Japan and the United States have launched joint exercises including live firings of the Javelin anti-tank missile.
The Javelin is a portable weapon that the US has supplied to Ukraine.
About 1,400 personnel from Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force and some 700 from the US Army are taking part in the exercises that began on Sunday at GSDF training fields across the Kyushu region, NHK reported.
The exercises are aimed at improving response capability to defend Japan’s remote islands.
At a site in the town of Yamato, Kumamoto Prefecture, a total of about 150 Japanese and American personnel took part in a drill that was shown to the media.
US troops fired two Javelin missiles at targets two kilometers away. It is reportedly the first live-fire drill using the Javelin to be conducted by the US military in Japan.
In the drill, Self-Defense Force personnel also fired other anti-tank missiles.
The joint exercises will continue until September 3.
