Japan to look into deployment of cruise missiles to combat North Korea threat

Japan has started contemplating future deployment of cruise missiles in response to North Korea’s repeated ballistic missile launches and nuclear tests, a government official said on Friday.

The government is eager to set aside spending to study the potential acquisition of a capability to strike enemy launch sites, possibly in a draft state budget for fiscal 2018, the official told Kyodo News, speaking on condition of anonymity.

However, there are concerns within the government and ruling parties that adoption of strike capability would run contrary to Japan’s exclusively defence-oriented posture and trigger a backlash from opposition parties.

The Tomahawk is a long-range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile. It would have enough range to hit any part of North Korea from the Sea of Japan, or East Sea, flying at extremely low altitudes and thus making it less noticeable to radar.

The government is considering deploying Tomahawks on the Maritime Self-Defence Force’s Aegis-equipped vessels, the official said. If they are actually introduced, the ships will also need renovation to carry them.