Japan Sets Up New Electronic Warfare Unit to Boost Defence Capabilities, Reports Suggest

TOKYO (Sputnik) - Japan has created a new electronic warfare unit in Kumamoto prefecture as part of efforts to boost national defence capability in this field, Sankei Shimbun reported on Thursday.

This will be the country's second electronic warfare unit after the facility in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido that has been operating since the Cold War era.

According to the media outlet, the personnel of the new unit will involve 80 people and it will become part of the so-called first arc, which, according to the Japanese Ministry of Defence, will protect the country from the northernmost island of Hokkaido to the southwesternmost island of Kyushu.

The central element of the arc will be a unit that is planned to be deployed in the Tokyo area by next spring. According to the map published by the newspaper, its activity will be directed toward South Korea, North Korea, China, and Russia.

The second arc of the country's electronic warfare capability will be formed by units stationed on the southern islands from Tsushima to Yonaguni. Its formation is planned to be completed by the end of March 2024. These facilities will be collecting information mainly about Chinese ships and aircraft in the East China Sea, and in case of an unforeseen situation they will be able to repel electronic attacks or inflict similar damage on the enemy.

A total of 10 such units are expected to be created.