The Democratic People's Republic of Korea set the cat among the pigeons when it announced last month it will launch a Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite in mid-April to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of former leader Kim Il-sung.

The Republic of Korea has said it will track and intercept the rocket, and Japan has deployed missiles to shoot down the rocket if it strays into Japan's airspace.

Japan hopes to use the DPRK's satellite launch to examine its missile defense capabilities under simulated conditions. But its high-profile response to the launch - deploying seven ground-based Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles on Okinawa, Ishigaki and other areas and stationing three destroyers with Aegis combat systems and Standard Missile-3 interceptors in the Sea of Japan and in waters around Okinawa - underscores the transition of its exclusively defense-oriented policy to a proactive policy aimed at containing China and reinforcing its hold on islands it seized from China.