Japan Ground Self-Defense Force

Force in Play

Receiving and operating Japan's new long-range missile systems

For eight decades, Japan's military existed under a constitutional leash: no offensive weapons, no power projection, no ability to strike an enemy beyond its own shores. That era ended on March 9, 2026, when trucks carrying upgraded Type-12 missiles rolled into Camp Kengun in Kumamoto under cover of darkness. Built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the missiles can hit targets roughly 1,000 kilometers away, enough to reach mainland China, and are Japan's first domestically developed long-range strike weapons.

Updated May 30