Arab News Japan

TOKYO: A group of Japanese “pacifists” demonstrated on Thursday, March 23, in front of the office of the Raytheon Company, which manufactures the Tomahawk attack missiles soon to equip the Japanese defense forces.

On a rainy day, tens of meters from the American embassy in Tokyo, the demonstrators asked to meet an employee of the company to hand over a letter containing their grievances but waited in vain.

In their letter, which Arab News Japan obtained a copy of, the pacifists highlighted the “high” costs of purchasing and maintaining the missiles, which is expected to be financed partly by tax increase.

A Stop Arms Export collective leader spoke during the demonstration on the war in Iraq, where tomahawk missiles were fired from American ships that had previously been stationed at the American base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa prefecture. Pacifists carried a banner with a photo of an Iraqi child hit by that bombing.

As part of “counterstrike capabilities” to hit targets that pose a threat to Japan, Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio told the parliament last month his government aims to conclude a purchase agreement with the United States in fiscal 2023 and to deploy the Tomahawks in fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2027 on Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels equipped with the Aegis missile defense system.

The deal is to acquire up to 400 missiles, part of a defense buildup that Kishida set in motion last year with updated national security documents.

Local reports said the Japanese government had sought 211.3 billion yen ($1.55 billion) to purchase Tomahawk missiles and related equipment in its draft fiscal 2023 budget.

Japan will acquire the latest version of the Tomahawk, which began delivery to the U.S. Navy in 2021. The precision-guided missile flies at low altitudes and has a range exceeding 1,600 kilometers.

The recent North Korean missiles’ tests and the situation related to Taiwan and China have raised concerns in Japan and led the government to increase Japan’s defense budget.

The demonstrators also protested against the Japanese government’s plans to dispose of spent missile batteries on the remote southern Nansei islets despite the opposition of part of the island population.