Japan Prepares to Shoot Down North Korea Satellite If It Falls on Japan

The Japanese flag flies in a park in Osaka, Japan, on Oct. 30, 2018. (Thomas White/Reuters)

TOKYO—Japan’s Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada on Saturday ordered the country’s military to prepare to shoot down a North Korean spy satellite should it fall within Japan’s territory.

Hamada ordered the Self-Defense Forces to make necessary preparations as he could potentially “order the destruction of ballistic missiles,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Japan’s Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada attends a photo session with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other cabinet ministers at Kishida’s residence in Tokyo, Japan, on Aug. 10, 2022. (Issei Kato/Pool/Reuters)

Preparations included making arrangements to deploy troops to the southern prefecture of Okinawa to “minimise damage should a ballistic missile fall.”

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said preparations for the planned launch of the country’s first spy satellite should proceed to counter perceived threats from the United States and South Korea, state media reported on Wednesday.