Japan's Position on the Missile Defense Plan

What is Japan's position on the Missile Defense of the United States?

The Japanese Government's perspective on the issue of MD is outlined below. The following points are being reiterated by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Minister for Foreign Affairs Makiko Tanaka on various occasions.

1) The Government of Japan (GOJ) welcomes President Bush's reference to further cuts in nuclear weapons in his recent speech.

2) The GOJ shares the recognition with the US that the proliferation of ballistic missiles is causing serious threat to our security.

3) The GOJ expresses the understanding that the US is considering the missile defense program while making various diplomatic efforts to address the proliferation of ballistic missiles.

4) Japan and the US are conducting cooperative research on ballistic missile defense technologies. As such bilateral cooperation is important for the security of Japan, we will continue to cooperate on this research.

5) GOJ hopes that the missile defense issue will be dealt with in a manner conducive to the improvement of international security environment, including in the areas of arms control and disarmament, and welcomes the United States' renewed announcement of conducting close consultation on this issue with allies, and such other interested states as Russia and China.