Japan confirms its scrapping US missile defense system

Japan's National Security Council has endorsed plans cancel the deployment of two costly land-based U.S. missile defense systems aimed at bolstering the country’s capability against threats from North Korea, the country's defense minister said Thursday. The council made its decision Wednesday, and now the government will need to enter negotiations with the U.S. about what to do with payments and the purchase contract already made for the Aegis Ashore systems. The council is expected to also revise Japan's basic defense plan later this year to update the missile defense program and scale up the country's defense posture.