Japanese warship en route to San Diego to learn how to use Tomahawk cruise missiles

The Japanese destroyer JS Chokai is en route to San Diego, where its crew will learn how to use the powerful, American-made Tomahawk cruise missiles its country is buying from the U.S., according to Japan’s defense ministry and the U.S. Navy.

The 528-foot warship also will undergo unspecified modifications during its yearlong visit to San Diego, headquarters of the Navy’s sprawling Third Fleet.

The move represents the latest step by Japan to better defend itself and its regional waters, and to help the U.S. keep China in check in the South China Sea.

Last fall, the Japanese aircraft carrier JS Kaga visited San Diego so that its pilots could ensure the F-35B strike fighter jets the country is purchasing from the U.S. are compatible with its own flattops.

Now, American forces will help Japan learn how to use low-altitude Tomahawks, some of the most advanced weapons in the U.S. inventory. The newer versions can hit stationary and moving targets at sea.

Japan has committed to buying at least 400 of the missiles. Tomahawks are commonly stocked on the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, many which are stationed in San Diego Bay.

“The Ministry of Defense and the Self-Defense Forces are strengthening their stand-off defense capabilities in order to intercept and eliminate invading forces against Japan at a rapid pace and at long range,” the agencies said in a joint news release.

The Navy hasn’t announced when the Chokai will arrive in San Diego, but the ship will be clearly visible when it enters and leaves San Diego Bay.

The nation’s early Tomahawk cruise missiles were developed at General Dynamics Convair division in San Diego during the 1970s and later tested far offshore.