Members of the Okinawa-based 3rd Marine Division launch a HIMARS rocket from East Fuji Maneuver Area, Japan, May 20, 2026. HIMARS stands for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
GOTEMBA, Japan — U.S. Marines on Wednesday fired HIMARS — the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System — from a training area near Mount Fuji for the second consecutive year, continuing efforts to sharpen long-range strike capabilities in Japan.
The HIMARS launched two salvos of six reduced-range training rockets shortly before 2 p.m. at the East Fuji Maneuver Area.
The training ground, near Marine Corps’ Camp Fuji in Shizuoka prefecture, is jointly used by U.S. and Japanese forces for live-fire exercises.
A platoon of roughly 40 to 50 Marines from the Okinawa-based 3rd Battalion, 12 Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, brought two HIMARS launchers to the drill, Air Force Col. John Severns, spokesman for U.S. Forces Japan, said by phone that afternoon.
The unilateral drill helps prepare U.S. forces to train with their Japanese allies during large-scale exercises such as Keen Edge and Valiant Shield, he said.
“It demonstrates to everyone in the region, including potential adversaries, that we are ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies in defense of Japan,” Severns added.
Members of the Okinawa-based 3rd Marine Division launch a HIMARS rocket from East Fuji Maneuver Area, Japan, May 20, 2026. HIMARS stands for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
Shigeto Tomita, a 72 year old former Japanese soldier who works as a maintainer in the training area, watched the event from a hilltop in the nearby town of Gotemba. He said he’d like to see more of that type of training.
Japan’s Ministry of Defense coordinated the event, according to an April 15 email from the division’s spokesman, 1st Lt. Joshua Figueredo.
“This training is designed to enhance the readiness and lethality of US forces while adhering to the highest standards of safety, reinforcing our commitment to regional security and the defense of Japan,” he wrote.
HIMARS is a mobile rocket artillery platform designed to rapidly move into position, fire and relocate. The system plays a central role in the Marine Corps’ Force Design restructuring, which emphasizes smaller, mobile forces capable of operating inside contested areas.
Marine and Army units also used HIMARS during last month’s Balikatan exercise in the Philippines, firing rockets from northern Luzon and Palawan near the South China Sea.
The 3rd Marine Division first conducted HIMARS live-fire training in Japan in 2017 during the Northern Viper exercise on Hokkaido, the northernmost of the country’s four main islands, according to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
