Japan has revealed plans to buy 500 US missiles to increase its long-range attack capability, potentially escalating tensions with China. Japan's Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said Tuesday Tokyo plans to order Tomahawk cruise missiles from the US by March next year as it begins a rapid military buildup. The Japanese parliament is reportedly planning to allocate $1.6 billion to an upcoming arms deal in fiscal 2023.

The government budget for the fiscal year beginning in April, which is currently under consideration by Japan's parliament, earmarks 211.3 billion yen ($1.59 billion) for the purchase of 500 US Tomahawk cruise missiles, which will be sold through Washington's Foreign Military Sales program to be negotiated. US and Japanese military and diplomatic chiefs met at the US State Department in Washington in January 2023 to discuss strengthening the Japanese army.

At the time, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said at a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi that Washington and Tokyo want to increase military cooperation to deter China's growing clout. Austin also revealed that Washington plans to deploy a new missile-armed mobile naval unit on Japan's southern island of Okinawa.

Japan-China diplomatic relations have soured over longstanding claims by both sides over a cluster of tiny islands in the East China Sea. Japan's plan to strengthen its military also comes as China's close ally North Korea continues to develop its nuclear and missile capabilities. North Korea has defended its weapons programs as a legitimate defense against military threats from the US and its allies, which have a sizeable military presence in the north.