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2021 February 10 - 16 TOP3 [US FORCES]

JCP in Yamanashi protests against US live-shell firing exercises that caused 4 fires in one week

The Yamanashi prefectural committee of the Japanese Communist Party on February 12 submitted to the Defense Ministry a written request for the cancellation of live-shell firing exercises at the Kita-Fuji training field.

The U.S. forces in Okinawa have been carrying out live-shell firing exercises there since February 3 which have already caused four fires in one week, burning 65 hectares of underbrush.

The written request states that fires could spread to outside of the training area, and that there is, therefore, a possibility that the lives of nearby residents could be endangered. The Defense Ministry explains that fires breaking out during military exercises are within the scope of acceptability. The written request, however, argues, "It is unacceptable for Japan to allow the U.S. military to continue with its live-shell firing drills which already caused fires and could have endangered the lives of residents."