InsideJapan News Network

The Japanese military has successfully shot down a dummy missile during testing of a possible new defence shield.

Japan's air force took part in the ground-to-air testing in the US, becoming only the second country to test the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptor.

A defence ministry spokesman said: "The success of the test was significant as it proved that Japan's missile defence system will function effectively."

The system was controversially tried out at the White Sands range in New Mexico where the US tested the atomic bomb before dropping it on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

Last December, Japan joined up with the US for a missile testing exercise in which a Japanese destroyer successfully shot down a mock missile over the Pacific, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Since 1998, Tokyo has been placing greater emphasis on its missile defence strategy after North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan and into Pacific Ocean.