TOKYO -- Recent North Korean rocket tests have raised the possibility that Japan's current missile defenses may be rendered ineffective, forcing policymakers here to consider new options -- including a constellation of small tracking satellites and the ability to attack the missile launch itself in enemy territory.
North Korea test-fired a projectile toward the Sea of Japan on Sept. 28, later identifying it as the Hwasong-8 -- a hypersonic missile whose speed and complex trajectory would make it almost impossible for a missile shield to shoot down.
