Japan's defense minister signed a deal Thursday that allows the military to buy Tomahawk missiles from the United States, officials announced.
Minister Minoru Kihara joined U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel in Tokyo, and both officials signed an agreement for Japan to purchase 400 U.S.-made long-range Tomahawk missiles. The deal comes as Japan seeks to strengthen its military capabilities to counter regional security threats such as China, North Korea and Russia.
The Ministry of Defense and Self-Defense Forces said in a press release on Wednesday that Japan will “strengthen its standoff defense capabilities in order to confuse and defeat forces that invade Japan from an early stage and from a distance.” “In order to rapidly build this capability, the Ministry of Defense and the Self-Defense Forces are first working to rapidly procure domestically produced standoff missiles.”
“Furthermore, as announced last October, the Japanese government has also decided to procure Tomahawks to complement its domestically produced standoff missiles one year ahead of schedule,” the statement continued.
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On January 18, Japan signed an agreement with its ally the United States to purchase 400 long-range Tomahawk missiles to strengthen its military capabilities to counter regional security threats. (STR/Jiji Press/AFP via Getty Images)
According to the statement, Japan plans to eventually acquire the missiles between fiscal 2025 and 2027.
“We are pleased to announce that we have entered into a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) with the U.S. Government for the acquisition of Tomahawk missiles and related equipment pursuant to a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Agreement signed at the Department of Defense. ” on Thursday, January 18, 2024, in the presence of Minister of Defense Kihara and U.S. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Japan Rahm Emanuel,” the Ministry of Defense said.
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In this document released by the US Navy, the guided missile destroyer USS Barry (DDG 52) fires a Tomahawk cruise missile from the Mediterranean Sea on March 29, 2011 in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn. (U.S. Navy, via Getty Images)
He further stated, “Going forward, we will continue to promote the procurement of various standoff missiles and strive to quickly build standoff defense capabilities based on the defense capability development plan.''
The acquisition comes amid heightened tensions with countries including Japan, South Korea and the Philippines due to China's aggressive maneuvers in the Indo-Pacific region. These small countries have sought support from the United States through trade deals and military technology.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned on December 16 that China poses the “greatest strategic challenge in history” to Japan's security, and approved a major review of defense policy, including significant spending increases. . (David Mareuil/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
South Korea, the United States and Japan conducted a trilateral missile defense exercise in international waters in the East Sea on Wednesday, the South Korean military announced, as tensions escalate over North Korea's recent missile launches. (Ministry of Defense of South Korea, via Getty Images)
Separately, Japan has expressed concern about the evolving relationship between Russia and North Korea as they continue to step up their development of nuclear and ballistic weapons.
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The top nuclear envoys of the United States, Japan and South Korea held a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Thursday. Officials criticized military cooperation between North Korea and Moscow after North Korea's foreign minister met with Russian President Vladimir Putin as the reclusive country continued missile tests.
