Japan to Deploy Long-Range Counterstrike Missiles

Tokyo, March 9 (Jiji Press)--A long-range missile system will be deployed at the Ground Self-Defense Force's Camp Kengun in the southwestern Japan city of Kumamoto on March 31, the Kyushu Defense Bureau said Monday.

The upgraded Type-12 surface-to-ship guided missile system, a key component of Japan's counterstrike capabilities, or the ability to strike enemy bases, will be deployed for the first time in the country.

In the small hours of Monday, vehicles carrying launchers and other equipment from the GSDF's Camp Fuji in the central prefecture of Shizuoka arrived at Camp Kengun.

The improved Type-12 missiles can fly some 1,000 kilometers and are known as stand-off missiles, which are capable of attacking an enemy from outside its range.

These missiles are also slated to be deployed in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido and the southwestern prefecture of Miyazaki in stages starting in fiscal 2026.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]