So event in NK single reason for lose money for Patriot. In NK is 20 milliion people, in Japan 120 million people. So NK was not attack and was not declare war to Japan. Japanese politics is not worried about peace with NK, don't solve history problems but lose money for Patriot. So may be is not good. Also Japanese politics don't worried about own mistake for standard of atomic electro stations for ecology safe. Japanese politics can't understand that sometimes own mistake is more terrible than NK.

Unless the missile will impact within Japan, there is no reason for Japan to shoot it down. Shooting down the North's missile is a hostile act. If the Americans are so gun ho to start a war let them do it from one of their ships. Let them make the hostile move. The UN resolution did not give anyone authority to shoot down a North Korean rocket test. Again unless it will impact within Japan, Japan should do nothing. Let the Americans and or the South do their own work.

NK wants to practice launching nukes and Japan wants to practice shooting them down. Sounds reasonable. I hope they hit it but, even if they miss, the data will be invaluable.

Ordered to destroy? More like, ordered to try and destroy! Good luck with that!

Can we have a JT poll to decide its fate as it enters japanese airspace? We would get a quicker reaction doing that then leaving it up to Noda and co.

We don't have TV, but everywhere I go where there is one, this topic seems to be on air. How they find so much to talk about it I don't know. But the thought struck me. Coming so soon after all the fuss about US bases in Okinawa, is this North Korean rocket thing a set up to "prove" to us how dangerous the environment is and how much we NEED the US military to protect us?

Stranger things have happened!

nandakandamanda: "DPRK shot a missile right over Japan once before in 2009 and Japan was shown to have been weak internationally."

They were shown to be weak because, as usual, they panicked and even announced it had been launched a day before it actually happened! If they had been less paranoid and said something instead like, "we know what NK is doing and we are confident their "missile" will not hit our lands. If it appears it will, we are ready." But nope.

I sure as heck hope they DON'T find it 'necessary', and hope of course the rocket is no threat to the land and doesn't veer over Japanese airspace. As many nations claim this is a missile test under the guise of a rocket launch, so too would Japan firing an interceptor merely be a test of the technology it's purchased, under the guise of 'protection'. Thus, I'm afraid, the idea of 'necessity' may be a little skewed. For if Japan fires at the rocket, whether they miss or succeed in hitting it, NK has been clever in saying the launch was in honor of "Dear Leader", and as such I've no doubt they would consider it an act of war. They need to think VERY carefully before trying to intercept, and they had better make sure it actually poses a threat before doing so. They'll be no stepping back once they fire.

The exact same can be easily applied to NK, but when have those guys ever listened to reason?

The "if necessary" clause is there because it is highly likely that they would miss. They can then just claim "it wasn't necessary" to shoot it down.

A bit more strategic ambiguity would be helpful, such as: "Gov't orders SDF to destroy N Korean rocket 'if they feel like it'"

ah why didn't truman let macarthur bomb NK forward to the stone age back during the war.

2 weeks away and the media frenzy begins,the worlds in an economic mess, record numbers of unemployed, social welfare,education,health and pensions all under attack, most caused by bumbling politicians past and present. They need something to distract the public from the doom and gloom. So thanks to the North Korean they give them something to panic over. Plus this week the republicans are attacking President Obama about some remark made to the Russians, The republicans still think there is a cold war on. Having friendly dialogue with Russia and China makes common sense. Political England well thats turning into a farce.The Italians are blaming the French and Germans for the present turmoil in the EU,albeit past decisions they made. So bumbling politicians need to take a powder,chill out and start reality thinking, and very hard about any future decisions they make, that might hurt the rest of us who share this planet. Too many people are already suffering because of their(politicians)decisions.

No big deal. Probably one of those water jet pump toy rockets.

North Korea is an hostile entity (the country is recognized neither by South Korea). Japan doesn't have diplomatic relationships with North Korea. Moreover, NK did not respect the usual international process for missile test launch (sharing limited technical information with allies and international organizations and lied about the missiles being "communication satellites"). Last and not least, North Korea is under UN sanctions and is not allowed to proceed to ballistic tests. These are good reasons for Japan (and other countries) to condemn this launch and threaten to destroy the rocket if it reaches their sovereign territory.

My vote for the launch date is April 15.... Sunday in Korea and Japan.

S Korea has already made such an authorization, that if any section of the rocket goes off course then they have the right to shoot it down. Japan is simply following the same line.

DPRK shot a missile right over Japan once before in 2009 and Japan was shown to have been weak internationally. They will not be wanting to suffer the same embarrassment again. NK understands this so they have chosen a southern trajectory, but no-one near the projected flight path will be happy.

People don't forget that sitting in the background is the US and it's capabilities sitting on Okinawa. The launch, and tracking of any missile will most certainly be picked up by the US as well. Don't think for a moment that they won't share that information with Japan.

As I mentioned in a different post on Kadena is Cobra Ball, a specially equipped airplane that can track missiles. I'll bet any money that during the launch window it will be up and flying around southern Japan.

He huffs, he puffs, then ....? It will never happen. This kind of empty threats must stop. Every country knows this, and the fact that japan hides behind the USA protection makes it even worse.

Of course I forgot to mention that if Japan changed its constitutions - Article 9 - this would be a different matter.

If Japan cared about their constitution, they wouldn't have anti-missile units, either.

ARTICLE 9. Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes. (2) To accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.

Perhaps a little un-related but does Tokyo have, for example, have any capacity for air-raid sirens or so on?

Japan needs the US to prevent NK from doing anything stupid.

Of course I forgot to mention that if Japan changed its constitutions - Article 9 - this would be a different matter.

While I was back in Australia recently, the front page of a tabloid read, "NORTH KOREAN MISSILES COULD HEAD TO AUSTRALIA". That was obvious scaremongering but this could actually be serious.

Might be a sign of the new Kim wanting to flex his muscles a bit. I know that there have been several incidents and crimes over the years with US marines such as terrible rapes and I know that the Okinawan people don't like all the noise caused by the military jets and planes but this is one good reason why they should let the Americans stay. If only they let the American military offenders face local trial here in Japan, I think that would go towards improving Amercian-Japanese relations even further.

Japan needs the US to prevent NK from doing anything stupid. If China smelled an attack, I wouldn't be surprised if they just let it happen.

It will be interesting both way, whether Japan can shoot down NK Rocket or fail to do so. Few more headlines and it will disappear like Iran Nuclear issue.

surface-to-air interceptors would be deployed on the southern island chain of Okinawa, over which Tokyo believes the projectile may pass, and in central Tokyo.

Oh yes, the ones deployed in central Tokyo will be especially helpful.

"If necessary." Who is going to determine that? The guy with his finger on the button? A commanding officer sitting in Tokyo or Okinawa? Two commanding officers?

According to this map: http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/2012/03/North%20Korea%20Missile%20Path.jpg it comes closest to Okinawa but much closer to the Philippines or, maybe, Taiwan.

Did Defense Minister Voltaire Gazmin of the Philippines issue a similar order or does he have more intelligence?

Violating Japanese airspace is more than enough of a threat already, especially considering how NK has been rattling their sabers about nuclear weapons up till now. A nuclear weapon is commonly detonated as an air burst for maximum efficiency, so Japan needs to get far more serious about protecting their territories. ASDF should keep their finger on the button, and the second that missile crosses into Japanese territorial waters, it should be blown out of the sky.

How how vague, "if necessarily" ... besides the rocket headed straight to Tokyo, what warrants shooting it down? Flying over Japan's aerospace? A boosting falling into a Japanese ocean?

I honestly don't see why people are so up in arms at the prospect of Japan doing this. NK missile tests have a history of being unreliable, and not delivering any actual space hardware into orbit, so their methods and objectives are both highly questionable. If something malfunctioned and that missile landed on populated land in Japan, imagine the justified domestic outrage against the government for not taking the necessary precautions, not to mention the International incredulity. Countries simply don't allow others to fire missiles over their territory. The people of Western Japan deserve the same level of protection as those living in Tokyo, end of story.

“I issued a destroy order,” Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka told reporters in Tokyo, saying he had received the green light to shoot it down “if necessary.”

The question is, can Japan act that fast? My guess is that the rocket will already have gone into orbit, or touched down somewhere before Japan notices it coming. Just like the other taepodons.

How how vague, "if necessarily" ... besides the rocket headed straight to Tokyo, what warrants shooting it down? Flying over Japan's aerospace? A boosting falling into a Japanese ocean?

Still hard to believe NK gets away with this activity. I can imagine that if a nation shot a rocket anywhere near US airspace, that place would be bombed back into the stone ages.