BEIJING, March 13. /TASS/. Japan’s rapid deployment of offensive weapons and the strengthening of militaristic tendencies within the country threaten regional security and peace in Asia, the Global Times newspaper noted in an editorial commenting on Japan's plans to deploy long-range land-based missiles.

"The neo-militarism in Japan has become more than just a perilous tendency, but a very real threat that is putting regional peace and security at risk. It’s also clear who Japan's recent intensified military buildup in the Southwest Islands near China's Taiwan island is targeting," the commentary reads.

As the article points out, "Japan’s rush to push forward 'remilitarization' represents a continuation of policies driven by conservative political forces in recent years to break through postwar restraints and pursue the status of a major military power."

"Japan is now engaging in a dangerous gamble - it seeks to exploit the window created by strategic competition between China and the US, positioning itself as Washington's forward outpost in the Asia-Pacific and, under the banner of ‘sharing security responsibilities for the US,’ attempting to secure US tacit approval for Japan to shake off its military constraints. Yet, US indulgence will only embolden the military adventurism of Japan’s right-wing forces," says the publication.

According to the Global Times, such steps contradict the spirit of Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, which stipulates the renunciation of war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force to resolve international disputes. "Against this backdrop, the remilitarization pursued by Japan’s right-wing government has clearly ‘gone too far,’ representing a betrayal of history, a disregard for the postwar international order, and a manipulation of sentiment within Japan itself," the article states.

The commentary notes that the actions of Japanese right-wing forces could lead to negative consequences for Japan itself. "Eighty years ago, the international community delivered a just verdict on the crimes of Japanese militarism. Eighty years later, if Japan dares to gamble again, the outcome can only be a quicker and more devastating defeat," the publication concludes.

Missile deployment

As the Kyodo News Agency previously reported, the Japanese Ministry of Defense is developing plans for the further deployment of Type 12 land-based cruise missiles with a range of over 1,000 kilometers. After 2028, they will likely be stationed on the island of Hokkaido, adjacent to Russia. Other possible locations include Aomori Prefecture in the north of Japan's main island of Honshu and the southern island of Okinawa, which overlooks Taiwan in the East China Sea.

During the first phase, the combat deployment of Type 12 cruise missiles in Kumamoto City on Kyushu Island will be completed by March 31 of this year. At the same time, missiles with high-speed glide vehicles with a range of several hundred kilometers will be stationed at the Japanese Army’s Fuji Air Base in Shizuoka Prefecture in the center of the country. By the spring of 2027, they are also expected to be deployed in the prefectures of Hokkaido in the north and Miyazaki on the island of Kyushu. The development of an upgraded version of these missiles with a hypersonic glide vehicle with a range of up to 3,000 km is currently underway.