The Yomiuri Shimbun
The Defense Ministry will next month conduct Patriot missile deployment exercises at about 10 locations in Tokyo, including the Shinjuku Gyoen national garden and the Self-Defense Forces' Camp Ichigaya adjacent to the ministry, to test how the capital could be defended from a ballistic missile attack, sources said Saturday.
The exercises are meant to determine the best locations for deploying SDF missile defense units in an emergency, according to the sources.
The ministry will inspect the environment of those locations for operating the precision weapon, including whether there are any obstacles to communications in the surrounding areas, the sources said.
The Patriot Advanced Capacity-3 (PAC-3) system was deployed for the first time in the country in March at Iruma Air Base of the Air Self-Defense Force in Saitama Prefecture.
However, the range of the interceptor missile is only 15 to 20 kilometers. The Iruma base is about 40 kilometers away from central Tokyo, making it impossible for the system to intercept ballistic missiles aimed at the heart of the capital, which includes the political and bureaucratic center of Kasumigaseki, where the Prime Minister's Office and the Diet Building are located, in addition to the nearby Imperial Palace.
For this reason, the government needs to issue an order to mobilize the SDF as soon as it receives information or signs that a hostile country is preparing to launch ballistic missiles. PAC-3 equipment would then be moved into the center of Tokyo.
The redeployment exercise will start at state-administered facilities, including Shinjuku Gyoen, the Nerima station of the Ground Self-Defense Force's 1st Division in Nerima Ward and the Ichigaya camp in Shinjuku Ward. The Environment Ministry is in charge of the Shinjuku Gyoen national garden. All the locations are considered candidate sites for deploying the PAC-3 system by the Defense Ministry.
The ministry also plans to conduct the exercise at Tokyo metropolitan government-administered sites such as Harumi Wharf Park in Chuo Ward and Odaiba Seaside Park in Minato Ward, the sources said.
During the exercise, the main PAC-3 equipment will be moved from Iruma Air Base into central Tokyo. The SDF also will check whether some skyscrapers could be obstacles to Patriot missiles and inspect the communications environment for the fire control system, such as the radar used to track ballistic missiles.
Japan's missile defense is a two-step system comprising sea-to-air and ground-to-air interceptors. Aegis-equipped destroyers carry Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) interceptors. If these fail, ground-based PAC-3 interceptors are then launched. The SM-3-equipped destroyer Kongo of the Maritime Self-Defense Force is set to conduct its first live-weapons exercise off Hawaii in December.
The Defense Ministry plans to conduct similar exercises in the Hanshin, Chukyo and northern Kyushu regions from next fiscal year, the sources said.
(Nov. 25, 2007)
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