Aug 22 (NHK) - Japan's Defense Ministry plans to request a record budget for the next fiscal year as North Korea continues its nuclear and missile programs.
The ministry will seek about 5.25 trillion yen, or around 48.2 billion dollars, for the year starting April 2018. That's up 2.5 percent from the budget for the current fiscal year.
An unspecified amount of the budget will be earmarked for the introduction of a new US-made missile defense system known as "Aegis Ashore." It is a land-based version of the Aegis system deployed on ships.
The ministry is also to request funds to acquire a new type of missile interceptor called "SM-3 Block IIA" for Aegis ships, and to develop advanced radar capable of detecting and tracking ballistic missiles.
This is in response to North Korea's repeated test-firing of missiles on a so-called "lofted" trajectory, in which a missile is launched to a higher altitude than normal.
