A Japanese defense expert,Mitsuharu Furuze, has been quoted by the Tokyo-based Livedoor News as saying that Japan needs about 800 US-made Tomahawk cruise missiles to defend itself against a potential attack by China's huge quantity of ballistic missiles.He said that with the Tomahawk cruise missiles, the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMDSF) would be able to launch effective strikes against Chinese warships and crucial ground targets in the event of a regional conflict. Separately, Jun Kitamura, a Japanese consultant to the US Pacific Command, said that Washington would be unlikely to provide any direct military assistance to Tokyo before the JMDSF was obliterated by Chinese forces. His assessment is that the US forces in Japan will eventually be withdrawn to Guam or other strategic locations in the Eastern Pacific thus making Japan nothing more than cannon fodder for the United States in the latter's operations against PLA ballistic missiles. Furuze and Kitamura both recommended that Japan purchase Tomahawk Cruise missiles.