Japan Press Weekly

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2019 April 3 - 9 [SDF]

Miyakojima residents stage protest to demand removal of missile base

Amid a storm of protest against a lie about a “storage facility”, Defense Minister Iwaya Takeshi on April 6 visited Okinawa’s Miyakojima City to attend a Self Defense Forces-related ceremony held on the island.

On the island, the Abe Cabinet, without making efforts to obtain local consent and ease the anxieties of local residents, forcibly introduced a SDF missile base. Last week, one of the base’s facilities, which is supposed to be a storage facility for bullets according to an explanation given in advance to the islanders, was found to be in reality an ammunition storage site holding medium-range multi-purpose missiles.

On April 7, in front of a gate of the missile base where the ceremony took place, anti-base residents staged a protest. They shouted in unison, “Don’t deceive residents!”, “No to the use of Miyakojima Island for military purposes!”, and “We don’t need a missile base nor an ammunition storage site!”

Concerning the fact that Iwaya said to the press that missiles in the ammunition storage site in question had already been taken off the island, participants of the demonstration pointed out that the Defense Ministry sneaked the weapons out in fear of local protests and that it is another slap in the face of local residents. Furthermore, demonstrators said that there is soft ground beneath a fuel tank on the base, which can cause groundwater pollution. They stressed that the base is totally unacceptable.

Past related article:
> Miyakojima residents oppose local deployment of SDF [December 2, 2011]