Onodera to inspect Aegis Ashore test facility in Hawaii

November 5, 2017

New York- Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera is likely to visit Hawaii next January to inspect a test facility for the Aegis Ashore ground-based missile defense system, government sources said Sunday.

Japan and the United States are also considering holding a meeting between Onodera and Adm. Harry Harris, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, according to the sources.

Aegis Ashore is a land-based version of missile defense systems mounted on Aegis ships, including those owned by the Maritime Self-Defense Force.

Aegis Ashore is expected to cost 80 billion yen per unit. Two units are reportedly enough to cover the whole of Japan.

The government hopes to introduce the system as early as fiscal 2023 to improve its missile defense capabilities amid increasing threats from North Korea. It plans to include design and some other related costs in the fiscal 2018 budget. Jiji Press