CTV( Japan ) The Defense Ministry held an exhibition of missile launchers and other equipment Tuesday at a Ground Self-Defense Force garrison in Kumamoto, southwestern Japan, ahead of a long-range missile deployment scheduled for March 31.
The first such deployment comes as Japan seeks to acquire counterstrike capabilities to hit enemy targets in a national security emergency, marking a turning point from the country’s exclusively defense-oriented policy under its war-renouncing Constitution.
The missile is an upgraded version of the Type 12 land-to-ship guided missile that can fly about 1,000 kilometers and reach parts of the continental coastline from the Kyushu region.
Amid the most severe security environment surrounding the country since World War II, the government says Japan could fire such missiles if it determines that an enemy has launched an attack first, even before it suffers damage.
Among the participants at the exhibition featuring the launchers of both the conventional and improved Type 12 missiles, as well as other equipment such as ammunition transport vehicles, were Takashi Kimura, governor of Kumamoto Prefecture, and Kazufumi Onishi, mayor of its capital, Kumamoto.
Residents have criticized the Defense Ministry for not briefing them on the deployment, amid concerns that deployment sites could become targets.
“What people are worried about and what they want to know varies from person to person,” the mayor told reporters. “The most important thing (for the ministry) is to explain things carefully.”
Similarly, the governor said he wants the ministry to hold a separate event from the exhibition and provide residents with a thorough explanation.
The GSDF did not notify Kumamoto Prefecture or the city of Kumamoto about transporting the new launcher and other equipment to the Kengun Garrison in the early hours of March 9.
The Defense Ministry’s Kyushu bureau chief, Kazumi Ito, said, “We will work closely with the prefecture and city to provide appropriate information to residents.”
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