Japan is considering the deployment of more than 1,000 long-range cruise missiles to increase its ability to counter growing regional threats from China, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported yesterday.
The country plans to upgrade its existing surface-to-ship missiles to extend their range from 100km to about 1,000km, which would be enough to reach Chinese coastal areas, as well as North Korea, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources.
Upgrades would also need to be made to enable Japan’s ships and aircraft to be able to fire the new missiles, which could hit land-based targets, the newspaper reported.
Photo: Reuters
The missiles would be deployed in and around the southwestern Kyushu region and on the small islands that dot Japan’s southwestern waters near Taiwan, the Yomiuri reported.
Japanese officials could not be reached for comment.
The plan is part of Japan’s attempt to narrow its missile capacity gap with China, while also addressing threats from North Korea, the newspaper said.
Japan’s military is not officially recognized under the country’s post-war constitution and defense spending is limited to funding nominally defensive capabilities.
Recent geopolitical tensions, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s increasingly aggressive stance toward Taiwan, have prompted growing calls in Japan to review defense programs.
Regional tensions ratcheted up this month after a visit by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan. In response, Beijing launched missiles over Taiwan and into Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has vowed to significantly boost defense spending, which has been kept near 1 percent of GDP.
Local media also reported that the Japanese Ministry of Defense is likely to request ￥5.5 trillion (US$40.2 billion) for the next fiscal year, up slightly from the ￥5.18 trillion requested for this fiscal year.
However, the ministry was also expected to ask approval for a list of unpriced items, including the development cost to upgrade the long-range cruise missiles, the Asahi Shimbun reported.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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