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Costly, often delayed armaments were part of the price Tokyo paid for its U.S. alliance -- a relationship which has also helped support decades of pacifism and low defense expenditures.   © Reuters
The Big Story

The price of peace: Why Japan scrapped a $4.2bn US missile system

Washington and Tokyo have been allies for 60 years. Both agree they're spending too much

RIEKO MIKI, Nikkei staff writer | Japan

TOKYO -- Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono was seething after a June 3 briefing in his office. "Why didn't you figure that out sooner?" he snapped.

Officials had just learned of a critical flaw in a U.S.-made missile defense system that would derail a multibillion-dollar defense deal.

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