Japan's spy in the sky

[thomas]

Japan plans to launch two spy satellites. "Just checking the weather", lol.

Look up, Mr Kim: Japan's spy in the sky

The Japanese government recently announced it will launch two "information gathering" satellites in March on a mainstay H-2A rocket. The spy satellites will be able to fly at an altitude of more than 20 kilometers, thereby not violating other countries' territorial airspace and making it impossible for ground-to-air missiles to shoot them down. [...]

Areas subject to surveillance are not only North Korea but also China, Russia and other "suspicious" states, according to the Japanese government. China, as usual, suspects this is yet another step toward Japanese militarism and is not exactly keen on Japan counting the growing number of Chinese missiles aimed at Taiwan. "Just checking on the weather" goes the official line coming from Tokyo assuring Beijing that China is not on Japan's list of regional evil-doers.

=> http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Japan/EA15Dh01.html