Japan eyes nationwide missile interceptors

Japan may deploy Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptor missiles at air bases nationwide, Kyodo news said on Saturday, as part of a new five-year defense plan to be released later this month.

The Japanese Self-Defense Forces also plan to increase the number of submarines patrolling the seas off Okinawa in southern Japan, where is it locked in a territorial dispute with China.

The move to deploy missile interceptors comes amid heightened regional tensions following North Korea's deadly artillery shelling of the South last month.

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