Japan’s armed forces announced on Tuesday that it has completed its first-ever missile test on home soil, a major development in its efforts to bolster national defense amid rising regional tensions.
The test, which used a Type 88 short-range surface-to-ship missile, was conducted at the Shizunai Anti-Air Firing Range on Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost major island. Some 300 Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) members of the 1st Artillery Brigade took part in the test, which fired a training missile at an unmanned target boat about 40 kilometers off Hokkaido’s southern coast. The GSDF is now studying the results of the test.
Earlier, faced with space and safety limitations, Japan had conducted missile testing in allied nations like the United States and Australia. The test on Tuesday marks Japan’s increasing dedication to an independent military strategy and the creation of strike-back capabilities, fueled in part by China’s increasing maritime influence and combined naval presence with Russia off Japanese shores.
Japan’s defense stance has shifted dramatically since 2022, when the government took up a five-year security strategy that identified China as the most serious strategic danger. The plan requires a bolstering of the Japan-US alliance and extending Japan’s defensive zone.
The nation is also readying the long-range cruise missiles, such as US-built Tomahawks, and has started development of the extended-range Type 12 surface-to-ship missile, with a potential maximum range of 1,000 kilometers ten times that of the Type 88.
In further support of missile firing, Japan is going to build a fresh missile-shooting range on Minamitorishima, its easternmost island in the western Pacific. This area has taken on greater strategic significance following the recent sighting of two Chinese aircraft carriers sailing together in nearby waters.
