Japan and US agree on joint missile-production facility

Japan and the United States agreed to establish a facility in Japan for joint production of advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles, Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said after meeting US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Cebu. Koizumi described the missiles as essential for the F-35 fighter operated by Japan’s air force.

The project forms part of “Operation Supercharge”, an alliance effort to expand defence-industrial capacity. Japan’s Defence Ministry said the ministers also agreed to share technical information needed to increase production of SM-3 Block IIA interceptor missiles. The official summary did not identify a factory site, timetable, budget or production target, so the agreement should not be presented as an operating plant.

AP reported that both officials framed the decision as strengthening deterrence amid a worsening regional security environment while avoiding naming China as its target. The industrial effect will depend on contracting, technology transfer, export rules and whether suppliers can expand output without creating new bottlenecks. For now, the verified change is a bilateral production commitment and information-sharing step, not delivery of additional missiles or a change in Japan’s constitutional limits on the use of force.