Nippon.com:

The Japanese government plans to adopt a plan, as early as mid-December, to build two new destroyers focusing on ballistic missile defense, government and ruling coalition officials said on Thursday.

The construction of two new destroyers is an alternative to an abandoned plan to deploy the Aegis Ashore land-based ballistic missile defense system.

The deployment of new vessels will allow seven existing Aegis destroyers to be converted to other missions, including patrolling waters off remote southwestern Japan islands, the officials said…

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