Japan's newly appointed defence minister on Monday ordered the nation's military to be ready to destroy any missiles fired by North Korea that threaten the country, local media reported.
Tomomi Inada issued the order, public broadcaster NHK said, without mentioning any indication that Pyongyang is preparing to launch such a missile.
Last week Prime Minister Shinzo Abe picked Inada, a close confidante with staunchly nationalist views, as the new defence minister.
NHK said Inada is expected to renew the readiness order every three months so that Tokyo can seamlessly maintain a state of alert.
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