Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Monday that his country plans to purchase 400 Tomahawk missiles from the US, a deal that will break from Tokyo’s post-World War II policy of only having weapons for self-defense purposes.
It was first revealed in December that Japan planned to purchase Tomahawks, which have a range of over 1,000 miles, putting targets in China and North Korea in range. Tokyo has set aside $1.5 billion for the missiles and plans to purchase them in the next fiscal year.
The US has welcomed Kishida’s plan to obtain what he calls “counterstrike” capabilities. The Tomahawk purchase is part of Japan’s US-backed military buildup that will double Tokyo’s defense budget by 2027, which will make Japan the third biggest military spender in the world.
The military buildup is aimed at China and comes after Tokyo released a national security strategy that named Beijing the “biggest strategic challenge,” echoing language in the Pentagon’s 2022 National Defense Strategy.
In January, the US and Japan announced a series of steps they were taking to increase military cooperation. One plan involves deploying a new unit of US Marines to Okinawa’s islands that will be armed with anti-ship missiles.
Lt. Gen. James Bierman, the commander of US Marines Forces Japan, recently told Financial Times that the increased military cooperation with Japan and other US allies in the region is being done to prepare for war with China. He said the US was “setting the theater” in the region the same way it did in Ukraine after 2014.
Are they any smart people left in D.C.??? If it looks like a war, talks like a war, it must be a war.
Should it become a WAR, You will know, it won’t be a question.
It is a billion dollar deal, it improves the odds that Japan will act as a missile sponge should things get going, It gives China more to think about.
Wake UP John…!!!!! China can give Japan something they would never be able to forget anytime they want, and What can Japan give…??? Like giving 4th graders a hand grenade.s Its a joke. China is a top peer nuclear power and can put Japan back in the Stone Age. “Gives China something to think about…????????” More likely something to laugh about…!!!!
Makes one wonder if they liked being nuked in WWII..??
You took the word right out me.
So it goes.
Either they really enjoyed it or Japan is more ignorant of its own history than we are.
I think education in Japan about the events in 30’s and 40’s is light on a lot of the details. This is passing out of living memory now.
Never wake a sleeping dog or thermonuclear neighbor.
Never bring a Tomahawk to a gun fight. By gun I mean nukes of course.
Is there any doubt…????? ONLY NUKES represent true power… Anything else is a joke in todays world…!!!!!!!
” …the US was ‘setting the theater’…” Sorry, dude! I don’t think I can make it to the play since we would all be dying from actual NUKES! LOL
“He said the US was “setting the theater” in the region the same way it did in Ukraine after 2014.”
Sounds like an admission of guilt to me.
The last paragraph says it all. We are preparing for war maybe next year?
It will be exciting if nothing else. Major wars in two completely different regions with two completely different styles of combat.
Apparently Japan looked at Ukraine and thought “I WANT THAT TOO!”.
Japan is playing with dragon fire when they ally themselves to Wash. I wonder how much in bribes (foreign aid) the Japanese gov. got to ‘buy’ those missiles? or, did they even buy them, or were they a gift from the US taxpayer? There’s no accounting for all that money going out to start WWIII.
Given how these missiles are used in Ukraine, that is like a 4 week supply
Good idea. They can probably be used against balloons.
“We buy them because we are scared” – Japan