Japan scraps plan to deploy two Aegis Ashore missile systems
(VOVWORLD) - Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono said on Thursday that the government has decided to scrap a plan to deploy land-based Aegis Ashore missile defense systems, believed to defend Japan against missile and nuclear weapon threats from North Korea.
 The Aegis Ashore missile system on Hawaii on January 10, 2018. (Photo: Kyodo/VNA) |
The decision was made at a National Security Council meeting at which Kono officially told Japan's main governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) about retracting the plan to deploy the Aegis Ashore missile systems in Yamaguchi and Akita prefectures.
The missile defense system designed by the US is expected to be operational in 2025.