The upgraded Type-12 land-to-ship missiles will be deployed at Camp Kengun in Japan’s southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto by the end of March, completing the process of deployment, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said without giving details.
Army vehicles carrying their launchers and other equipment arrived past midnight in a highly secretive mission criticised by local residents.
Dozens of people stood outside of the camp, shouting “Stop long-range missile deployment!” and holding banners carrying messages of protest.
Opponents have complained about the lack of transparency and said the deployment would instead escalate tensions and make the missiles the target of attacks.
“The prefecture has never been notified,” Kumamoto governor Takashi Kimura said on Monday. “It is extremely disappointing that we learned this from media reports.”
The defence ministry last year moved up the schedule of the missiles’ deployment by one year as Japan accelerates a military buildup in the southwestern region.
The upgraded Type-12 missile, developed and produced by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, has a range of about 1,000 kilometres, a significant extension from the 200-kilometre range of the original.
It will be deployed next at Camp Fuji in Shizuoka, west of Tokyo, later this year.
Japan has pushed a military buildup on southwestern islands near the East China Sea.
It has deployed PAC-3 interceptors and midrange surface-to-air missiles on many of the islands, including Okinawa, Ishigaki and Miyako.
Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said last month Japan would deploy the midrange SAMs on Japan’s westernmost island of Yonaguni by March 2031.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has pledged to revise security and defence policy by the end of the year and is seeking to further bolster Japan’s military with unmanned combative weapons and long-range missiles.
Her government is also set to scrap restrictions on lethal arms exports in the coming weeks to promote the development of Japan’s defence industry and co-operation with friendly nations, based on a proposal recently submitted by her party and its governing coalition partner. (AP)
Edited by Tony Sabine
