Japan unveils plans for largest military build-up since World War II

Asia-Pacific, News December 19, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

Japan is diverging from its pacifist constitution amid growing threats from regional rivals. The recently unveiled national security policy indicates that Japan is planning for the largest military build-up since World War II.

Last week, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida approved three different documents related to Japan’s national security. These documents include Japan’s National Security Strategy, National Defense Strategy, and the Japanese Defense Force Development Plan. The document also unveiled Tokyo’s willingness to acquire long-range missile systems to bolster its defense capabilities.

Japan’s long-time rival China has been growing its naval and air forces in areas near Japan while claiming the Senkaku Islands, an uninhabited Japanese-controlled chain in the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, as its sovereign territory. Meanwhile, North Korea and Russia also pose a great threat to Japan. All these factors have led to an overhaul of the Japanese national security action plan.

According to some sources, Japan plans to acquire at least 500 U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missiles by the end of 2027. The Japanese ministry of defense has neither confirmed nor denied the reports so far.

The acquisition of Tomahawks would bolster Japan’s efforts to increase the range of its indigenous Type-12 surface-to-ship missile. The Japanese ministry of defense has been actively working to improve the range of its domestically produced Type-12 surface-to-surface cruise missiles.

The current range of Japan’s Type-12 missiles is about 200 kilometers with a maximum range of up to 1000 kilometers. The Japanese Ministry of Defense’s project to enhance the range of these missiles is expected to be completed by 2026, until then Japan would rely on U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missiles for long-range operations.

*^{Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force surface-to-air missile system. (Image Credit: Japanese Ministry of Defense)}*

The introduction of the Tomahawk missiles into the Japanese defense forces is linked with the cancellation of Japan’s domestic Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defense (BDM) program. In 2020, Japan backed away from installing two Aegis Ashore BMD systems over technical concerns. The cancelation of the program pushed Japan to look to other means of deterrence, including the consideration to purchase Tomahawk missiles from the U.S.

Earlier this month, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida asked his Cabinet to secure enough funds to raise defense spending to 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) within the next five years.

According to the Japanese defense ministry, Prime Minister Kishida told his Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki and Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada that Japan needs to urgently increase its defense budget by the fiscal year 2027. He also said that the government needs to review expenditures and revenue streams to decide how it can secure extra funding to increase the defense budget.