Japanese destroyer fires Tomahawk missile in ‘historic test launch’

Japan launched a Tomahawk cruise missile from a warship in the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, the country’s first test of the weapon system as Tokyo builds its long-range counterstrike capability.

The guided-missile destroyer JS Chokai successfully fired the missile with support from the U.S. Navy, Japan’s Defense Ministry said in a news release Thursday.

The test follows approximately five months of modifications to the ship to accommodate the cruise missiles.

Two more of Japan’s eight Aegis-equipped destroyers, the JS Kirishima and JS Haguro, have already begun similar modifications, according to a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force spokesman.

Funding to modify the fourth and fifth destroyers, JS Myoko and JS Atago, is already allocated, he told Stars and Stripes by phone Friday.

He couldn’t confirm if the remaining three destroyers would undergo the same procedures. Some Japanese government officials may speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.

The Chokai is scheduled to continue training and return to Japan sometime in September, but there are no plans to conduct a second live-fire test, the spokesman said.

Support from the U.S. Pacific Fleet and U.S. 3rd Fleet facilitated the Chokai’s modification and testing, Pacific Fleet told Stars and Stripes in April. It declined to confirm if it would support future modifications on Japan’s destroyers but said “the tactical value of this upgrade is undeniable.”

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force guided-missile destroyer JS Chokai fires a Tomahawk cruise missile in the Pacific Ocean on July 29, 2026. (Japan Ministry of Defense)

“The addition of counterstrike capabilities to the [Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force] fleet significantly bolsters our deepening interoperability,” an unnamed Pacific Fleet spokesperson said in a statement emailed April 10 by Lt. Cmdr. Molly Fresher.

The military uses interoperability to describe the ability of a country’s armed forces to use another country’s training methods and military equipment.

Pacific Fleet on Friday referred questions about the test to the Japan Self-Defense Force.

The event was a “historic test launch,” according to William Mahan, assistant Navy secretary for research, development and acquisition. The test was facilitated by the Navy’s Foreign Military Sales program and bolstered the U.S.-Japan alliance and regional deterrence, he wrote Friday on X.

Japan has pursued Tomahawk capabilities since at least 2022, when it announced plans to buy the U.S.-made cruise missiles with delivery between fiscal years 2026 and 2027. The U.S. in November 2023 greenlit a $2.35 billion deal to sell Japan 200 Block IV missiles and 200 upgraded Block V versions.

Tokyo is still on track to purchase those 400 missiles by March 2028, Adm. Akira Saito, chief of staff for the Maritime Self-Defense Force, said at a July 28 news conference.

Japan accepted its first Tomahawks in March, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said at a March 13 press conference. The ministry has not specified how many missiles have been delivered.

However, further deliveries could be delayed while the United States replenishes its Tomahawk supply to replace those fired since Feb. 28 during the war with Iran, according to a May 27 analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The U.S. has fired more than 1,000 Tomahawks, or about a third of its estimated stockpile of around 3,000, according to the center’s report.

At an annual production rate of approximately 600 missiles, the U.S. will need an estimated five years to fully replenish its stockpile to pre-war levels, according to the center.