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Agencies

Japan’s Cabinet has approved a plan to purchase a set of costly land-based US missile combat systems to step up the country’s defence capability amid escalating threats from North Korea.
Tuesday’s approval will allow the Defence Ministry to buy two Aegis Ashore systems to add to Japan’s current two-step missile defence consisting of Patriot batteries and Aegis-equipped destroyers.
The purchase would add to growing defence costs as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government pushes to allow Japan’s military a greater international role and boost its missile combat capability.
Defence officials say two Aegis Ashore units can cover Japan entirely and could cost around 200 billion yen (US$1.8 billion), though they have not released exact figures.
The deployment is planned for 2023.
Last month, North Korea test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that plunged into the waters of Japan’s exclusive economic zone.




“North Korea’s nuclear and missile development has entered a new stage of threat that is more serious and imminent to our country’s security,” the government said as it endorsed the introduction of Aegis Ashore at a cabinet meeting.
Japan needs to drastically improve its missile defence, Tokyo added.
Aegis Ashore is a land-based version of the Aegis combat system developed for warships, a collection of radars, computers and missiles. The Defence Ministry also studied another US anti-missile system, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD), but chose Aegis Ashore due to its cost-effectiveness and other factors, officials said.
Watch: how the Aegis Ashore system works


The Ground Self-Defence Force will operate the Aegis Ashore, to be equipped with newly developed SM-3 Block 2A interceptors with enhanced defensive coverage and accuracy compared with the SM-3.
The government plans to start selecting areas for the facilities, but the deployment could trigger concern among residents living nearby, as the system’s radars emit strong radio waves.
Japan is reportedly planning a record US$46 billion defence budget for the next financial year in the face of the North Korean threat.
Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said this month the country also plans to purchase long-range cruise missiles from US firms with a range of some 900 kilometres.
The move would be controversial as Japan’s pacifist constitution bans the use of force as a means of settling international disputes.
Associated Press, Kyodo, Agence France-Presse


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Japan

Japan to buy Aegis Ashore defence system to counter North Korea missile threats

The Missile Defence Agency conducts the first intercept flight test of a land-based Aegis Ballistic Missile Defence weapon system from the Aegis Ashore Missile Defence Test Complex in Kauai, Hawaii in 2015. File photo: Reuters

Japan mulling new missile interceptor deployment to guard against North Korea

Japanese Air Self-Defence Force shows the training to utilise the PAC-3 surface to air interceptors at the US Yokota Air Base in Fussa. Japan is studying deploying a new land-based Aegis missile defence system. Photo: AP

(FILES): This file photo released by the US Navy on December 11, 2003 shows a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) being launched December 11, 2003 from the Aegis cruiser USS Lake Erie as part of the Missile Defense Agency's latest Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) test to defeat a medium range ballistic missile threat. The US Defense Department said late February 20, 2008 it had successfully used a ship-board missile to shoot down an out-of-control spy satellite before it plummeted to Earth. "At approximately 10:26 pm today (0326 GMT Thursday), a US Navy Aegis warship, the USS Lake Erie, fired a single modified tactical standard missile 3, hitting the satellite approximately 247 kilometers (133 nautical miles) over the Pacific Ocean as it travelled in space more than 17,000 miles (44,000 kilometers) per hour," the Defense Department said in a statement. AFP PHOTO/FILES/US NAVY == GETTY OUT ==

Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) soldiers walk past a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile unit after Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga (L) reviews the unit at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo, Japan, October 8, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Why South Korea’s promises on THAAD and a US-Japan alliance are so important to China

Tensions between China and South Korea over the THAAD anti-missile network eased last week after Seoul said it would not sign up for a broader system or enter a military alliance with the United States and Japan. Photo: Handout

Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors are seen as they arrive at Seongju, South Korea, September 7, 2017. Lee Jong-hyeon/News1 via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. SOUTH KOREA OUT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

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Asia

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Japan plans to introduce the Aegis Ashore system at two locations, covering the entire nation with powerful radars


Defence

North Korea nuclear crisis

Japan to buy Aegis Ashore defence system to counter North Korea missile threats

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Japan plans to introduce the Aegis Ashore system at two locations, covering the entire nation with powerful radars

Japan plans to introduce the Aegis Ashore system at two locations, covering the entire nation with powerful radars