AP, TOKYO: Japan and the United States on Friday agreed to boost co-operation in their missile defence programs – an important first step in carrying out new defence guidelines that ease Tokyo's strict postwar pacifism.
Japan's Defence Chief Yoshinori Ono and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Howard Baker penned a memorandum of understanding that allows the two countries to share information on ballistic missile defence systems and co-operate in related projects, a Defence Agency spokesman said on condition of anonymity.
Under the agreement, the allies will set up a high-level committee to supervise the missile defence alliance, the agency said in a statement. It didn't give further details.
Last week, Japan approved new defence guidelines which include the relaxation of an arms-export ban to facilitate a missile security program it's currently researching with Washington.
“I'm convinced that the missile defence research and development . . . will result in the strengthening of peace and stability,” Baker said. “This is the foundation of growth and prosperity for both of our nations.”
Ono agreed and said, “I hope the ties between Japan and the United States will be further strengthened by the signing of the memorandum.”
Japan has maintained the arms export ban since 1976 in deference to its pacifist constitution, unchanged since it was written by U.S. occupation forces after the Second World War. The constitution renounces war and the use of force in settling international disputes.
However, Japan approved a plan to introduce a ballistic missile defence system in December 2003, spurred by missile tests from North Korea.
In the new defence guidelines, the government identified North Korea's nuclear weapons ambitions and China's modernization of its huge military as key threats to Japan.
The new guidelines also came amid Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's efforts in pushing a more high-profile role for Japan's military and closer co-operation with Washington, which maintains 50,000 troops in Japan under a security treaty.
