Oita high school cancels trip to Guam due to missile fears

domtoidiAug. 25 05:22 am JST

They should go to Okinawa and spend their money in Japan. Make Japan Great Again...

So much for cultural exchange. Lets just stay in our own little cultural silo and pretend the rest of the world doesn't exist?

There are better places in Japan. Than visiting Yankee bases.

"was planning to send 280 second-year students to Guam in late October for cultural exchanges with local university students."

I didn't realize that the University of Guam was on a military base. Gee thanks. Never been there before eh? So Guam is just a military base, no local population at all?

Ota school did not take a chance. Guam is assuring safe but Ota. school can visit elsewhere. If they want to see American military base, they can go Okinawa.

I'm in two minds over this. Perhaps the school was trying to assuage parents fears?

Still; threats shouldn't stop people from going places. Be it Guam, or North Korea.

There are better places in Japan. Than visiting Yankee bases.

They should go to Okinawa and spend their money in Japan. Make Japan Great Again...

The trump/Abe campaign of FEAR bears fruit in the ruralistic mind and shows Nippon being prepared for militarism and calls for the repetition of a quote:

“The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger.

  “It works the same way in any country.”

  — Nazi mastermind Hermann Goering (1946)

Oh Dear, this is not good, the nasty bully wins.

Why normal Japanese schools chose going to an island of mainly Yankee's military bases? I can't understand. Not to say the missiles from NK the case but where there is a military location is a wrong spot to visit, I think...

The travel agency that took their reservation has GOT to be loving that! Keep half the money (or all, in some cases) and resell those tickets!! ka-CHING!

Should you then stop taking flights because of a possible missile launch? It happened over Ukraine with Malaysian Airlines and might as well happen outside the "no-fly zone" in East Asia. Well folks, should you let North Korea's threat spoil your beloved trip to, for instance Okinawa?

What utter balderdash, the parents need to grow up and the school needs to just get on with it. If they are so concerned there is a far higher risk in the journey home, so as a responsible school they really must prevent the children from wantonly and irresponsibly traveling home lest they are harmed or killed!!!

Ok... I'm willing to bet that news of this, believe it or not, actually crossed the desk of the illustrious Kim Jong-unchi. Think about it... put yourself in his shoes. You're the leader of a rogue state with nuclear weapons and for the last 40 or more years all this country has done is try to strong arm its neighbors via threats. His father wrote the book on this crap... and the son took notes. Here is the play. You make an outrageous threat and you then, while you're sitting there laughing your ass off, read the papers from around the world to see how serious people took it. He's a genius... the media are the idiots.

Their chances of dying were exponentially higher in the bus ride to and from the airports.

Overreaction in my opinion.

What if more people shut things down just because of threats?

the school has clearly done this as a publicity stunt. they pull a caper like this and they make a lot in interviews, stories, etc...

stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Come on! Is this the latest in the promotional campaign of Abe? "No, we cannot leave Japan because Abe's presence makes us safer and more reliable"? Just like the drill in the town of Tottori. There's no need to exeggerate the possibility of a North Korean strike on the Island of Guam.

North Korea would probably not risk a self destruction in the event of a nuclear strike on USA, a nuclear strike on USA is utterly suicidal from North Korea. If North Korea ever were to fire nuclear weapons, USA's top cities like New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles etc would've been more attractive targets in a cynical point of view than Guam with "only" 163 000 inhabitants. For specific cities in Japan to exeggerate the possibility of a nuclear strike, is like undermining North Koreas integrity and responsibility as a nuclear power nation. How many threats didn't the Soviet Union during the cold war-era fire against USA without any further ado? The Soviet Union even shot down a civil airliner (Korean Air Lines Flight 007) were everyone (269) on board died instantly. North Korea has never done this and will probably think twice before doing so, not the way the Soviet Union did it.

You'll have to look back on history, and look at how many times the history has backfired against one on several presumptions!

Like he was ever really gonna do it...

Cucashopboy Fair point, they could go to Saipan instead as its a very nice place and has a view of Guam should a incident occur. Kim has withdrawn his threat so...and he only said within a 30 to 40km distance of Guam. Bluster is Bluster cancelling is not my call. I understand the responsibility of those in charge. But where do you go with any confidence? Spain, Paris, London, New York ( watch out for killer cops and immigration) Australia, actually it's now easier to name safe places to visit. Siberia, New Zealand. Antartica.

The NK missile firings are all relatively close to Japan, simply by distance of the two countries. Add in the trajectory of the missile firings during tests going near, over, etc Japan - as well as the spent rocket landing in or near Japan waters. Point being, you could say to cancel all trips inside Japan, too. Japan could be fired on at any given moment. Everyone just stay inside hiding in the corner with your hands on top of your head. Or go live your life and know that if something is going to happen, there is little you can do about it personally.

@Cricky

An earthquake is unpredictable, and a sudden terrorist attack too.

It's been days since North Korea threatened to send missiles to Guam, so if the school decide to go anyway, they are responsible. And if North Korea do send its missiles, the school is in a world of hurt !

Even if there is less than a 1% chance, they can't take it.

Cricky - agree up to a point that you shouldn't let risk avoidance spoil your life, but in this case, Kim Jong Un was saying that he would target Guam, making the likelihood much higher than being caught up in a terrorist attack or an earthquake.

There might be an earthquake in Tokyo should everyone cancel their trip to see the Olimpics? There might be a Terrorist attack, well almost anywhere, best advise stay home and be ready at anytime to dive under a table. It will be the first and last time you see under your table.

A difficult decision that would be criticised either way. I sympathise with the management of the school who had to make the decision as well as those whose trip has been cancelled.

They probably had little choice. The parents would have voiced concerns, justified or not, and the school is obligated to take the "safe" way.