http://www.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/index.html
*US Aegis ships in Japan able to shoot missiles* A number of Aegis-class destroyers deployed at the US base in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, are capable of intercepting incoming enemy ballistic missiles. The Commander of the US Navy in Japan, Admiral James Kelly, told reporters on Tuesday that several vessels at the Yokosuka base have the capability of shooting down ballistic missiles. But he declined to say how many. In August of last year, the US Navy sent to Yokosuka the USS Shiloh as its first Aegis-cruiser equipped with Standard Missile 3 interceptor missiles deployed to Japan. The deployment was made in an effort to strengthen the Japan-US joint missile defense system to counter the threat of missiles from North Korea and other countries. Admiral Kelly's remark suggests that at the Yokosuka base, several vessels other than the Shiloh have already been remodeled to house Standard Missile 3 interceptor missiles. The US navy has said it plans to install 18 Aegis-class vessels with interceptor ballistic missiles by 2009. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
