The United States has welcomed Japan's planned introduction of a land-based variant of the Aegis ballistic missile defense system, but there are growing calls in Washington for Tokyo to acquire strike capability to further boost deterrence against North Korea's nuclear and missile threat.
American experts say the deployment of Aegis Ashore will be a significant step in strengthening Japan's missile defense, but that even such an advanced platform is not perfect for interception, especially because North Korea is stepping up its ability to launch multiple missiles simultaneously.
"With North Korea demonstrating increasingly sophisticated missiles and threatening to sink Japan with nuclear weapons, Prime Minister (Shinzo) Abe should consider making strike capability a top priority," said Jeffrey Hornung, a Washington-based political scientist at the Rand Corporation, a U.S. think tank.