The Japanese government has decided to make a bulk purchase of American-made Tomahawk cruise missiles for the next five years as part of its defense strategy against China’s anti-access/area denial capabilities. The Defense Ministry plans to deploy the missiles as part of its counterstrike capabilities starting from fiscal 2026. The ministry intends to buy the Tomahawk missiles under the Foreign Military Sales program. The goal is to achieve reliable and early deployment while also reducing the unit cost by concluding a large contract.