Japan buys hundreds of Tomahawk missiles from United States

TOKYO — Japan signed a deal with the United States on Thursday to purchase up to 400 Tomahawk cruise missiles as part of its ongoing military buildup in response to increased regional threats.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government has pledged to double its annual defense spending to about 10 trillion yen (U.S. $68 billion) by 2027, which would make Japan the world’s third-biggest military spender after the United States and China.

Defense Minister Minoru Kihara announced in December a decision to accelerate deployment of some Tomahawks and Japanese-made Type 12 surface-to-ship missiles beginning in fiscal 2025, a year before the original plan. The government says Japan is facing its “severest” security environment since World War II because of threats from China and North Korea, causing it to increase military cooperation with the U.S., Australia, Britain and other friendly nations.

In November, the U.S. approved a $2.35 billion sale of two types of Tomahawks — 200 Block IV missiles and 200 upgraded Block V versions. They can be launched from warships and hit targets 1,000 miles away, officials said.

Kihara and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel attended the signing of the purchase agreement on Thursday.

Japan and the United States agreed to expedite the deployment “in response to the increasingly severe security environment,” Kihara said.

Emanuel said training of Japanese service members for the Tomahawks will start in March.

Late last year, Japan’s Cabinet eased a ban on exports of lethal weapons, allowing the sale of Japanese-made weapons and components made under license from other nations to those countries. The government quickly approved a shipment of Japanese-made Patriot missiles to the United States to complement the American inventory.

Japan is accelerating its deployment of long-range cruise missiles capable of hitting targets in China or North Korea, while Japanese troops increasingly work side by side with the U.S. and other friendly nations, and take on more offensive roles.

At a news conference earlier Thursday marking the end of his second year in Tokyo, Emanuel lauded Japan’s rapid move during that time to build up its military and strengthen its alliance with the U.S. to meet challenges in the region.

Under a new defense strategy adopted in December 2022, Japan has joined the United States, Australia, South Korea and many other regional partners “in an aligned vision of how to promote peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and meet the challenges head on,” Emanuel said. The U.S. approach to its partnership with Japan is “one of ensuring deterrence” and making sure there is no change in the region by military force, Emanuel said.

“There is a new Japan emerging, a more competent Japan,” he said.

东京——日本周四与美国签署了一项协议，将购买多达 400 枚战斧巡航导弹，这是日本为应对日益增长的地区威胁而持续加强军事建设的一部分。

日本首相岸田文雄领导的政府承诺到 2027 年将年度国防开支增加一倍，达到约 10 万亿日元（约合 680 亿美元），这将使日本成为继美国和中国之后的世界第三大军费开支国。

日本防卫大臣木原稔于去年12月宣布，将提前一年，从2025财年开始加快部署部分“战斧”巡航导弹和日本国产12型舰对舰导弹。政府表示，由于来自中国和朝鲜的威胁，日本正面临二战以来“最严峻”的安全环境，因此将加强与美国、澳大利亚、英国和其他友好国家的军事合作。

去年11月，美国批准了一项价值23.5亿美元的军售计划，出售两种类型的战斧导弹——200枚Block IV型导弹和200枚升级后的Block V型导弹。官员称，这些导弹可以从军舰上发射，射程可达1000英里。

周四，木原和美国驻日本大使拉姆·伊曼纽尔出席了购买协议的签署仪式。

木原表示，日本和美国同意加快部署，“以应对日益严峻的安全环境”。

伊曼纽尔表示，日本军方人员对“战斧”导弹系统的训练将于3月开始。

去年底，日本内阁放宽了对致命武器出口的禁令，允许向其他国家出售日本制造的武器以及根据其他国家的许可生产的零部件。政府迅速批准向美国交付一批日本制造的“爱国者”导弹，以补充美国的导弹库存。

日本正在加速部署能够打击中国或朝鲜目标的远程巡航导弹，同时日本军队越来越多地与美国和其他友好国家并肩作战，并承担更多进攻性角色。

在周四早些时候举行的新闻发布会上，伊曼纽尔庆祝了他在东京的第二个任期结束。他赞扬了日本在此期间迅速加强军事建设并强化与美国的联盟，以应对该地区的挑战。

伊曼纽尔表示，根据2022年12月通过的新防务战略，日本已与美国、澳大利亚、韩国以及许多其他地区伙伴一道，“在促进印太地区和平与繁荣、直面挑战方面达成共识”。他还指出，美国对日伙伴关系的方针是“确保威慑”，并确保该地区不会因武力而发生任何改变。

他说：“一个崭新的日本正在崛起，一个更有能力的日本。”