Photo shows the main building of the US AEGIS Ashore missile defense system at Deveselu, about 200 km southwest of the Romanian capital of Bucharest, on May 12, 2016. (Xinhua/Lin Huifen)

Japan will build two ships equipped with Aegis missile interceptors after public opposition forced the government to scrap deployment of a costly land-based system, the country's defense minister said Wednesday.

Earlier in 2020, Japan decided to suspend unpopular plans to deploy the US-developed Aegis Ashore defense system in northeastern Akita and western Yamaguchi prefectures amid technical problems and swelling costs.

As an alternative, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi told a ruling party meeting the government hopes "to build two vessels equipped with the Aegis system."

Officials aim to win cabinet approval as early as next week, public broadcaster NHK reported.

The Aegis Ashore purchase was approved in 2017, at an estimated cost of $4.2 billion over three decades. 

It is not immediately clear what the cost of a deployed system on ships will be.

The system's purchase was seen both as part of attempts by Tokyo to bolster its defensive capabilities after successive North Korean missile launches but also as a way to foster closer ties with Washington under US President Donald Trump, who pushed allies to buy more American military equipment.

But Aegis has long been controversial in Japan, with opposition stemming not only from its expense but also from locals concerned about the risks posed by a missile defense system in their backyard.

AFP