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| Tokyo launches new spy satellite | Tokyo launches new spy satellite |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| Japan has launched its fourth spy satellite, which will give it the capability to monitor any location around the globe. | Japan has launched its fourth spy satellite, which will give it the capability to monitor any location around the globe. |
| An H-2A rocket carrying the satellite lifted off from a base in southern Japan at 0441 GMT, officials said. | An H-2A rocket carrying the satellite lifted off from a base in southern Japan at 0441 GMT, officials said. |
| Tokyo began launching spy satellites in 2003, after North Korea fired a missile over Japan's main island in 1998. | Tokyo began launching spy satellites in 2003, after North Korea fired a missile over Japan's main island in 1998. |
| Japan sees itself as one of the top targets of the Communist state, which last year tested a nuclear bomb. | Japan sees itself as one of the top targets of the Communist state, which last year tested a nuclear bomb. |
| Satoki Kurokawa, a spokesman for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa), said the lift-off from the remote base was a success. | |
| Once the satellite is in orbit, Tokyo will be able to spy on any location in the world, officials say. | Once the satellite is in orbit, Tokyo will be able to spy on any location in the world, officials say. |
| The rocket also carried an experimental optical satellite that Tokyo hopes to use in the future to improve the quality of satellite images. | The rocket also carried an experimental optical satellite that Tokyo hopes to use in the future to improve the quality of satellite images. |
| Before the launch, Japan already had three spy satellites in orbit. Two others were lost when a rocket failed in November 2003. | Before the launch, Japan already had three spy satellites in orbit. Two others were lost when a rocket failed in November 2003. |
| The launch also came a month after China destroyed its old weather satellite using a ground-based medium-range ballistic missile. |