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The Yomiuri Shimbun Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (front, third from left) inspects aircraft Saturday at the Air Self-Defense Force Iruma Air Base in Saitama Prefecture.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
12:14 JST, November 12, 2023
SAYAMA, Saitama — Japan is to expedite the adoption of long-range standoff missiles as a “counterattack capability,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Saturday.
Such ordnance would allow Japan to target enemy missile launch sites and other locations for self-defense purposes.
Addressing Self-Defense Forces personnel during an inspection ceremony on the day at Iruma Air Base in Sayama, Saitama Prefecture, Kishida said, “The country is in the midst of the harshest and most complex security environment it has faced since the end of World War II.”
The prime minister also expressed concerns over joint China-Russia bomber flights, saying, “[Those countries] are increasingly attempting to unilaterally change the status quo and are even flying close to our country.”
Regarding the deteriorating situation in the Middle East, Kishida praised the SDF’s evacuation of Japanese nationals from Israel, saying, “The SDF fulfilled the trust and expectations of the people.”
The prime minister also referenced incidents of harassment within the SDF and called for “an environment that does not tolerate harassment of any kind.”
