Japan will permanently install Patriot PAC-3 air defence missile system Tokyo headquarters 1905132

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Defence & Security News - Japan
 
 
Sunday, May 19, 2013 11:16 AM
 
Japan will permanently install Patriot PAC-3 air defence missile system at its Tokyo headquarters.
Kyodo news says the Japanese defense ministry is considering permanently deploying Patriot surface-to-air defense missile interceptors at its Tokyo headquarters. The announcement came a day before the DPRK launched three short-range missiles.
     
The Japanese government said it will permanently install a missile defense system in the country's southernmost prefecture Okinawa to cope with threats from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), according to local media.
A Japanese soldier stands guard before Japan's Air Self-Defense Forces' Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) guided-missile units at the Defense Ministry headquarters in central Tokyo, Japan.
     

The Japanese government sources revealed that it aims to strengthen the defense system in the capital. Last month, Japan said it was deploying Patriot missile interceptors around Tokyo as a precaution against the DPRK’s nuclear threats. Other key military bases on the Japanese mainland are also taking similar precautionary measures.

In April 2013, the Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera of the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) has take the decision to deploy the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) air defence missile interceptors at two SDF bases in Okinawa.

The SDF used to temporarily install the PAC-3s in the island prefecture to respond to the DPRK's rocket or missile launches.

The government planned to carry out the permanent deployment by fiscal 2014 but it was brought forward due to the DPRK's recent announcement that it would launch preemptive attack against the United States, including U.S. bases in Japan that are mostly located in Okinawa.