The Cabinet is set to approve a plan to build two new Aegis ships as a platform for missile interceptor systems among three options to replace the scrapped project to introduce a land-based system, government sources said Friday.
The plan designed to counter the North Korean missile threat is expected to be given the nod as early as mid-December so spending can be earmarked in the fiscal 2021 budget to be drafted by the end of the year.
After the decision in June to drop the plan to deploy the U.S.-developed Aegis Ashore system in northeastern and western Japan due to technical problems, ballooning costs and public opposition, the government has been looking at three offshore options as an alternative.