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Kyodo

Japan is considering issuing its Self-Defence Forces a standing order to shoot down any projectile heading toward its territory, amid concerns of a heightening threat from North Korea’s missile programme, a Japanese government source said on Friday.
The government has so far issued intercept orders on a case-by-case basis when signs of launch preparations by North Korea have been detected.
The move comes after Japanese and South Korean authorities said North Korea launched a ballistic missile Wednesday that fell near Japanese territorial waters in the Sea of Japan (East Sea).
‘An outrageous act’: North Korea fires missile into Japan waters for first time
The proposal to make the SDF ready to intercept projectiles at any time reflects concerns that the use of mobile launch pads could make North Korean missile launch preparations difficult to detect in advance, the source said.

The SDF may find executing such an order challenging, with current personnel and equipment levels thought insufficient to maintain a constant state of readiness.
Executing past orders has involved the Maritime Self-Defence Force deploying its Aegis destroyers equipped with Standard Missile-3 interceptors at sea and the Air Self-Defence Force installing batteries of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 surface-to-air guided interceptors on the Defence Ministry’s premises in central Tokyo and in surrounding areas.
No such order was issued ahead of Wednesday’s missile launch, the sources said. The warhead component of what is estimated to have been a medium-range Rodong missile, thought capable of reaching Japan with its estimated range of up to 1,300km, fell into the exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan (East Sea) for the first time.
Japan to upgrade defence system for Olympics as North Korean missile threat grows
According to the source, North Korea is thought to have used mobile launchers, resulting in the launch preparations going undetected.
Newly appointed Defence Minister Tomomi Inada, who would be tasked with issuing the order to the SDF, refrained on Friday from going into detail on potential responses to the missile threat.
“We’re constantly considering improvements to our vigilance and surveillance arrangements,” she said at a press conference.
The ministry does not make public the issuing or cancellation of the intercept orders, which under the SDF law is given in response to either a recognised threat that a projectile could reach Japanese territory or an unspecified threat in volatile circumstances that warrant preparations.
The first known intercept order was given in 2009, when North Korea carried out a missile launch ostensibly to put a satellite into Earth’s orbit.


Japan eyes open-ended intercept order over North Korea missiles

Japan’s new Defence Minister Tomomi Inada delivers a speech at the Defence Ministry in Tokyo, August 4, 2016. Photo: AFP

Japan's new defence minister Tomomi Inada talks to reporters at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's official residence in Tokyo, Japan, August 3, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

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