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Current Affairs

What Japan’s missile plan for remote Pacific island reveals about its defence goals

Japan is reportedly planning to deploy advanced anti-ship missiles on Minamitorishima, the country’s easternmost island, as it moves to enhance its defence posture against what…

By Samantha Johnson / March 26, 2026
Japan is reportedly planning to deploy advanced anti-ship missiles on Minamitorishima, the country’s easternmost island, as it moves to enhance its defence posture against what it perceives as rising Chinese military activity in the region.

The defence ministry is also seeking to deploy a launcher, spotting drones and radar systems on the island as early as June, according to a report by national broadcaster NHK on Tuesday. These would be used to identify and target vessels, complementing the Ground Self-Defence Force’s Type 12 surface-to-ship missiles.

Firing exercises involving the missiles were planned for next year, the report said.

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Covering just 1.5 sq km (0.6 square miles) and located about 1,950km (1,200 miles) southeast of Tokyo, Minamitorishima has a military airfield and garrison but no permanent residents. Government officials conduct weather observations and maintain port and other facilities on the island.

Weeks earlier, the Asahi newspaper reported that the ministry also intended to boost defences on Iwoto – better known as Iwo Jima – located around 1,260km (780 miles) west of Minamitorishima and the site of one of the defining battles of WWII.

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“China has been actively advancing its presence and activities in the mid-Pacific, so the Japanese government is having to respond by upgrading its Pacific defence posture,” said Masayuki Masuda, director of Chinese studies at the Ministry of Defence’s National Institute of Defence Studies in Tokyo.

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