Japan Years From Plan to Hit Enemy Ballistic Missiles: Insider
Japan would need a minimum of four or five more years to finalize any blueprint for a capacity to conduct advance strikes against foreign ballistic missile threats, a senior Defense Ministry insider told the Mainichi Daily News for a Tuesday report.
Implementing the recommendation from last week's draft ministry report would require U.S. approval, as well as a funding source to acquire defensive cruise missiles, according to the newspaper. It is still uncertain if a final security assessment due out later this year would the include call in its entirety.
Meanwhile, the United States has toured Japanese and other dignitaries around certain nuclear command and launch facilities in an effort to strengthen international confidence in U.S. extended deterrence capabilities, the Asahi Shimbun reported on Tuesday.
