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Under the new schedule, a first batch of the domestically
developed Type-12 anti-ship missiles will be installed at its
army's Camp Kengun in Japan's southwestern prefecture of
Kmuamoto by March 2026, the ministry said. The Type-12 missile
has a range of about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles).
Japan is seeking to create a more self-sufficient military as a
deterrence against China’s increasingly assertive naval activity
in regional seas. Japan in June spotted two Chinese aircraft
carriers almost simultaneously operating near southern Japanese
islands for the first time.
Japan also has concerns about the rising tensions caused by
North Korea and Russia.
These efforts mark a historic shift. Japan, under its post-World
War II pacifist constitution, used to limit the use of force for
self-defense only. But it made a major break from that policy in
2022 when it adopted a five-year security strateg y that names
China as its biggest strategic challenge and calls for a closer
Japan-U.S. alliance and more offensive roles for Japan's
Self-Defense Forces.
The country is boosting military spending to 2% of GDP by 2027
from an earlier level of about 1% under the buildup plan, while
facing pressure from the United States, a treaty ally, to do
more.
The announcement of the accelerated missile schedule coincides
with a ministry request for a record 8.8 trillion yen ($59.9
billion) in the fiscal 2026 budget to focus on long-range
missiles and drones to counter threats from China, North Korea,
and Russia.
With domestically produced missiles still under development,
Japan plan to deploy U.S.-developed Tomahawks later this year.
The ministry is also seeking to deploy unmanned air, sea-surface
and underwater drones for surveillance to defend Japanese
coastlines, as a country with an aging and declining population
struggles with an understaffed military.
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