With Aegis destroyers and Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles deployed and standing by, Japan's military appears ready to shoot down any debris from North Korea's rocket — or even the rocket itself — should it threaten the country this week.
But some experts say that the probability of rocket parts falling on Japanese territory is extremely low, and the chance of the missile batteries detecting and destroying them is even lower.
"The rocket's proposed trajectory does not pose any risk to Japan if all goes as planned," and no interception will probably be necessary, Motoaki Kamiura, a military analyst and author of several books on the Self-Defense Forces, told The Japan Times in a recent interview.