Monitoring Desk
TOKYO: Japan is mulling buying around 500 US-made Tomahawk cruise missiles in one go from the United States amid growing regional tensions, local media reported on Tuesday.
Japan’s Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said that the east Asian country plans to buy the bulk of cruise missiles in the fiscal year 2023 instead of an earlier plan to make the purchases in several years, Japan’s official news agency, Kyodo News, reported.
The defence minister did not share further details with reporters about the change in their earlier plan and the number of cruise missiles to be bought.
However, the news agency cited government sources that Tokyo will purchase around 500 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the US.
Japan defence spending
In October 2022, local media reported that Japan intends to purchase sea-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of up to 1,553 miles (2,500 kilometers) and can travel relatively low to the ground.
In December 2022, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet decided to allocate $1.6 billion in funds for the procurement of Tomahawk cruise missiles, according to the report.
Tokyo’s decision to buy the US Tomahawk cruise missiles appeared in the media after North Korea fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile that flew over Japan’s territory for the first time in five years on October 4, last year, prompting Tokyo to impose more sanctions on Pyongyang.
Although Japan is working to extend the range of its Type-12 surface-to-ship guided missiles for the Ground Self-Defense Force, its indigenous missiles will not be in use until fiscal 2026, according to the agency.
