Japan will build two naval vessels equipped with Aegis missile interceptors as an alternative to a scrapped plan to deploy a land-based system, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said Wednesday.
Japan had been considering two other options for deploying the interceptors offshore to counter the North Korean missile threat — one envisaged refitting private-sector vessels to mount them and the other using offshore structures similar to oil rigs.
Kishi also announced at a Liberal Democratic Party meeting on defense and security issues that Japan plans to develop standoff missiles that can be launched at targets from outside the range of enemy missiles.