Soon after North Korea tested two missiles, one of them hypersonic weapon, the US and Japan announced an agreement to collaborate on advanced counter-hypersonic missile technology research and development. https://www.nknews.org/2022/01/us-japan-launching-joint-research-project-to-counter-hypersonic-threats.

The defense collaboration comes in the wake of reports from South Korea and Japan on North Korea’s continued belligerence in the region and China’s threat on Taiwan’s independence and sovereignty.

Both China and North Korea boast of advanced hypersonic warheads—considered the next big thing in intercontinental warfare. These emerging weapon systems, defying the speed of sound, are capable of delivering nuclear or conventional missiles that can avoid radar detection. Their trajectories are unpredictable and most missile-defense systems can fail to intercept these low flying missiles. Former US President Donald Trump had bragged about these “super-duper weapons” and urged Pentagon to spend $3.2 billion in hypersonic arms research. Russia has also revealed its plans to develop hypersonic weapons systems.

Meanwhile, the Japanese government has set aside a whopping $56 million (6.5 billion yen) in the current fiscal year to develop a railgun-based counter-hypersonic weapon system. Hypersonic missiles fly five times the speed of sound; the Japanese railgun projectile can fly at a similar speed to intercept the missiles in air, before they can hit the ground.

Both Japan and South Korea have expressed deep concern over North Korea’s successive test and China’s tacit support. The US called the missile launch a highlight of North Korea’s “destabilizing impact of an illicit weapons program”, violating several UN security council relations.
China sees North Korea as leverage to counter the US.

In this backdrop, US-Japan tie up to work together on a counter-hypersonic system is surely going to shoot up regional tension

READ MORE: https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Japan-set-to-develop-railguns-to-counter-hypersonic-missiles..

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3162467/us-japan-boost-scientific-cooperation-defence-against