April 8, 2012

The Defense Ministry has deployed about 700 Self-Defense Forces personnel to Ishigaki, Yonaguni, and Miyako islands in Okinawa Prefecture in response to North Korea’s plan to launch a “rocket”, causing local residents to be concerned that the SDF will be stationed on their islands permanently.

The Ishigaki and Yonaguni islands have no SDF bases on their islands at present. The deployment of armed forces to these islands is the first such occurrence since the end of World War II.

The government explains that the deployment is necessary in case debris of the “rocket” falls into the area.

In Ishigaki City, about 450 SDF personnel are bivouacked in the harbor district where the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) interceptor missile site has been deployed. The personnel are armed with automatic rifles and this scares the locals.

In Yonaguni town, about 40 Ground SDF personnel are bivouacked at the town’s child support center which the townspeople use for school events.

The Japanese Communist Party committee of the Yaeyama district in Okinawa Prefecture engaged in a protest action in the downtown area of Ishigaki City opposing the SDF deployment.

Ishigaki Mitsuo, the JCP member of the city assembly pointed out that the government has deployed the SDF with an intention to station the SDF permanently in the Yaeyama district by 2015. He said, “The deployment has already hurt the tourist industry of Ishigaki Island. The government should immediately withdraw the PAC-3 missile launchers and the SDF troops and stop creating unnecessary unease and tension.”