Japan plans to almost triple missile defense units in remote islands

TOKYO. KAZINFORM Japan is considering almost tripling the number of units in its Self-Defense Forces equipped with ballistic missile interception capabilities in the country's remote southwestern islands by the end of fiscal 2031, a draft of the plan has shown, Kyodo reports.

The plan is expected to be included in the government's National Defense Program Guidelines, a 10-year defense buildup policy to be updated by the end of the year, as the nation focuses on boosting its defense capabilities in southwest Japan, a strategically important area in light of the Chinese military's muscle-flexing in the East China Sea.

According to the draft obtained by Kyodo News on Sunday, Japan plans to increase the number of SDF ballistic missile defense units in the Nansei Islands, an island chain stretching southwest from Kyushu toward Taiwan, up to 11 from the current four by the fiscal year that ends in March 2032.

Among the seven units acquiring the capability, six will be based in the southern prefecture of Okinawa and one will be deployed on Amami-Oshima Island in southwestern Kagoshima Prefecture, the plan showed. Including the seven in those areas, a total of 14 surface-to-air units across Japan will newly obtain the capability to intercept missiles, it said.

The plan also said that the Ground Self-Defense Force's Type-03 intermediate-range guided missiles, originally designed to intercept airplanes, will be remodeled so that they can shoot down ballistic missiles, set to be deployed in fiscal 2026.

Photo: english.kyodonews.net