Japan will conduct its first simulation test of advanced US-developed missile interceptors next month in Tokyo, news reports said Thursday. Japan deployed its first PAC-3 missiles just outside Tokyo this year as the nation tries to step up Defence against North KoreaÂ’s nuclear and missile threats. The Defence Ministry plans to bring the PAC-3 missile, currently deployed at its Air Self-Defence Force base in Saitama, to Tokyo for the test aimed at collecting data necessary to counter a potential attack at the Ichigaya military headquarters and several other locations in the city, a major newspaper Yomiuri reported. A pair of PAC-3 launchers were installed in March at the Iruma base in Saitama prefecture (state), about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of Tokyo. But the launchers, which have a range of 15-20 kilometers (9-12 miles), along with the operation unit, would have to be brought into Tokyo to defend the capital, the Yomiuri said. Defence officials also plan to use the study to determine possible PAC-3 deployment sites in central Tokyo that are free of tall buildings, according to the report. Defence officials said the report could not be immediately confirmed. Among the candidates is an open area facing the Imperial Palace and parks, the Kyodo News agency reported.