Defense Minister Taro Kono said that if the Air Self-Defense Force's surface-to-air missile system "PAC-3" deployed on the Defense Ministry's grounds in Ichigaya, Tokyo, and intercepted enemy missiles, the debris may cause damage to nearby homes, at a press conference on Friday.
The PAC-3 intercepts enemy missiles at the "terminal stage" of its trajectories, meaning the missiles will be intercepted after it enters into the atmosphere again.
"The decision to deploy the PAC-3 will be based on comparing the possible damage caused by the [enemy's] missile to the possible damage caused by falling debris," Kono said.
The government has virtually given up on deploying the Ground-Based Interceptor System "Aegis Ashore" because there is a possibility that the booster of the interceptor missile may fall outside of the training area of the Ground SDF, which is a possible deployment site.
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