Japan Press Weekly

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2012 April 4 - 10 [SDF]

Stop deployment of PAC3s

The Japanese Communist Party’s Committee of Okinawa Prefecture and its prefectural assembly members requested prefectural authorities and the Okinawa Defense Bureau to cancel the plan to deploy the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC3) interceptor missile system in Okinawa.

The Self Defense Forces deployed the PAC3 system in Okinawa ostensibly as a countermeasure against North Korea’s plan to launch a “rocket”.

The JCP assembly members emphasized the importance of diplomacy to address the issue. “Deployment of PAC3s only increases military tension between the two countries. It is wrong for the government to take such provocative measures,” they said.

Matayoshi Susumu of the prefecture public relations division said, “I know that JCP Chair Shii Kazuo issued a statement seeking to settle the problem through peaceful means. I have respect for his intentions.” He added, “We made a request to the government to refrain from taking excessive military means in response.”

The JCP assembly members pointed out that in a drill the government conducted on April 5 against North Korea’s possible rocket launch, J-ALERT, the national alert system, indicated Okinawa as the target area of an attack.
They requested the authorities to avoid making such announcements because they cause unnecessary worry and negatively affect the local tourist industry.