Japan set to deploy first indigenously-developed long-range missile

Tokyo — Japan is preparing to deploy its first batch of domestically developed long-range missiles, their launchers arriving at a military base on Monday as the country ramps up its offensive capabilities in response to growing challenges in the region.

The upgraded Type-12 land-to-ship missiles will be deployed at Camp Kengun in Japan’s southwestern Kumamoto prefecture by the end of March, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said.

Army vehicles carrying their launchers and other equipment arrived in the early hours of the morning in a highly secretive operation that was criticized by local residents who protested outside the camp.

Opponents complained of a lack of transparency and said the deployment would raise tensions and make the missiles targets for attack.

Last year the Defense Ministry extended the missile deployment schedule by a year as Japan accelerated a military build-up in the southwestern region as China ratcheted up tensions around Taiwan, the self-ruled island Beijing claims as its own.

The upgraded Type-12 missile, developed and manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, has a range of about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) and can reach mainland China, a significant extension from the original 200-kilometer (125-mile) range.

It will be deployed later this year at Camp Fuji in Shizuoka, west of Tokyo.

Japan views China as a growing security threat and has pushed for a military build-up in southwestern islands near the East China Sea. It has deployed PAC-3 interceptors and medium-range surface-to-air missiles on several islands, including Okinawa, Ishigaki and Miyako.

Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said last month that Japan will deploy medium-range SAMs on Yonaguni Island, west of Japan, east of Taiwan, by March 2031.

Tensions were further heightened by Prime Minister Sane Takaichi’s remarks shortly after taking office that any Chinese military action against Taiwan could be grounds for a Japanese military response.

Takaichi has pledged to overhaul security and defense policy by the end of the year and is seeking to further beef up Japan’s military with unmanned combat weapons and long-range missiles.

Her government is set to lift sanctions on lethal weapons exports in the coming weeks to promote the development of Japan’s defense industry and cooperation with friendly nations, based on a proposal recently submitted by her party and its ruling coalition partners.