By: Kiyoshi Takenaka and Nobuhiro Kubo
TOKYO — Japan's ruling party on Thursday urged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government to consider acquiring the capability to hit enemy bases and to beef up missile defense, as North Korea defies U.N. sanctions with its nuclear and missile development.
"North Korea's provocations have reached a level where our country can by no means overlook them. ... We cannot afford to lose any time to bolster our ballistic missile defense," said a Liberal Democratic Party proposal submitted to Abe.
Japan has so far avoided taking the controversial and costly step of acquiring bombers or weapons such as cruise missiles with enough range to strike other countries, relying instead on its U.S. ally to take the fight to its enemies.
But the growing threat posed by Pyongyang, including a simultaneous launch of four rockets earlier this month, is adding weight to an argument that aiming for the archer rather than his arrows is a more effective defense.
"Our assessment is that threat from North Korea has advanced to a new stage, and this assessment is shared by the United States," Abe said at a ceremony where the proposal was submitted. "We intend to grasp today's proposal firmly."
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