Russia Demands US Typhon Missiles Leave Japan As Launchers Set To Remain

Russia has formally protested Japan’s deployment of US-made Typhon missile systems on Kyushu, warning that the weapons threaten its security and regional stability. Moscow has demanded their removal even as the launchers are reportedly set to remain in Japan after the current military exercise ends.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it sent a formal note to Tokyo on September 3, calling the deployment unacceptable and urging Japan to remove the systems regardless of how long they are stationed there or the terms of their deployment. The issue was raised again on September 16 when Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko met Japanese Ambassador Akira Muto and urged Tokyo to treat Moscow’s warning with “the utmost seriousness”.

The dispute has become more significant because the Typhon launchers are not expected to leave Japan altogether when the ongoing Orient Shield exercise ends. The systems are currently deployed at the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force’s Kanoya Air Base in Kagoshima. After the exercise ends on September 24, the launchers are expected to leave Kanoya but remain in Japan, with a plan to move them to a US military facility for storage around mid October.

The Typhon system, officially known as the Strategic Mid Range Fires System, is a ground based launcher capable of firing Tomahawk cruise missiles. Its presence in Japan gives the US a land based long range strike capability in the region.

The systems were first deployed to Japan in June ahead of the Valiant Shield 2026 exercises, which ran from June 22 to July 1. Unlike the previous deployment, the systems are now expected to be stored at a US facility in Japan rather than immediately removed from the country.

They are currently being used in Orient Shield 26, a multinational exercise involving Japan, the United States and Australia that runs from September 8 to 24. Russia has objected to the military drills and the positioning of the Typhon launchers, saying they create a security threat.

The missile dispute comes alongside worsening relations between Russia and Japan. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Kuril Islands last month, a move linked to the long running territorial dispute between Moscow and Tokyo.

Russia controls the southern Kuril Islands, while Japan claims them. The Soviet Union seized the islands in the final days of World War II. The territorial dispute has prevented the two countries from signing a formal peace treaty to end their wartime hostilities.

Moscow has rejected Japanese objections over the islands and maintained that Russia’s “sovereignty and jurisdiction over the southern Kuril Islands are absolutely unshakable”.

The Typhon deployment is also part of a broader regional security debate. China has separately criticised what it sees as provocative military activity in the region. At the Beijing Xiangshan Forum this week, Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun called for an end to “provocative acts” and warned against a resurgence of militarism, in remarks widely seen as criticism of Japan, although he did not directly name Tokyo.