Japan to Spend Billions on U.S. Missile-Defense System

President Trump has called for Tokyo buy more American military equipment to reduce its trade surplus with Washington and its dependency on U.S. protection

Alastair Gale and

Chieko Tsuneoka

Aug. 31, 2018 1:31 a.m. ET

TOKYO—Japan is set to pay $2.1 billion for a new U.S. missile-defense system, one of its largest military acquisitions, as pressure from President Trump accelerates Tokyo’s spending on American military hardware.

Japan is already among the biggest global buyers of U.S. arms, ranking alongside countries in the Middle East in recent years with purchases of F-35 stealth jet fighters and Global Hawk unmanned surveillance aircraft.

Even...