Tensions Rise! Japan Deploys Long-Range Missiles Near China

Japan is deploying long-range missiles in its southwestern region near China. This was announced by Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi on Tuesday (31/3), at a time when relations with Beijing are at their lowest point in several years. The missiles are being placed in Kumamoto in the southern Kyushu region, as Japan seeks to strengthen its military capacity amid rising Chinese naval activities in the East China Sea. “Long-range defence capabilities allow us to counter threats from enemy forces attempting to attack our country… while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Koizumi said, as reported by AFP news agency on Tuesday (31/3/2026). “This is a very important initiative to strengthen Japan’s deterrence and response capabilities,” he added. The ground-to-ship guided missile system has a range of around 1,000 kilometres (620 miles), enabling it to reach parts of mainland China—Shanghai is approximately 900 kilometres from Kumamoto. Koizumi also stated that “high-velocity guided projectiles”, designed to defend remote islands from enemy forces, have been deployed in Shizuoka, another coastal area closer to Tokyo, Japan’s capital, facing the Pacific Ocean. Japan has long maintained a policy of using its military only for the strictest self-defence. However, in recent years, Tokyo has gradually built up its defence capacity in line with the increasing military activities of neighbouring countries in the region, including China, Russia, and North Korea. In 2022, Japan approved plans to deploy missiles with counter-attack capabilities. “If we continue to rely entirely on ballistic missile defence… it will become increasingly difficult to fully counter advanced missile threats,” stated last year’s defence white paper. China is strengthening its military and is involved in several territorial disputes with other countries in the region, including Japan over the Senkaku Islands, known as the Diaoyu Islands in China. Relations between Japan and Beijing have deteriorated in recent months after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi hinted in November that Tokyo could intervene militarily in any attack on sovereign Taiwan. It is known that China regards Taiwan as its territory and does not rule out the possibility of seizing it by force.