The U.S. has expressed an interest in deploying a medium-range missile system to Japan

The United States has expressed an interest in deploying its MRC Typhon medium-range missile system with Tomahawk missiles to Japan.

The Japan Times reported on this.

Christine Wormuth, the secretary of the U.S. Army, said that her country is interested in deploying a medium-range missile system on Japanese islands for joint military exercises.

“I had a great visit to Japan, a great discussion with Defense Minister Minoru Kihara,” Wormuth told the Defense News Conference on Wednesday. “We would be very interested to see how the MRC Typhon operates in Japan. We have made our interest in this clear to the Japanese Self-Defense Forces.”

She noted that the deployment of the system “is proceeding at the pace of the Japanese government.”

The publication notes that the Japanese government denies the possibility of deploying such American weapons on its territory. Not least, this is due to public fear of a possible escalation of tensions with China, to which these missiles pose a threat.

If deployed, the missile system’s strike zone will include the entire eastern coast of the country, as well as Taiwan and part of the South China Sea.

However, despite the voiced objections, there are signs that Japan is considering such a step. In early August, Lieutenant General Kazuo Sakai, Chief of Staff, Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force, visited Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State, where the headquarters of the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force is located.

The photos posted on the base’s official Facebook account capture Sakai, members of his delegation and U.S. troops, as well as officials, standing in front of a Typhon battery.

In April, the US Army deployed a Typhon launcher capable of launching Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of 1,600 kilometers to the Philippines for joint military exercises.

This was the first time the United States sent a ground-based intermediate-range missile system abroad after the United States withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019, which banned all ground-based missiles, conventional and nuclear, with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers.

In July, the United States government also announced that by 2026, the country will begin a gradual deployment of the Typhon system in Germany for permanent duty in Europe.