Japan test-fires missile from home soil for first time

Japan has launched its first missile test on home soil as the country looks to accelerate its military build up to deter China.

Japan’s army confirmed the test-firing of the Type 88 surface-to-ship, short-range missile on Tuesday at the Shizunai Anti-Air Firing Range on Japan’s northern-most main island of Hokkaido.

About 300 soldiers participated in Tuesday’s exercise by the Ground Self-Defense Force’s (GSDF) 1st Artillery Brigade, using a training missile targeting an unmanned boat about 40 off the island’s southern coast.

Officials were still examining the results of the test, the GSDF said.

Due to space limitations and safety concerns, Japan has previously conducted missile tests in countries where vast training grounds are available, including in Australia and the United States.

The first domestic missile test underscores Japan’s push toward a more self-sufficient military and its acquisition of strike-back capabilities as a deterrence to China’s increasingly assertive naval activity in regional seas.

Japan is also concerned about growing joint military exercises around Japanese coasts between China and Russia._AP