Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (second left) walks past a Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) Type 19 155 mm wheeled self-propelled howitzer (back left) and a Type 12 surface-to-ship missile (back right) as he inspects equipment during a review at JGSDF Camp Asaka in Tokyo on Nov 27, 2021. (KIYOSHI OTA / POOL / AFP)
TOKYO – Japan will develop and mass produce a cruise missile and a high-velocity ballistic missile, it said on Wednesday, as it seeks the ability to strike more distant targets as part of a military expansion.
The procurement plan unveiled in the Ministry of Defense’s annual budget request represents a clear departure from a decades-long range limit imposed on Japan's constitutionally constrained Self Defense Forces, that meant they could only field missiles with ranges of a few hundred kilometers.
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The ministry mentioned the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as a threat to Japan.
The defense ministry is also seeking money to develop other projectiles, including hypersonic warheads
The budget request is for funding to mass produce ground-launched cruise missiles, an extended range version of the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries designed Type 12 missile already in use, to strike ships, and a new, high-velocity glide ballistic missiles capable of hitting ground targets.
The ministry is also seeking money to develop other projectiles, including hypersonic warheads.
The ministry did not give a range for the proposed weapons, or say how many it planned to field.
Japan has already ordered air-launched missiles, including the Joint Strike Missile (JSM) made by Norway's Kongsberg, and Lockheed Martin Corp's Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-Off Missile (JASSM) with a range of up to 1,000 km.
Unlike with ship or ground-based launchers, however, the number it can fire is limited by how many planes it can put in the air to fire them.
The ministry asked for a 3.6 percent increase in spending to 5.6 trillion yen ($39.78 billion) for the year starting on April 1, but said the figure would rise after it calculated the cost of new procurement programs.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government will approve that increased request at the end of the year when it will also unveil a major defense strategy overhaul and new midterm military buildup plan.
Kishida, who has described security in East Asia as "fragile", has promised to "substantially" increase defense outlays to prepare Japan for regional conflict.
His ruling Liberal Democratic Party in its upper house election manifesto in July promised to double defense spending to 2 percent of gross domestic product over five years.
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That would make Japan the world's third biggest military spender behind major ally the United States, and neighboring China.
In addition to increasing stockpile of missiles and other munitions, Japan's military wants to develop its cyber defenses, electromagnetic warfare capabilities and space presence.