Japan Press Weekly

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2007 December 5 - 11 [US FORCES]

Stop deployment and practice of PAC-3

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives Kasai Akira and JCP Tokyo Metropolitan Committee officials on December 10 made representations to the Defense Ministry demanding that the government cancel the exercises planned for the transportation and deployment of PAC-3 surface-to-air guided missile systems in Tokyo.

They also demanded that the government stop deploying PAC-3s and immediately withdraw those already deployed under the pretext of missile defense.

PAC-3 missiles were installed at the Air Self-Defense Force Iruma Base in Saitama Prefecture in March and at the Narashino garrison in Chiba Prefecture in November.

The government plans to conduct exercises for the transportation and deployment this month at 10 facilities in the metropolitan area, including at Tokyo’s public parks, provoking criticism as well as concerns among residents.

At the Defense Ministry the JCP representatives pointed out that “‘Missile defense’ is aimed at helping the United States launch preemptive attacks and that it threatens the security of Asia and the rest of the world.” They also said, “If the exercises are carried out at places of recreation, they will have adversely affect people’s lives.”

The Defense Ministry said that it has not developed concrete plans for the exercises, adding, however, that such exercises are necessary in general terms and that they are studying the availability of exercise training sites.

Citing the fact that the Defense Ministry asked the local government not to make public the plan to deploy PAC-3s at the Narashino garrison in November, Kasai expressed concern that the exercises could be carried out without notice and stressed the need to cancel such exercises - Akahata, December 11, 2007