JAPAN – The Japanese Defense Ministry announced the deployment of long-range missiles with counterstrike capabilities in 2 of its Ground Self-Defense Force bases on Tuesday.

“In response to the increasingly severe security environment surrounding Japan, the Ground Self Defense Force is engaged in the development of stand-off defense capabilities,” the ministry said on the US social media company X.

They have been dispatched “for the first time as domestically developed stand-off missiles,” it said.

The missiles were stationed at Camp Kengun in Kumamoto Prefecture in southwestern Japan and Camp Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture in central Japan, the Kyodo news agency reported.

The ministry said Camp Kengun has been equipped with a ground-launched upgraded Type 12 land-to-ship guided missile, with a range of about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles), capable of reaching parts of the continental coastline from Kyushu.

A training unit at Camp Fuji has been equipped with hyper-velocity gliding projects for the defense of remote islands. The operational methods will be studied there.

The missiles are scheduled for deployment in fiscal 2026 to Camp Kamifurano in Hokkaido and Camp Ebino in Miyazaki Prefecture in the Kyushu region.

The current model has a range of several hundred kilometers, the news agency reported, citing sources.

The deployment “marks a shift from the country’s exclusively defense-oriented policy under its war-renouncing Constitution,” it said.

Local residents in the deployment areas have voiced concerns that the sites could become targets in the event of a conflict, according to the news agency, but the ministry maintains the systems are essential for strengthening deterrence.

The ministry also plans to continue deploying long-range missiles to various units.