No, not Star Wars of the George Lucas variety. I’m talking about a satellite defense program. Or at least the possibility of one. You see, the Japanese parliament has officially repealed a 1969 ban on military use of space. It was catapulted through with a 221-14 vote, backed by the LDP, New Komeito, and the DPJ.
The law, one of several moves in recent years by Japan to give greater freedom to its armed forces, allows the military to develop more advanced spy satellites for intelligence gathering and missile defense.
However, the law says that the space programs will have to be limited to defense only as defined in the nation’s pacifist constitution. The U.S.-drafted 1947 constitution prohibits Japan from offensive warfare.
AP via Breitbart
The law changes Japan’s policy of space use to “nonaggression” from “nonmilitary” and allows the government to station equipment in space compatible with the defense-oriented policy, experts and government officials said.
The equipment includes early warning satellites that can detect signs of a ballistic missile launch and a spy satellite that can view objects as small as 15 centimeters, they said.
AP via Breitbart
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