Japan expands military arsenal due to Russia's military activity

Japan's Maritime Self-Defence Force will install new extended-range missiles on their submarines,  Yomiuri news agency reports with reference to sources in the Japanese government.

Several officials said the arsenal of Japanese submarines would be expanded with missiles capable of striking targets located up to 1,000 kilometers away. This will allow Japan to attack enemy ships and ground military bases without the threat of returning fire.

Japan's Ministry of Defence spent more than $340 million on the design and implementation of the missiles. According to government officials, submarines will be able to launch new missiles without the need to surface, with the use of torpedo launchers. The missiles were designed to counter hostile military activities, sources noted. 

On November 25, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said that he was seriously concerned about Russia's and China's growing military activities near the borders of Japan. According to him, Russia repeatedly sent its aircraft and warships towards the territorial waters of Japan in the autumn of 2021.

On December 22, the Russian diesel-electric submarine Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky launched a Caliber cruise missile from the Sea of Japan. The attack was carried out to strike a training target, albeit from a large distance of about 1,000 kilometers.