Japan's plan to deploy reconnaissance satellites to monitor military movements in East Asia will get off the ground in November, when the Cabinet Satellite Information Center starts up the system's nerve center in Tokyo.
The government decided to launch its own intelligence-gathering satellites after North Korea fired a Taepodong ballistic missile over Japan in 1998.
Launching its own satellites has been a long-cherished idea for Japan, especially among defense-conscious lawmakers, but the move has raised questions among U.S. defense officials about Japan's defense policy.