Anadolu staff
09 June 2026•Update: 09 June 2026
Japan’s Defense Ministry has begun transporting a missile launcher and related equipment to its easternmost island in the Pacific as part of preparations to deploy a surface-to-ship missile system there for the first time, according to the public broadcaster NHK.
A Ground Self-Defense Force Type-12 surface-to-ship missile launcher, along with medium-sized drones used for target detection and tracking, was loaded onto a privately operated ferry contracted by the ministry, the report said Monday.
The vessel departed Chiba Port near Tokyo on Monday morning, bound for Minamitorishima Island, it added.
Minamitorishima, part of Tokyo’s Ogasawara island chain, lies roughly 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) southeast of Japan’s main island of Honshu, making it one of the country’s most remote outposts in the Pacific Ocean.
The deployment is part of Japan’s broader plan to strengthen its defensive capabilities on the Pacific side by developing a firing range on the island for the Type-12 missile system, which has a range exceeding 100 kilometers (62.1 miles).
Authorities are aiming to conduct live-fire drills during fiscal 2027, which runs from April 1, 2027 through March 31, 2028.
According to the report, no missile projectiles are being transported at this stage. The current shipment is intended to test the functionality of the launcher and supporting systems under local conditions as part of early-stage preparation for the planned facility.
The island itself has no permanent residents, though it hosts personnel from Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force and workers from the Japan Meteorological Agency.
