A decision by Japan to deploy a U.S. missile defense system will damage Moscow's relations with Tokyo and is a breach by Washington of a landmark arms control treaty. Russian Spokeswoman Zakharova has displayed the Russian position.
Japan formally decided this month it would expand its ballistic missile defense system with U.S.-made ground-based Aegis radar stations and interceptors in response to a growing threat from North Korean rockets.
“Actions like these are in direct contradiction to the priority of building military and political trust between Russia and Japan, and, unfortunately, will impact in a negative way on the whole atmosphere in bilateral relations, including negotiations over the peace treaty problem,” Zakharova told during the weekly briefing.
Russia and Japan never formally ended their hostilities after World War Two because of a dispute over a chain of islands in the Pacific.
The Japanese government made the decision to deploy two Aegis Ashore missile defense systems in the north and southwest of the country’s main island of Honshu, tentatively in 2023. Japan maintains that they are aimed at securing the country against ballistic and maybe cruise missiles. These systems will be bought from the US and will cost Japan an equivalent of about $889 million each.
