After decades of "painstaking efforts", Japan's so-called "counterattack capability" – that is, the "ability to attack enemy bases" finally became a reality on March 31. The Japanese Ministry of Defense announced on the same day that the Ground Self-Defense Force has completed the deployment of domestically produced "Type 25 land-based anti-ship missiles" at the Kenjun Station in Kumamoto City and the domestically produced "Type 25 high-speed glide bombs" at the Fuji Station in Shizuoka Prefecture. This also represents the official turning point in Japan's defense policy, which previously advocated "exclusive defense".
The missile is launched from a ground vehicle-mounted launcher and has a range of approximately 1,000 kilometers.
The so-called "Type 25 land-based anti-ship missile" is actually the "Improved Type 12 land-based anti-ship missile" that has repeatedly made headlines in the media. As a newly developed stealth cruise missile, it is launched from a ground vehicle-mounted launcher and has a range of about 1,000 kilometers. Kyodo News Agency of Japan unabashedly claimed that its strike range can cover some coastal areas of mainland China.
The "Type 25 high-speed gliding bomb" is Japan's domestically produced hypersonic missile mentioned many times in the Japanese defense white paper – "high-speed gliding bomb for island defense." Although the "island defense" in its name makes it sound like a "defensive weapon," the missile is actually an out-and-out attack "fang."
missile launch screen
According to data previously released by Japanese media, the "Type 25 high-speed gliding bomb" adopts a boosted gliding technology route and has the ability to sustain flight exceeding Mach 5 in the atmosphere and maneuvering orbit characteristics. It is difficult for existing air defense systems to effectively counter it. In other words, this missile is currently Japan's long-range weapon with the best penetration capability. What is currently being deployed is only the initial model, which is actually more similar to a medium-to-short-range ballistic missile with terminal maneuverable orbit change, with a range of about 500-900 kilometers.
The Block 2A model, planned to be deployed starting from fiscal year 2027, will have a range increased to 2,000 kilometers. It will adopt a double-cone layout and its overall penetration capability will be more prominent. Deployed from the Japanese mainland, its range has covered the entire Korean Peninsula, most key areas in the Russian Far East including Vladivostok, and major coastal cities in China. Which Japanese island needs such a long range and such a powerful penetration capability to defend it?
The final version of the missile, the Block 2B model, is planned to be put into service in the early 2030s, with a range further increased to about 3,000 kilometers. It will adopt a waverider design and have stronger mobile penetration capabilities. In terms of range, the missile's strike range covers a large part of China. Considering that its Block 2A model has already covered the main targets in North Korea and the Russian Far East, it can be said that the Block 2B model of this missile is an offensive weapon specially developed by Japan to target China.
As the Japanese media stated, these two missiles, which are clearly characterized by the Ministry of Defense as having "counterattack capabilities," have broken the "exclusive defense" policy that Japan has adhered to since the end of World War II. They also represent the final "result" of the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party's long-term efforts to break through the restrictions of Japan's pacifist constitution.
Screenshots from Japanese media reports
Since the beginning of this century, the Liberal Democratic Party has semi-publicly discussed that Japan should have the "preemptive" capability to "launch attacks on enemy bases" in the name of dealing with North Korean missiles. In 2009, for the first time, the Liberal Democratic Party explicitly wrote "having the ability to attack enemy bases" in a formal policy recommendation document; in 2013, Shinzo Abe's cabinet included "the ability to attack enemy bases" in the "Defense Plan Outline" discussion, raising the possibility of "preemptive strike", further strengthening the offensive nature of this capability; in August 2017, then Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera began to formally consider the necessity of the Self-Defense Forces deploying offensive weapons to gain the ability to attack enemy bases.
In December 2022, the Japanese government officially adopted the new version of the "National Security Strategy", "Defense Plan Outline" and "Medium-term Defense Force Preparation Plan" (collectively known as the "Three Security Documents"). This is a fundamental shift in Japan's post-war defense policy. For the first time, it was clearly stated that Japan "develops and possesses a 'counterattack capability'", which is defined as "the ability to strike at enemy missile launch bases and other targets in order to prevent the enemy from attacking again when it is attacked by force", thus seeking the "legal basis" for Japan to strike at the enemy's homeland targets from a long distance.
What's even more ironic is that long before the new version of the "Three Security Documents" was passed, the development of the "Improved Type 12 land-based anti-ship missile" had been officially launched in 2020 – that is to say, the Ministry of Defense began to develop this offensive weapon before the relevant Japanese domestic regulations "permitted" the Self-Defense Forces to obtain "counterattack capabilities."
From these signs, it can be confirmed that Japan has already made deliberate efforts to develop offensive "fangs" against neighboring countries. Japan's continued breakthroughs in "remilitarization" deserve high vigilance from the international community.
What is even more disturbing is that Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning revealed on March 31 that the Self-Defense Forces officer who broke into the Chinese Embassy in Japan with a knife suddenly changed his mind after the Self-Defense Forces received a nine-month reserve cadre training course. What ideas did the Self-Defense Forces instill in him during this process? What education was given?
