06-07-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Why Japan just tested a missile on its own turf for the first time
The distant thunder of a missile launch from Hokkaido late last month was less a provocation than a statement of intent: marking a turning point, analysts say, in
Japan 's approach to its own defence.
On June 24, more than 300 members of the Japan Ground Self-Defence Force's 1st Artillery Brigade gathered at a remote firing range for the country's first-ever live missile test from home soil.
It saw a Type-88 surface-to-ship missile being launched towards an unmanned vessel parked 40km (25 miles) offshore. Such operations were previously conducted only in allied nations such as the
United States or
Australia due to space and safety concerns.
The drill came as Japan's military aims to become more self-sufficient in countering China's maritime activities.
Japan's Defence Minister Gen Nakatani (left) and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (right) after inspecting an honour guard at the Ministry of Defence in Tokyo on June 30. Photo: AFP
Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani cited the desire to cultivate greater defence self-sufficiency amid an 'increasingly severe security environment' at an April press conference announcing the drill.
