Japan is preparing to deploy its first batch of domestically developed long-range missiles, with their launchers arriving at an army camp yesterday, as the country accelerates its offensive capability in response to rising challenges in the region.
The upgraded Type-12 land-to-ship missiles are to be deployed at Camp Kengun in Japan’s southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto by the end of this month, completing the process of deployment, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said without giving details.
Army vehicles carrying the launchers and other equipment arrived past midnight in a highly secretive mission criticized by residents. Dozens of people stood outside of the camp, shouting “Stop long-range missile deployment” and holding banners carrying messages of protest.
Photo: Jiji Press / AFP
Opponents have complained about the lack of transparency and said the deployment would instead escalate tension and make the missiles the target of attacks.
“The prefecture has never been notified,” Kumamoto Governor Takashi Kimura told reporters yesterday. “It is extremely disappointing that we learned this from media reports.”
The regional defense bureau in Kyusu later yesterday announced plans to invite local representatives for an equipment exhibit at the camp next week ahead of the missile deployment on March 31. Town hall meetings are not planned.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense last year moved up the schedule of the missiles’ deployment by one year. Japan has accelerated a military buildup in the southwestern region, while China has escalated tension around Taiwan.
The upgraded Type-12 missile, developed and produced by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, has a range of about 1,000km and can reach mainland China, a significant extension from the 200km range of the original.
It is to be deployed next at Camp Fuji in Shizuoka, west of Tokyo, later this year.
Japan considers China a growing security threat and has pushed a military buildup on southwestern islands near the East China Sea. It has deployed PAC-3 interceptors and midrange surface-to-air missiles on many of the islands, including Okinawa, Ishigaki and Miyako.
Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi last month said Japan would deploy the midrange surface-to-air missiles on Japan’s westernmost island of Yonaguni, just east of Taiwan, by March 2031.
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