Image source: topwar.ru
After the surrender of Japan following the Second World War in 1945, this country has serious restrictions on the use of certain types of weapons at the legislative level, and the Japanese military can only carry out defense-related operations. However, Tokyo has long been closely cooperating militarily with the United States, gradually lifting all restrictions, including in terms of production and even export of weapons. The Japanese leadership justifies the militarization of the country by the need to confront the DPRK and partly the PRC, which suits Washington very well.
Local media learned about the next development of weapons by the Japanese military-industrial complex, clearly not for defense purposes. The Japanese daily newspaper Sankei Shimbun reports on a leak into the network of data, including photographs, about a new long-range missile, which is being developed by order of the Ministry of Defense of the country.
The first data on the tactical and technical characteristics (TTX) of the new missile and several pictures of it were posted for a small group of users of the cross-platform instant messaging system (messenger) Discord. Then this data has already spread over the network and got into the press.
The comments note that, with a high degree of probability, these data relate to a new long-range missile being developed by order of the Japanese military department. Most likely, we are talking about an upgraded version of the Type 12 Surface-to-Ship Missile of the surface-to-ship class, developed and manufactured by the Japanese company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. These missiles have been in service with the Japanese Self-Defense Forces since 2015.
But what is more remarkable, the pictures and technical characteristics of the new ammunition were allegedly posted on the network by a serviceman of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Forces, who clearly has access to this kind of information. From this, it can be assumed that the new type of missile, which in the previous version was placed on a wheeled platform (trucks, actually MLRS), is designed in an upgraded form for air-based.
The range of the upgraded Type-12 missile is now at least 1,000 kilometers, and it is planned to increase it by another one and a half times in the future. The development of the advanced Type 12 anti-ship missile is expected to be completed by fiscal year 2025.
The newspaper reports that these are not the first publications on the network of classified data by a hitherto unidentified soldier of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Forces. Over the past year, he has been posting other information in the Discord group that may have a secret status. By now, all these messages have been deleted. The Japanese Ministry of Defense and law enforcement agencies are investigating the circumstances of the incident.
The motives of the Japanese military are curious, because these publications are clearly not related to espionage. Perhaps he is doing this for pacifist reasons, because not everyone in Japan approves of the course launched by the government in December 2022 to gradually abandon a purely defensive strategy. In particular, the new national security strategy of Japan for the first time says about the right to launch counterstrikes against targets on the territory of a potential enemy. However, preventive strikes are prohibited, but the reason for their application may be, for example, another test launch of a missile from the territory of the DPRK towards the Sea of Japan, which happens regularly.
In addition, the strategy assumes that Japan's military spending will almost double by 2027 to 2% of GDP. It is noteworthy that this is the recommended minimum amount of defense budgets of NATO countries. To acquire the potential for a retaliatory strike, the Japanese Defense Ministry plans not only to increase the range of Type-12 missiles it has in service, but also to develop its own hypersonic weapons, as well as purchase American Tomahawk cruise missiles.
