National Security Council Missile Defense System Discussion on June 24, 19:20
Regarding the suspension of the deployment plan of the new interceptor missile system "Aegis Ashore", the government held the NSC = National Security Council and reported on the circumstances in which the Minister of Defense Kono decided to suspend. At the meeting, it seems that they discussed about the ideal state of the missile defense system.
Regarding the deployment of the "Aegis Ashore", last week Minister of Defense Kono announced that the deployment plan would be stopped, saying that it was necessary to repair the interceptor missile to safely drop the booster.
The government has decided not to create a gap in Japan's defense, and will continue to support missile defense with Aegis ships and ground-based interceptor missiles PAC3 for the time being.
Against this backdrop, the government held the NSC = National Security Council from 5 pm on the 24th with Prime Minister Abe, Deputy Prime Minister Aso and Finance Minister, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kan, Foreign Minister Mogi, and Minister Kono. ..
At the meeting, Minister Kono reported on the circumstances that led to the decision to stop the plan and discussed "How to respond to threats such as ballistic missiles", so it seems that the discussion was on the state of the missile defense system. ..
The future government, to discuss the way of security strategy intensively in the NSC, to the prospect of the end of September, our policy is to indicate a certain direction. Future discussions will focus on the missile defense system that replaces "Aegis Asshore" and whether to possess "enemy base attack capability".
Kimiaki Secretary-General Saito "Holding enemy base attack capability, requires careful discussion"
At the press conference, Secretary-General Saito of the Komeito said, "I would like the government to provide an easy-to-understand explanation about the suspension of the Aegis Ashore deployment plan. I don't think it's going to come in. It requires careful discussion."