Japan studies plan to shoot down hijacked planes

For students of history, or those old enough to remember, the thought of Japan's shooting down any aircraft has to be, at least, disconcerting.

To be fair the headline is slightly misleading because only unnamed sources are claiming this plan is in the works.

The Defense Minister won't go on record with this although he admits all things must be considered.

Why do I detect the fucking "everything is on the table ploy"?

Japan is studying a contingency plan that would allow its air force to shoot down hijacked commercial aircraft during the Group of Eight summit in July, government sources said on Thursday.

Japanese officials are working on detailed plans to protect leaders of the G8 industrial nations, which are due to meet on the northern island of Hokkaido on July 7-9, the sources said.

Under one of the plans being considered, F-15 jet fighters from Japan's air force would scramble to force hijacked aircraft to land at a nearby airport.

"But if that attempt fails and the plane is thought to be heading towards the G8 site to attack the summit, we might have to shoot it down," one of the sources said. "That would be the worst-case scenario we are considering."

Again, to be fair, the Japanese will have armed police officers on all commercial flights as well as posting a "no fly zone" so the G8 should be extremely secure.

Via Reuters.