Prime Minister Taro Aso on Friday condemned North Korea's plan to send up a rocket that will cross Japan, but stopped short of calling on the United Nations to impose further sanctions on the country.
During a group interview held at the prime minister's office in Nagata-cho, Aso slammed Pyongyang's plan to launch what the North claims is a rocket carrying a communications satellite. The second stage of the rocket is expected to fall into the Pacific Ocean after crossing Japan.
Because of the similarity of the technology behind them, Japan considers the launch of a satellite-carrying rocket no less of a threat than an intercontinental ballistic missile.