Japan's defence minister could soon be given the power to shoot down incoming missiles without first seeking permission from the cabinet. The draft bill was approved by the cabinet and is expected to go before parliament later this week. | Don't laugh, they're serious. You have to get permission from higher authority before you do anything in Japan. It took them about a full day of talking before anybody rolled help to Kobe after the earthquake. |
Correspondents say there are concerns that the present system would waste time in the event of an attack. | "INCOMING!" "Tell the missle to wait, we have to convene a meeting to decide on a response" |
A major defence review is under way in Japan, amid concern about the nuclear ambitions of its neighbour North Korea. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said the defence chief could only give the order to launch missiles if the country was under attack. Currently, permission is needed from parliament. "Lately, there are more countries equipped with missiles. We need to deal with the situation immediately if a missile were to be launched at Japan," Mr Hosoda told a news conference. |