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Prime Minister Fumio Kishida walks past a Ground Self-Defense Force Type-19 155 mm wheeled self-propelled howitzer and a Type-12 surface-to-ship missile during a review at Camp Asaka in Tokyo in November. | POOL / VIA REUTERS
With an eye toward narrowing a cavernous “missile gap” with China, Japan is considering stockpiling more than 1,000 long-range cruise missiles, a report said Sunday, as tensions over Taiwan grow.
The Defense Ministry is looking to deploy its ground-launched Type-12 standoff missiles — and extend their range from around 200 kilometers (124 miles) to more than 1,000 km — mainly to its far-flung southwestern islands and the Kyushu region, the Yomiuri daily reported, citing unidentified government sources.
The envisioned weapons, which would also be ship- and air-launch capable, would put the Chinese and North Korean coasts within striking distance, the report added.
In order to acquire the weapons at an early date, the Defense Ministry could include requests for them when it unveils its initial budget proposal for fiscal 2023, which is expected to be released at the end of this month.
The issue gained added momentum after China for the first time launched five ballistic missiles into waters near Okinawa Prefecture earlier this month. Those launches were part of massive military exercises around Taiwan, which Beijing said were in response to a visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the self-ruled island. China considers democratic Taiwan an integral part of its territory that must be brought back into the fold, by force if necessary.
Tokyo roundly condemned the move, which experts said was likely intended to deter U.S. and Japanese intervention in any crisis over democratically run Taiwan.
But the launches also highlighted the missile gap between the United States and China.
China possesses around 300 ground-based cruise missiles and 1,900 ballistic missiles that could strike Japan. The U.S., bound until 2019 by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which banned all land-based missiles with ranges of 500 km to 5,500 km, currently does not have any such weapons in its arsenal, though it has begun developing missiles in that range.
Nuclear-armed North Korea has hundreds of ballistic missiles capable of hitting Japan, and its recent breakthroughs — including the claim of testing a hypersonic weapon designed to evade defenses — have also triggered concern in Tokyo.
Japan does not possess any longer-range missiles, but the envisioned weapons would likely be at the core of government talks on acquiring a so-called counterstrike capability that would allow it to hit enemy bases and command-and-control centers. Those talks are expected to heat up in the coming months, and a decision is expected to be included in the country’s revised National Security Strategy, set to be completed by the end of the year.
Critics say any move to acquire a counterstrike capability would deviate from Japan’s traditional interpretation of its pacifist Constitution and the country’s exclusively defense-oriented policy. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, however, has repeatedly stated that Japan “will drastically strengthen its defense capabilities within five years, without ruling out any options, including the possession of counterstrike capabilities.”
Japan weighs deploying over 1,000 longer-range missiles amid China tensions, report says
The Defense Ministry is looking to extend the range of its planned standoff weapons to more than 1,000 km in a bid to narrow a cavernous “missile gap” with China.
