[A-List] Japan To Enter Race To Militarize Space

["tony black" <tal@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message -----
From: Rick Rozoff
To: Stop NATO
Sent: Monday, January 23, 2006 10:00 PM
Subject: [stopnato] Japan To Enter Race To Militarize Space


http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20060124b5.htm


Japan Times
January 24, 2006


LDP to study boosting defense role in space quest, spy
satellite abilities


The ruling Liberal Democratic Party will study whether
to relax restrictions on using spinoffs from space
development efforts for purposes of defense.

The LDP is also expected to explore ways for the
Defense Agency to develop and operate spy satellites
that produce higher-resolution images, party sources
said.

The party envisions recommending to the government as
early as August that a 1969 Diet resolution limiting
Japan's space development to peaceful purposes be
reassessed and that government policy be changed to
allow defense use, they said.

The LDP will form a subcommittee to begin discussing
the issue this month under the party's special
committee on space development, they said.

The subcommittee is expected to be headed by Takeo
Kawamura, a former technology minister and still a
House of Representatives member of the LDP, they said.

The LDP believes the change would reinforce the
Self-Defense Forces' ability to react quickly to a
missile attack or other defense emergencies and
strengthen the confidentiality of defense
intelligence, according to the sources.

The government in 1985 laid down a policy that SDF
satellites' capabilities not exceed those of
private-sector ones.

In addition, the Defense Agency is not allowed to
directly have a hand in space development.

Currently, Japan's reconnaissance satellites, mainly
for monitoring missile and other military activities
in North Korea, are operated by the Cabinet satellite
intelligence center, from which the Defense Agency
receives data.

The LDP is expected to recommend that the Diet adopt
another resolution allowing defense use of space
development, the sources said.



__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com



YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS

Visit your group "stopnato" on the web.

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
stopnato-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.