The
White Paper on national defense, an annual revision of
the country's basic defense program, is expected to be
adopted by the end of 2010 to reflect the recent crisis
on the Korean peninsula.
Patriot
missiles were previously deployed only at three air bases
in Japan but in the near future additional systems will
be placed on all major Japanese islands, the draft document
says.
North
Korea became one of Tokyo's biggest security worries after
it test-fired a long-range ballistic missile over Japan
in 1998, prompting Tokyo to begin researching missile
defense.
Japan's
determination to boost its missile defenses was strengthened
after Pyongyang conducted a series of ballistic missile
tests in July 2006, and an underground nuclear test explosion
three months later.
Japanese
military is particularly concerned about N. Korean medium-range
ballistic missiles with the flight range of 1,300 kilometers.
Japan
is one of the 12 nations that have selected the combat-proven
Patriot system as a key component of their air and missile
defense program.
