Stars and Stripes:
The Japanese Cabinet has approved new spending on missile-defense systems jointly developed with the United States as part of its 2017 defense budget proposal.
The $45 billion spending bill, OK’d Thursday, is a 1.4 percent hike over the previous budget, which has risen for five consecutive years since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party swept into office with a commanding majority.
The budget is expected to pass both houses of the LDP-controlled Diet next year.
The proposal includes about $125 million for purchasing SM-3 Block IIA missile interceptors, which the U.S. employs both on land and on ships capable of ballistic-missile defense.
