Pacifist Japan buys missiles to ‘deal with’ North Korea

JAPAN is to arm itself with longrange missiles after 70 years of pacifism over the increased threat from North Korea.

It will buy American weapons so it can ‘deal with opponents’, defence minister Itsunori Onodera said.

Japan’s constitution was changed to make it a pacifist country in 1947 following its role in the Second World War.

This prevents it having a military, although it does have a ‘defence force’ of around 150,000 personnel.

Japan will buy long-range anti-ship missiles and air-tosurface, medium-range Cruise missiles capable of striking North Korea.

They will be the longest-range munitions of a country that has renounced the right to wage war. Japan’s missile force had been limited to anti-aircraft and anti-ship weapons with a range of less than 190 miles.

The new rockets will have a range of nearly 600 miles.

North Korea tested a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile last week that climbed to an altitude of more than 2,400 miles before crashing into the sea inside Japanese territorial waters.