Japan mulls pushing up purchase of US Tomahawk cruise missiles
Japan is looking to accelerate a plan to purchase long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States amid growing tensions with China and North Korea.
Japan's Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada in his remarks on Tuesday said the country is mulling over buying all the missiles it is seeking from Washington in the coming fiscal year, starting April.
Tokyo was initially planning to buy the missiles over the next several years.
Hamada refused to comment on how many Tomahawk cruise missiles the Japanese government plans to buy, wary of not disclosing the country's defense capabilities, only saying that it is eyeing "all of the required quantity".
However, a report published earlier by the Kyodo News agency, citing an unnamed government source, said Tokyo wants as many as 500 of the cruise missiles.
The report said being ahead of the deal indicates that Japan seeks to put the missiles into practical use as soon as possible amid "growing military threats from China and North Korea."
Tomahawk missiles, which have a strike range of about 1,600 kilometers, can be launched from Aegis destroyers of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, the report citing the source added.
Japan's budget for fiscal 2023, which was approved in December by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s administration, included ¥211.3 billion ($1.6 billion) to procure the Tomahawks.
According to the Kyodo source, Tokyo also wants to discuss with Washington the possibility of deploying the latest-model missiles in the country sooner than the currently scheduled fiscal 2026.
The government's key defense documents include acquiring foreign-made missiles until it deploys home-developed missiles.
The country's defense ministry intends to extend the range of Japan's homegrown Type-12 guided cruise missiles to over 1,000 km.
Japan's relations with China have long been plagued by conflicting claims over a group of tiny East China Sea islets.
The US relies on Japan and its other main regional ally South Korea to support efforts to challenge the growing dominance of China.
Japan's plan to strengthen its military also comes amid North Korean missile tests.
North Korea has defended its missile tests as a legitimate defense against military threats posed by the US-led coalition.
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