Asia Defense | Security | East Asia

Japan Will Begin Deploying Homegrown Longer-Range Missiles as Counterstrike Strategy Takes Shape 

March 31 will mark the first deployment of two new Japanese systems: the Hyper Velocity Gliding Projectile (HVGP) for island defense and the upgraded Type 12 surface-to-ship missile.

The Hyper Velocity Gliding Projectile (HVGP) for island defense.

Japan will begin deploying new homegrown longer-range missiles later this month, marking a major step in the country’s effort to operationalize its newly adopted “counterstrike capabilities.” The move represents one of the most concrete manifestations yet of Tokyo’s evolving defense strategy amid growing regional security tensions.

On March 10, Japan’s Ministry of Defense announced that a ground-launched hypersonic glide weapon known as the Hyper Velocity Gliding Projectile (HVGP) for island defense will be deployed to the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) Camp Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan, on March 31.

The same day will also see the first operational deployment of an upgraded Type 12 surface-to-ship missile at JGSDF Camp Kengun in Kumamoto Prefecture. Located in central Kyushu, the base places parts of China and the Korean Peninsula within the missile’s estimated range.

The twin deployments signal the start of Japan’s effort to field domestically developed longer-range strike capabilities. Together with planned acquisitions of other standoff weapons, they form a central pillar of Tokyo’s strategy to deter adversaries by holding key military targets at risk from greater distances.

For decades since World War II, Japan has maintained an exclusively defense-oriented security posture, limiting the role of its Self-Defense Forces largely to repelling attacks on Japanese territory.

However, the regional security environment has changed dramatically in recent years. North Korea has continued to advance its nuclear weapons program and develop increasingly sophisticated ballistic missiles, while China has rapidly expanded its military capabilities and intensified activities around the East China Sea, Taiwan, and the western Pacific.

In response, Japan revised its three key security documents in December 2022, including the National Security Strategy and the National Defense Strategy. The updated policies formally introduced the concept of “counterstrike capabilities” – the ability to strike enemy missile launch sites or other military targets if Japan comes under attack.

Japanese officials stress that such capabilities remain defensive in nature and would only be used in response to an armed attack. Even so, the shift represents one of the most significant changes in Japan’s defense policy in decades.

The deployments scheduled for March offer the first concrete indication of how that concept will be implemented.

The HVGP being deployed to Camp Fuji is designed primarily for the defense of Japan’s remote islands, an increasingly important mission as tensions rise in the East China Sea. In particular, China has intensified its activities around the Senkaku Islands – known in China as the Diaoyu Islands – whose sovereignty is disputed between Tokyo and Beijing.

Unlike conventional ballistic missiles, hypersonic glide vehicles separate from their boosters and travel along unpredictable trajectories at very high speeds, making them more difficult for missile defense systems to intercept.

The version being introduced at Camp Fuji is an early operational model with a range of several hundred kilometers. The system will be assigned to a JGSDF artillery training........

© The Diplomat