The Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday approved the installation of two land-based Aegis Ashore missile defense systems to defend against North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats, highlighted by a test of what appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile last month.
The approval will allow the Defense Ministry to buy two Aegis Ashore systems to add to Japan's current two-step missile defense system consisting of Patriot batteries and Aegis-equipped destroyers.
Defense Ministry officials said the government plans to deploy the systems in two places, by 2023 at the earliest, but that the locations are yet to be decided. The cost of each system could be more than ¥100 billion, they said.
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