Japan’s defense minister restates surface-to-air missile plan on island near Taiwan

Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi inspects the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force honor guard at Camp Asaka in Tokyo, Oct. 23, 2025. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

A plan to station surface-to-air missiles on an island within sight of Taiwan is “steadily progressing,” Japan’s defense minister said Sunday amid heightened tensions with China.

Over the weekend, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi visited Japanese army bases on Yonaguni and Ishigaki, islands east of Taiwan, for the first time since assuming the post last month, according to the Ministry of Defense.

The ministry in 2022 announced plans to expand Camp Yonaguni to accommodate a new medium-range surface-to-air missile unit. Koizumi repeated those plans during a news conference at the camp, though he did not state when the new unit will stand up.

“We believe that this deployment will reduce the possibility of armed attacks on Japan, and we believe that the view that you suggested that it will heighten regional tension is not accurate,” he said in response to a reporter’s question, according to a transcript of the news conference on the ministry’s website.

In 2023, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force opened a missile base on Ishigaki Island, at the far end of the Nansei chain stretching from Kyushu to Taiwan. The base houses Type-12 and Type-03 surface-to-air missiles, aimed at countering China’s growing presence in waters around Taiwan and the East China Sea.

Yonaguni, about 70 miles east of Taiwan, is Japan’s westernmost island.

Koizumi also met with Yonaguni town Mayor Tsuneo Uechi and explained “the importance of improving the deterrence and response capabilities of our country and the Japan-U.S. alliance” through joint training exercises, he said, according to the release. In September, Japan and the Marine Corps carried out the largest iteration of their Resolute Dragon exercise.

Koizumi’s visit took place amid heightened tensions between China and Japan.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said during a Nov. 7 parliamentary session that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would constitute “an existential threat” requiring Japan to use military force.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called Takaichi’s comments “shocking” in a statement posted to the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s website on Sunday.

“Japan’s current leader has publicly sent a wrong signal of trying to intervene in the Taiwan issue by force, saying things she shouldn’t have said, and crossing the red line that should not be touched,” he said. “China must resolutely fight back.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed to unify self-governing Taiwan with the mainland, by force if necessary.

Koizumi on Sunday declined to describe the role Yonaguni would play during a Chinese attack on Taiwan.

“I would like to refrain from answering questions that assume a Taiwan emergency,” he said.