Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force held its annual live-fire exercises

Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) held its annual live-fire exercises at the foot of Mount Fuji in central Japan on Sunday.

The large-scale drills, the 67th of their kind, took place at the GSDF’s Higashi-Fuji training area in Shizuoka Prefecture. They were based on a scenario of a supposed invasion of a remote island. GSDF personnel responded by bombing targets and firing shots from trenches.

Osprey transport aircraft carried members of the GSDF’s Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, whose main missions include recapturing such islands in the event of an invasion. Defense equipment was displayed at the site of the exercises, including a newly unveiled launch system for an upgraded surface-to-ship missile. The GSDF says the missile would be used for counterattacks on enemy bases.