Japan May Deploy Aegis Ships for North Korean Rocket Launch
I would think the Japanese would want the Aegis ships deployed more to collect data on the rocket launch with their radars:
The Japanese government is mulling deploying Aegis destroyers in the East Sea and the East China Sea to intercept a long-range rocket North Korea plans to launch around the 70th anniversary of its ruling Workers’ Party on October 10.
Japan’s Sankei Shimbun daily reported on Sunday that Tokyo is considering deploying the destroyers equipped with sea-based missile defenses to the East Sea and the East China Sea to prevent the North’s rocket or its debris from falling on Japanese territory.
The paper said Japan is also considering deploying the Air Self-Defense Forces’ surface-to-air guided Patriot missiles in the area near the capital city and Okinawa. [KBS World Radio]
