Trending Now - Japan Unveils First Long-range Missile Deployment
WHO:
AP News - Japan's Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi stated the importance of the missile deployment.
AP News - Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Cabinet approved the defense budget.
WHAT:
AP News - Japan's upgraded Type-12 missiles have been formally redesignated as the "Type 25 Surface-to-Ship Guided Missile (25SSM)".
AP News - The newly designated Type 25 Hyper Velocity Gliding Projectile (25HGP) was also deployed for island defense.
navalnews.com - The Type 25 SSM allows ground-based units to engage targets beyond Japan’s coastline, including potential naval and land-based assets across East Asia.
navalnews.com - The Type 25 HGP is designed to travel at extremely high speeds along unpredictable trajectories, making interception more difficult.
ABC News - Japan has deployed its first long-range missile.
AP News - The upgraded Type-12 land-to-ship missiles have a range of about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles).
AP News - The original Type-12 missile had a range of 200 kilometers (125 miles).
AP News - Japan plans to deploy U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of 1,600 kilometers (990 miles) on the destroyer JS Chokai later in 2026.
AP News - Additional deployments of upgraded Type-12 missiles and hypersonic glide vehicles (HGVs) are planned by March 2028.
WHERE:
AP News - The long-range missile was deployed at Camp Kengun in Kumamoto prefecture.
AP News - A hypersonic glide vehicle was deployed to Camp Fuji in Shizuoka prefecture, west of Tokyo.
AP News - Japan's southwestern islands near the East China Sea are being fortified.
WHEN:
navalnews.com - The Type 25 systems were formally named and deployed in fiscal year 2025, ending on March 31st, 2026.
AP News - The defense budget plan exceeding 9 trillion yen ($58 billion) was approved in December 2025 for the fiscal year beginning in April 2026.
AP News - The establishment of a new office dedicated to studying China’s Pacific activity was announced last week (March 2026).
WHY:
AP News - Japan is responding to an increasingly assertive China and considers it the main regional security threat.
AP News - The missile deployment is part of Japan's strategy to strengthen its deterrence and responsiveness in a complex security environment.
HOW:
navalnews.com - The introduction of the Type 25 systems marks a doctrinal shift toward the ability to hold adversary launch sites at risk from stand-off distances.
AP News - The Type-12 missiles were developed and produced by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
(UPDATED March 31, 2026 23:08 UTC)
Japan has officially redesignated its upgraded Type-12 missiles as the Type 25 Surface-to-Ship Guided Missile, or 25SSM, and has also deployed the Type 25 Hyper Velocity Gliding Projectile for island defense. These new systems enable ground-based units to target assets beyond Japan’s coastline, enhancing the country's defensive capabilities across East Asia. The introduction of the Type 25 systems signifies a significant doctrinal shift, allowing Japan to threaten adversary launch sites from greater distances.
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(UPDATED March 31, 2026 17:26 UTC)
Japan has deployed its first long-range missile, the upgraded Type-12 land-to-ship missile, which boasts a range of about 1,000 kilometers, at Camp Kengun in Kumamoto prefecture. This move comes as part of a broader strategy to enhance national defense, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Cabinet recently approving a defense budget exceeding 9 trillion yen, and plans to introduce U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missiles later this year. The missile deployment is a response to an increasingly assertive China, which Japan considers the main regional security threat, and additional military enhancements, including hypersonic glide vehicles, are planned by March 20th28.