By DAISUKE YAJIMA/ Staff Writer
July 26, 2024 at 15:13 JST
Japan’s easternmost Minami-Torishima island. Photo taken July 11, 2020 (Provided by the Defense Ministry)
The Defense Ministry announced plans to use Japan’s easternmost island of Minami-Torishima in the Pacific Ocean as a firing range for Type 12 surface-to-ship missile drills.
The island is part of the Ogasawara chain far to the south of Tokyo.
This will mark the first domestic firing range of missiles with a flight distance in excess of 100 kilometers.
In 2022, Tokyo announced plans to extend its missile range capability by hundreds of kilometers for counterstrikes against enemy bases in the event of a contingency.
Until now, the Ground Self-Defense Force has staged long-range missile drills in the United States and Australia.
The firing range in Minami-Torishima is scheduled to become operable in fiscal 2026 or later.
The drills will involve sea-based targets up to hundreds of kilometers away. Training projectiles do not contain live warheads.
The government classifies long-range missiles as standoff missiles, which can be launched from outside of missile range of opponents.
In 2022, the Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet approved three national security documents that lay out the reasoning behind Japan’s move away from an exclusively defensive posture. It allows Japan to possess those long-range missiles.
An enhanced model of Type 12 surface-to-ship missiles with a range of about 1,000 kilometers is under mass production. The missiles are scheduled to be deployed from the next fiscal year.
“Carrying out targeting exercises in Japan constantly will strengthen our defense capabilities,” said Yasunori Morishita, the GSDF’s chief of staff, at a July 25 news conference.
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