Japan halts anti-missile Aegis Ashore as costs soar past $2bn

A symbol of stronger Tokyo-Washington ties falls by the wayside

20200615N Aegis Ashore (Navy)
DAISHI ABE, Nikkei staff writer

TOKYO -- Japan's deployment of the Aegis Ashore missile defense system will be put on hold due to the ballooning price tag and the logistics of rolling out the hardware, Defense Minister Taro Kono said Monday.

"When considering the costs and the time frame, we have no choice but to decide it was not logical" to keep the original schedule, Kono told reporters.

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