日本警告将击落朝鲜发射的火箭

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背景：美联社13日报道说，日本周五对朝鲜即将发射卫星的计划表示严正抗议，称如果朝鲜火箭飞越日本，日方会将其击落。

日本防卫大臣浜田靖一昨日在参议院预算委员会的会议上表示，即使朝鲜发射的是人造卫星，日本也准备将其击落。在12日的会议上，浜田靖一引用日本《自卫队法第82条》的有关内容宣称，即使朝鲜发射的是人造卫星，一旦发现将飞越日本列岛，将有权利将其击落。

据日本共同社报道，朝鲜这次计划发射卫星的火箭，飞越日本列岛的可能性很大。迄今为止，日本一直认为朝鲜即将发射的是远程导弹，并多次表示要使用反导导弹系统将其击落

Well, pretty understandably very, very tense. The Japanese made it very clear with some angry statements today that they certainly weren't gonna have this. The Japanese prime minister strongly protested against the launch and demanded it be cancelled. And for a very good reason, Chris, because this rocket will fly directly over Japan, and the first stage booster is due to drop off from the missile and land in waters only 75 miles from the coast of Japan, so there is grave concern that something could go wrong. The last rocket exploded 40 seconds into its flight, um, so there is a real concern here. The maritime and aviation authorities throughout the region have been alerted to the second danger spot where the second booster will land in somewhere in the Pacific between Japan and Hawaii. The North Korean authorities have now actually announced the general date of the launch is between April 2nd and April 8th, and of course by doing that, it just ratchets up the tension as the countdown clock ticks.

And to the Japanese fear there is potentially something more sinister than just a communication satellite here?

I don't think they believe it's a communication satellite and the America does, either. it doesn't really matter if it is or isn't. UN Resolution 1718 which was imposed the last time North Korea launched this missile, uh, strictly says that there should be no ballistic missile testing by North Korea, so whether it is, whether how it's got a satellite on the end of the node, it doesn't really matter, it is still testing a long-range ballistic missile which America is only too well aware has got the range in further production to reach not only Alaska but also Hawaii.

I know the Americans have been advising, er, the Japanese military, but do they have the hardware to shoot down a missile? 

The Americans certainly do and the Japanese do, too. I don't think the Americans are gonna get involved in this, this missile poses no threat to America at the moment, and by shooting it down which they could easily do, it would only increase the tension, and don't forget that North Korea has said in effect that anyone, any interference in this missile launch would be tantamount to a declaration of war.

Glossary

 booster [countable]: a rocket that is used to provide extra power for a spacecraft to leave the Earth

grave: grave problems, situations, or worries are very great or bad

alert  [transitive]: to make someone realize something important or dangerous; alert somebody to something

danger spot: danger zone (=an area where it is dangerous to go)

ratchet up [phrasal verb]: to increase something by a small amount, especially after a series of increases, or to increase in this way

countdown [countable usually singular]: the period of time before something happens, such as a spacecraft being launched, when someone counts backwards until the event happens

sinister: making you feel that something evil, dangerous, or illegal is happening or will happen

ballistic missile [countable]: a powerful weapon that can travel extremely long distances, and that flies very high up into the sky and then back down to earth where it explodes

node  [countable]:a centering point of component parts

hardware [uncountable]: the machinery and equipment that is needed to do something

in effect: used when you are describing what you see as the real facts of a situation

be tantamount to something: if an action, suggestion, plan etc is tantamount to something bad, it has the same effect or is almost as bad