Overview
- Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Japan has completed sending PAC-3 surface-to-air missiles to the United States.
- Tokyo withheld details on the timing and quantity, citing operational sensitivities for the Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. military.
- The missiles came from Air Self-Defense Force stocks under a contract signed in July last year at Washington’s request.
- Japan says the shipment is intended to refill U.S. inventories as it supports Ukraine, and the missiles will not be provided to third countries.
- Chinese analysts and state-linked media denounced the move as an extremely dangerous signal reflecting a tougher Japanese military posture.