The US State Department has approved a possible sale of Tomahawk cruise missiles to Japan and notified Congress of its decision.
The department gave the greenlight for the sale of up to 400 Tomahawk cruise missiles to Japan on Friday.
The estimated total cost including the system's related equipment is 2.35 billion dollars.
The approval came after an agreement last month between Japanese Defense Minister Kihara Minoru and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. They agreed to Japan's plan to acquire the missiles starting in the fiscal year that begins in April 2025. The weapons are currently deployed mainly by US forces.
The Tomahawk is a US-developed guided cruise missile with the capability to strike targets with high precision.
The Japanese government plans to use the missile to help boost its counterstrike capabilities, such as to attack enemy missile-launch sites.