{
  "id": 8279209,
  "title": "Russia demands removal of of U.S. Typhon missile systems from Japan, but launchers set to remain in the country after Orient Shield exercise",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/russia-demands-removal-of-of-u-s-typhon-missile-systems-from-japan",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-18T17:17:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Insider",
    "slug": "the-insider",
    "url": "https://theins.press/en/news/297284"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Russia has formally demanded Japan remove U.S. Typhon missile systems currently stationed on Kyushu island as part of the ongoing Orient Shield military exercises. Once the exercises conclude at the end of this month, the launchers are set to depart Kanoya Air Base in Japan, though they will remain within the country. According to Japan's Joint Staff, the launchers will be relocated for storage to a U.S. military facility in Japan starting in mid-October.\n\nIn a September 3rd formal note, Russia's Foreign Ministry expressed strong objection to the deployment, labeling it \"unacceptable under any pretext\" and demanding its immediate removal from Japan. The ministry emphasized the deployment poses \"a direct threat\" to Russia's Far Eastern borders. While the Typhon systems have been at Kanoya Air Base since June in preparation for the Valiant Shield 2026 exercises from June 22 to July 1, they are now also being used in the larger Orient Shield 26 exercises involving Japan, the U.S., and Australia from September 8 to 24.\n\nThis marks the first time Typhon has been deployed directly at a Japanese Self-Defense Forces facility and the first deployment to Kyushu. The ground-based system can launch Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of 1,600 kilometers, capable of striking targets along much of China's eastern coast. The U.S. and Japan have not disclosed the exact number of launchers moved to Kanoya. Despite this, Japan has consistently maintained the deployment is temporary, with the defense minister stating after the September exercises, the launchers will be stored at a U.S. military site elsewhere in Japan. Tokyo has assured Moscow the systems will not be permanently deployed.\n\nMoscow had already voiced objections even before the systems arrived in June, with Russia's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova describing the presence of Typhon in Japan as a direct threat. In late August, Russian officials once again protested the exercises, and relations between Moscow and Tokyo were further strained after Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Iturup, a disputed southern Kuril Island controlled by Russia. Japan considers the southern Kuril Islands to be part of its territory. This year, Russia formally ended a moratorium on the deployment of ground-based intermediate- and shorter-range missiles, citing the U.S. Typhon systems as one of the reasons.",
  "summary": "Russia has demanded that Japan remove U.S. Typhon missile systems that are currently deployed on the island of Kyushu as part of the ongoing multinational Orient Shield military exercises. After the exercises end later this month, the launchers are expected to leave Japan’s Kanoya Air Base but to remain in the country. Beginning around mid-October, they are due to be moved for storage to a U.S.…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}