Japan conducts first test in Tokyo of ballistic missile shield

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Japan deployed a ballistic missile unit in Tokyo to test emergency launch sites that will make up the core of the defenses for the capital if it falls under attack, defense officials said Tuesday. The Defense Ministry conducted the tests with PAC-3 Patriot interceptors at its Ichigaya base and at the Shinjuku Gyoen National garden in central Tokyo. The sites are among about a dozen that have been selected in Tokyo, a ministry spokesman said on condition of anonymity, citing internal policy. The tests come as Japan and the US accelerate their joint missile defense program following North Korea's missile and nuclear tests in 2006