Japan accelerates the Tomahawk purchase by one year

Defense Minister Minoru Kihara announced on Wednesday that Japan will purchase Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States one year early, in fiscal 2025.

During a 50-minute discussion at the Pentagon, the new defense chief informed Lloyd Austin, his American counterpart, about the proposal. This week, Kihara, who took office as defense minister three weeks ago, is visiting Washington for the first time. Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, and he had a meeting earlier in the day.

Kihara told reporters following the meetings that Japan had decided it was necessary to move the acquisition up by a year because of the country's increasingly strict security environment.

The Tomahawks, which are set to go into service as early as fiscal 2025, will form the nucleus of Japan's new counterstrike capability.

Austin began their conversation by telling Kihara, "The U.S. and Japan partnership is experiencing a period of unprecedented momentum right now. "Our two nations' strategic alignment is unprecedented."

To strengthen the alliance in the face of threats from China, North Korea, and Russia, Austin said he is looking forward to working with Kihara.

He was referring to the Senkaku Islands, a group of small islands controlled by Japan that China claims and calls the Diaoyu. He said that America's Article V treaty commitment to the defense of Japan "remains ironclad, and it covers all territories under Japan's administration, including the Senkaku Islands."

The two allies are looking for ways to combine their defense capabilities to counter China, whose expanding military might have alarmed Washington and Tokyo. Kihara's visit to the capital comes at this time.