The Japan times:
YAMAGUCHI, Japan (Kyodo) — Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera on Friday sought to win local consent to deploy a U.S. land-based missile shield amid questions over the necessity for such a system due to easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
The government is pushing a plan to install the costly Aegis Ashore system in Akita and Yamaguchi prefectures to beef up Japan’s defenses against potential threats from North Korean nuclear arms or missiles, possibly to become operable by fiscal 2023.
But many residents around possible deployment sites have voiced concerns that the system’s radar, which emits strong radio waves, could be harmful to human health. Some people have also questioned the need for such a system amid the ongoing detente on the Korean Peninsula following the historic U.S.-North Korea summit on June 12.
