TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s army announced Tuesday that it conducted a missile test for the first time on Japanese territory, as the country accelerates its military buildup to deter increasingly assertive China.
The test-firing of the Type 88 surface-to-ship, short-range missile was conducted Tuesday at the Shizunai Anti-Air Firing Range on Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido.
About 300 soldiers participated in Tuesday’s exercise by the Ground Self-Defense Force’s 1st Artillery Brigade, using a training missile targeting an unmanned boat about 40 kilometers (24 miles) off the southern coast of Hokkaido, officials said.
Officials were still examining the results of the test, the GSDF said.
Due to space limitations and safety concerns, Japan has previously conducted missile tests in the territories of the United States, a treaty ally, and Australia, a top Japanese defense partner where vast training grounds are available.
Tuesday’s first domestic missile test underscores Japan’s push toward a more self-sufficient military and its acquisition of strike-back capabilities as a deterrence to China’s increasingly assertive naval activity in regional seas.
Japan is also concerned about growing joint military exercises around Japanese coasts between China and Russia.
Japan and Russia, a northern neighbor to Hokkaido, have territorial disputes.
Japan, under its pacifist Constitution, used to limit the use of force for self-defense only, but has taken a major break from that policy in 2022 when it adopted the ongoing five-year security strategy that names China as the biggest strategic challenge and calls for a closer Japan-U.S. alliance.
Japan is currently working to deploy long-range cruise missiles, including Tomahawks purchased from the U.S., beginning later this year.
Japan is also developing Type 12 surface-to-ship missiles with a range of about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), 10 times that of a Type 88.
The truck-mounted Type 88 guided missile, developed by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, have a range of about 100 kilometers (62 miles).
Japan is also preparing to build a missile-firing range on uninhabited Minamitorishima, the country’s easternmost island in the western Pacific, an area where two Chinese aircraft carriers were seen operating together for the first time earlier this month.
