“By results of discussion by the national security Council (meeting held on 24 June under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. – Approx. “RG”) decided to cancel the deployment of the Aegis Ashore systems in the prefectures of Akita and Yamaguchi” – said the head of the Japanese defense Ministry at the meeting of the ruling liberal democratic party (LDP) of Japan.
In Tokyo, studied the possibility of deployment of missile defense systems ground-based Aegis Ashore in the North and the South-West of the island of Honshu, in the prefectures of Akita and Yamaguchi. The system was supposed to cover the entire territory of the state from ballistic missiles of a potential enemy. The need for installing complex Japan justified primarily by the threat posed by North Korea.
however, in the course of the study, the Japanese identified a number of shortcomings Aegis Ashore, which forced Tokyo to rethink its approach to the future acquisition systems in Washington. As it turned out, the operation of the missile unsafe for civilians. The upper stage used in the Aegis Ashore missile during launch may fall outside of the landfill and harm people. The removal of the defects requires a serious revision of the projectiles in the first place their software that is connected with attraction of additional means. For Japanese government the money issue in terms of economic consequences from the pandemic coronavirus and taking into account future expenses due to the transfer of the summer Olympic games for 2021 is perceived very painful. However, the head of the Ministry of defense of Japan, Taro Kono noted that it is risky for the Aegis Ashore were the main reason for the refusal from the purchase of American systems.
it was Assumed that the Japanese side will spend on Aegis Ashore about 4.2 billion dollars. It is based of the cost of training of staff of national defense forces and maintenance of the systems for 30 years. The amount that the US lost, quite impressive. Moreover, Tokyo and Washington signed an agreement with a volume of 1.7 billion dollars, in accordance with which the Japanese side listed the Americans 183 million dollars.
it is Noteworthy that the White house did not respond to the decision of its far Eastern ally. Even the President of the United States Donald trump declined to publish posts on this topic on Twitter. Calm reaction to Washington’s suggests that the decision of the Japanese was not a big surprise for US.
defense Minister Taro Kono in communicating with journalists admitted that the issue of problem points in the operation of us missile defense systems were discussed repeatedly. Washington, as said the head of the Agency, were informed about the plans of Japan in advance. It is likely that the gap con��and Tokyo have yet to pay serious compensation to the Americans.
currently, the Japanese authorities are looking for an alternative to Aegis Ashore to defend the country against missile attacks of a potential enemy. According to some reports, will rely on ships equipped with similar systems. In the Japanese defense Ministry must come to specific findings on this score in September, when local authorities will apply for the budget for the 2021 fiscal year.
