Скачать или смотреть Japan finalises purchase of 400 Tomahawk missiles from US amid China fear

(18 Jan 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tokyo, Japan - 18 January 2024
1. Various of Japanese defense minister Minoru Kihara signing Tomahawk deal
2. Various of U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel and Kihara posing for photos
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan:
“We are going to, as early as March, start the training for the Japanese service men and women on the Tomahawk.”
4. Emanuel during meeting with Kihara
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan:
“The procurement process is the beginning of the whole operation in the United States and Japan, both on the technology front as well as the training front that brings a level of credibility into our collective deterrence that we all want to see."
6. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Minoru Kihara, Japanese Defense Minister:
“Our two nations will work hand in hand to address many tasks that lie ahead of us, and I look forward to your strong leadership in the coming months to bring this project to fruition.”
7. Wide of meeting

STORYLINE:
Japan signed a deal with the United States on Thursday to purchase up to 400 Tomahawk cruise missiles as Tokyo seeks to speed up deployment of long-range missiles as part of its ongoing military buildup in the face of growing China threat.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government, which adopted a new security strategy in December 2022, is bolstering its military power and spending, pledging to double its annual spending to around 10 trillion yen ($68 billion) through 2027, which would make Japan the world’s third-biggest military spender after the United States and China.

Defense Minister Minoru Kihara announced in December a decision to bring forward deployment of some Tomahawks and Type-12s to start during the fiscal year beginning April 2025, a year before the original target.

The step is a result of Japan facing its “severest” security environment in the postwar era that has also led it to increase joint operations with the U.S., Australia, Britain and other friendly nations.

Washington approved in November a $2.35 billion sale of two types of Tomahawks - 200 units of Block-4 and upgraded Block-5 each.

They can be launched from warships and hit targets 1,600 kilometers (1,000-miles) away, officials said.

“Our two nations will work hand in hand to address many tasks that lie ahead of us,” Kihara said at a signing event, also attended by U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel and defense officials from both sides.

Japan and the United States agreed to expedite the deployment “in response to the increasingly severe security environment,” Kihara said.

In the latest major move underscoring a shift away from its self-defense-only principle, Japan’s Cabinet late last year eased its postwar ban on lethal weapons exports, allowing the export of weapons and components made in Japan under foreign licenses to the licensing nations.
The government quickly approved a Patriot missiles shipment to the United States to complement U.S. inventory.

Japan is accelerating a planned deployment of long-range cruise missiles that can hit targets in China or North Korea while Japanese troops increasingly work side-by-side with the U.S. and other friendly nations and take on more offensive roles.

Emanuel welcomed Japan's push for accelerating the delivery of the Tomahawk, bringing “a level of urgency that pushed us to go faster, to the credibility to our deterrence.”

AP video shot by Ayaka McGill

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