China Targets Japan: US Missiles Withdrawn

Beijing,,China,-,March,28,2021:,A,Sandstorm,Sweeps,Into

China expert Gordon Chang warns that removing American missiles from Japan during Beijing’s most aggressive nuclear threats against Tokyo represents the highest war risk in modern history.

Story Snapshot

Chinese state media published detailed nuclear strike plans targeting 72 warheads against Japanese military, industrial, and infrastructure sites
U.S. withdrew Typhon missile battery from Japan just as China escalated threats following Japanese statements about defending Taiwan
China expert Gordon Chang calls this “absolutely the worst possible moment” to remove defensive weapons from Japan
Chinese officials threatened assassination of Japanese Prime Minister and launched economic warfare through export bans
Japan deployed new missile systems 68 miles from Taiwan despite Chinese pressure

China’s Nuclear Strike Blueprint Against Japan

Chinese state media outlet Guancha published a chilling report detailing plans to deploy 72 nuclear warheads against Japan across three target categories. The report specified that three brigades of intermediate-range missiles, each equipped with 200-kiloton warheads, would target military installations including the Defense Ministry headquarters, airports, naval ports, and U.S. Yokota Air Base north of Tokyo. A graphic depicted a nuclear explosion centered on Tokyo, claiming it would kill approximately 500,000 people and injure over one million.

The nuclear targeting plan extended beyond military sites to Japan’s industrial backbone. Chinese planners identified major manufacturers including Toyota, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Nissan, Toshiba, East Japan Steel, and Nippon Steel for destruction. Electronics factories of Sony and Panasonic also appeared on the target list, along with critical infrastructure including ports, nuclear power plants, oil refineries, and dams.

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America’s Strategic Miscalculation

The Pentagon withdrew a Typhon medium-range missile battery from the U.S. Marine Corps air station at Iwakuni during the escalating crisis. The system had been deployed in September for the joint U.S.-Japan military exercise “Resolute Dragon 2025,” marking the first time America had positioned such advanced defensive capabilities in Japan. Gordon Chang assessed this timing as catastrophically poor, arguing that China will exploit the withdrawal to suggest American abandonment of its closest Asian ally.

Chang emphasized that removing important weapons when “the risk of war with China has never been higher” sends exactly the wrong signal to Beijing. The withdrawal occurred as Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Mao Ning characterized Japan’s defensive preparations as deliberately stoking “military confrontation” and described them as “extremely dangerous.” China’s narrative machine will portray the American retreat as proof that Washington “caved in the face of Beijing’s pressure,” regardless of the Pentagon’s actual motivations.

Japan’s Defiant Defense Preparations

Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi announced that Japan Self-Defense Forces were “steadily moving forward” with deployment of medium-range, surface-to-air missile units at a military base on Yonaguni island. Located approximately 68 miles from Taiwan’s east coast, this strategic positioning directly challenges Chinese military planning for any Taiwan invasion scenario. Koizumi stated these missiles would protect the island, but their placement also creates a potential flashpoint for broader conflict.

The crisis began when Japanese Prime Minister Yoko Takaichi told the legislature that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would pose a survival threat to Japan, justifying military intervention under Japan’s 2015 national security law. This statement proved extraordinarily provocative to Beijing, which views such commitments as undermining its strategy to isolate Taiwan diplomatically and militarily before any potential invasion.