Following its arrival in the city of San Diego in October 2025, the Japanese destroyer JS Chōkai recently became the first ship of its class to gain the capability to launch new Tomahawk cruise missiles, something made possible thanks to work that involved significant U.S. support. In particular, the ship belongs to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Kongō class, which is shaping up to be a key asset in the future as Japan strengthens its long-range strike capabilities, in line with a tougher posture regarding the geopolitical context of the Indo-Pacific.
Regarding this new milestone for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi stated: “Standoff defense capabilities serve to ensure that any adversary seeking to attack Japan, regardless of the target area, clearly understands that an attack involving warships, amphibious forces, or other means will be decisively thwarted.” For its part, the ministry headed by the aforementioned official stated on its social media that the country will continue consolidating this type of capability in the future, seeking to make the strengthening of its current arsenals felt as soon as possible.
Going into some additional details, it should be highlighted that the stay of the destroyer JS Chōkai in U.S. territory is not yet over, with Tokyo’s original plans establishing that it will remain deployed there until next September. According to the Ministry of Defense, the remaining period will allow the ship and its crew to take part in a diverse series of tests in order to guarantee the proper integration of the Tomahawk, both at the technical level and in terms of training the personnel who would have to use them in the event of conflict.
It is worth recalling in this regard that JS Chōkai is being used as a test platform for what is expected to be a broader integration of the Tomahawk into Japanese warships. According to local media reports, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force expects to equip its eight Aegis destroyers with the aforementioned U.S. weapon, which can be fired from the Mk 41 vertical launchers that form part of their combat capabilities.
With that goal in mind, the island nation has already confirmed the acquisition of a batch of 400 Tomahawk Block IV and Block V missiles, divided equally between both variants, in order to equip its ships, something that was finalized through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program in January 2024. The major purchase just mentioned required an investment by Japan of close to 1.7 billion dollars, which made it possible to secure both the missiles and the technical assistance and training from the United States needed to integrate them.
Finally, it is important to highlight that Japan is already working on the development of cruise missiles that would allow it to replace the Tomahawk in the future with a domestic alternative, namely a naval variant of its new Type 12 missile. This is a system that has already been officially presented for use from land-based batteries and has also demonstrated its capabilities in various tests, including exercises carried out abroad with Australia as host. According to the information currently available, this weapon would have a range similar to that of the U.S.-made missiles themselves, which, in Minister Koizumi’s view, represents the “minimum necessary to guarantee self-defense.”
Image credits: @ModJapan_jp and @JMSDF_PAO on X
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