Japan to practice missile defence at US bases in Japan

TOKYO – Japan’s military will practice deploying anti-missile batteries at three U.S. bases in Japan as concern grows about the North Korean missile threat.

The exercises will take place Tuesday at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo and at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in western Japan. They will be repeated on Sept. 7 at Misawa Air Base in northern Japan.

The U.S. military says the drills will test the ability of Japanese and U.S. forces to work together and assess firing locations at the bases. They will also allow Japan to practice rapid deployment of its PAC-3 anti-missile system.

North Korea has conducted a series of test launches to develop its missile capability and recently threatened to send missiles over western Japan and into waters near the U.S. territory of Guam.