Japanese soldiers set up a Patriot missile defense battery during a demonstration at Yokota Air Base, Japan, in August 2017. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)
TOKYO — Japan will begin selling domestically produced missiles to the United States in a bid to bolster U.S. weapon supplies in the region.
The U.S. will purchase approximately $19.6 million worth of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptors, or PAC-3 missiles, the Japanese Defense Ministry’s agency for acquisition, technology and logistics said in a Sunday news release.
The number of missiles included in the deal was not disclosed.
U.S. stocks of PAC-3 missiles, commonly used in the MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile system, have decreased over the past year due to U.S. support for Ukraine.
“The missiles transferred to the U.S. forces will complement the U.S. force inventory and help strengthen security and defense cooperation with the United States, as well as contribute to Japan’s security and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” the agency said.
Japan has given Ukraine equipment, but no weaponry, in part due to public opposition, said James Brown, an international affairs expert at Temple University’s Japan campus.
“By providing Japanese-made PAC-3 missiles to the United States, Japan can indirectly assist Ukraine with much-needed air-defense systems, but without provoking a public backlash,” Brown told Stars and Stripes by email Wednesday.
The deal marks the first time a Japanese-manufactured weapon will be transferred back to the licensee since Tokyo revised its guidelines on weapons transfers to other countries, an agency official said by phone Tuesday.
Some Japanese officials are required to speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.
Japan in December revised rules governing the transfer of weapons produced under license. Missiles under the new deal will be transferred from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s stockpile back to the U.S.
An unidentified spokesperson for the Office of the Secretary of Defense by email Monday declined to comment on the subject and referred Stars and Stripes to Department of Defense press releases.
The deal follows security talks between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and their Japanese counterparts in Tokyo on Sunday, when the four committed to pursuing increased production of PAC-3 interceptors and advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles.
The four ministers in a joint statement Sunday “welcomed high-priority efforts” to expand co-production of the two missiles to meet the “critical demands for such advanced systems.”
Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries makes approximately 30 PAC-3 missiles per year under a license from Lockheed Martin and is capable of increasing production to 60 per year, the Japan Times reported July 20.
