Tokyo, 14 February, /AJMEDIA/
Japan is considering making a package purchase of Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States in fiscal 2023, which starts in April, a government source said Monday, instead of its initial plan of buying them over the next several years.
The move apparently reflects that Tokyo wants to put the U.S.-developed long-range missiles in practical use as soon as possible to enhance the nation’s deterrence as it faces rapidly growing military threats from China and North Korea, the source said.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s administration is also eying consultation with the U.S. side to explore the possibility of moving the start of the missiles’ deployment in the country forward from the currently scheduled fiscal 2026, according to the source.
The government has been considering purchasing up to about 500 Tomahawks, the source said, although it has not disclosed the number.
Japan is expected to buy the latest-model missiles, which the U.S. Navy uses and can be launched from Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force Aegis destroyers, the source added.
In its three key defense documents updated in December, the government vowed to possess what it calls “counterstrike capabilities” that allow Japan to strike targets in enemy territory in case of emergency.
The documents also said Tomahawk missiles, which have a strike range of about 1,600 kilometers and would cover China’s coastal areas, will be utilized to develop the counterstrike capabilities until Japan deploys home-developed ones.
During their talks last month in Washington, Kishida told U.S. President Joe Biden that Japan will introduce the Tomahawks, and Biden expressed his support for the plan.
The cruise missiles proved their high accuracy in the 1991 Gulf War and the 2003 Iraq War.
The Japanese government decided on a draft initial budget for fiscal 2023 in December, of which it will allocate 211.3 billion yen ($1.6 billion) to procure the Tomahawks.
