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Japan test-fired a surface-to-ship missile from its territory for the first time on June 24, 2025, marking a significant step in the nation’s military buildup. Japan’s latest military modernization efforts are driven by increasing regional tensions with China and North Korea.

The test was conducted at the Shizunai Anti-Air Firing Range on the northern island of Hokkaido and involved the Type 88 surface-to-ship missile, a short-range, truck-mounted guided missile system developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

During the test, Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force’s 1st Artillery Brigade fired a training missile at a target, a crewless boat positioned about 40 kilometers off the southern coast of the island. Officials confirmed the test was successful, and another test is scheduled to be carried out before the end of the week.

The test, while routine from a military standpoint, was unprecedented in its location. Historically, Japan has relied on its defense partners, the United States and Australia, to conduct missile tests due to space limitations and safety concerns in its territory.

Vast training grounds in those countries offered the logistical flexibility that densely populated Japan could not. Tuesday’s launch on home soil signals not only a change in operational procedures but also in national policy and strategic intent.

Japan’s deviation from a pacifist strategy

In 2022, Tokyo made a landmark change in its security doctrine, adopting a five-year security strategy that broke with decades of post-World War II pacifism. This policy reorientation identified China as Japan’s greatest strategic challenge and emphasized the need for enhanced deterrence, including the acquisition of “counterstrike” capabilities.

Under Japan’s pacifist constitution, the use of force had long been strictly restricted to self-defense. However, growing regional threats, including aggressive Chinese naval activities in the East and South China Seas, repeated incursions near the Senkaku Islands, and recent cooperation between Russian and Chinese naval forces, have prompted Tokyo to reconsider the limits of its military engagement.

Protests and opposition

Some political and civil circles in Japan are not fond of the new military-oriented focus and have raised their voice against Japan’s increasing focus on military modernization. During the latest live-fire testing, dozens of protesters gathered outside a military base near the test site to voice opposition to the missile test.

Demonstrators argued that such moves risk further escalating regional tensions and could pull Japan into potential conflicts. Their presence highlighted the delicate domestic balance the Japanese government must strike as it navigates a new era of defense realism in the Asia-Pacific.

Type 88 missile

The missile tested, the Type 88, is one of the country’s older systems, with a relatively short range of approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles). But Japan has its eyes on more potent capabilities. The government is currently in the process of acquiring long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States, which are expected to be deployed later this year. These missiles will allow Japan to hold distant targets at risk, contributing to a more credible deterrent posture.

In parallel, Japan is also developing its extended-range missiles. Among them is the Type 12 surface-to-ship missile, a significant upgrade over the Type 88, with a projected range of 1,000 kilometers, ten times the reach of its predecessor. These domestic developments point to a long-term effort by Tokyo to build a robust, independent strike capability without relying solely on imported systems.

Japan’s missile firing range

In another notable development, Japan is preparing to construct a missile-firing range on Minamitorishima, a remote and uninhabited island in the western Pacific. This island, Japan’s easternmost territory, has recently garnered attention after two Chinese aircraft carriers were observed operating together in the surrounding waters, a rare and strategically symbolic move by Beijing.

Establishing a missile range in that area would extend Japan’s operational reach and serve as a clear signal of its intent to defend maritime zones far from the mainland.

The increasing militarization of Japan comes amid rising regional uncertainty. While the United States remains Tokyo’s primary security guarantor under the terms of their mutual defense treaty, Washington has encouraged Japan to take more responsibility for its defense. Japan’s leadership has responded with a more assertive posture, increasing defense spending and revising key legal and operational constraints that once governed the Self-Defense Forces.

Meanwhile, tensions also continue to simmer between Japan and Russia, its northern neighbor. The two countries have long-standing territorial disputes over the Kuril Islands, referred to as the Northern Territories in Japan.

Hokkaido’s geographic proximity to Russian-held territory adds another layer of strategic relevance to missile activities in the region. As Japan boosts its defense capabilities in the north, Moscow is likely to take note, particularly amid the broader geopolitical alignment of China and Russia.

The test also reflects a growing recognition within the Japanese defense establishment that security threats are no longer theoretical. As the maritime environment around Japan becomes more contested, particularly considering China’s growing military power and ambitions in Taiwan and the broader Indo-Pacific, Tokyo is recalibrating its assumptions about what constitutes an acceptable level of preparedness.

Risks and prospects

Critics of the new defense posture argue that Japan risks getting pulled into U.S.-led military confrontations or escalating regional arms races. However, supporters of the policy say Japan has no choice but to modernize its forces and enhance deterrence capabilities in the face of an increasingly unstable security environment.

The latest missile test, modest in technical scope but historic in symbolism, offers a glimpse into a new era for Japan’s defense strategy, one marked by pragmatism, deterrence, and a willingness to take bold steps on its soil to protect its national interests. Whether this trajectory will lead to increased stability or heightened regional tensions remains to be seen, but for now, Japan has signaled that it is no longer content to rely solely on foreign training grounds or defensive doctrines of the past.