The World - News from Jan. 3, 1988

Japan’s Defense Agency is considering development of an aircraft carrier and a destroyer equipped with the sophisticated Aegis missile system to protect its sea lanes, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. The newspaper said it obtained a document showing the Defense Agency plans to build an aircraft carrier modeled on the British navy’s Invincible class. The carrier would be introduced after Japan introduces a destroyer equipped with the Aegis missile system, which can attack multiple targets simultaneously. Last month, the government approved a fiscal 1988 budget including $31 million for a down payment on an Aegis system, estimated to cost $1.1 billion.