U.S. Typhon missile system to be stored at Okinawa air base

TOKYO - The U.S. Typhon missile system currently deployed at a Japanese base in Kagoshima in southwestern Japan will be transferred to U.S. Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, but not permanently, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Tuesday.

Typhon has been temporarily mobilized at the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Kanoya Air Base in Kagoshima Prefecture for multilateral exercises in June and July and a Japan-U.S.-Australia joint drill in September. Its deployment in Japan has faced criticism from China and Russia.