Japan to change location of missile defense system amid local outcry

Aegis missile defense system: we want this, we need this, just don't put it in my backyard.

It's original placement is great for protecting Hawaii, useless for protecting Tokyo. The Defence minister had never visited the site but signed off on it without getting expert opinion. It's an obvious case of stupidity dictated by "special" interest and gouging tax payers with nill benifit.

As much as I think it's a waste of taxpayers money, if they are dead-set on putting it in Akita, Oga is the most logical choice. Considering you have high ground that is on a peninsula into the Japan Sea, an early warning system there seems the most logical. Also, you have clear unimpeded coverage of the entire prefecture from there.

On top of that, considering it would need to be manned, it'd bring some economic activity to an otherwise dying area...

Araya was a stupid decision in the first place. It puts a military target next to a densely populated area and risks killing a lot of civilians if it's ever targeted.

Perhaps there's some empty plots around Abe's home.

It's placement was illogical in the first place. Its usefulness questionable. Just another badly thought out waist of tax payer money.

Indeed, we do not want this, need this or want to pour huge money down the drain. Abe did Trump a favour in a futile attempt to "correct" the trade balance with the US. Dump Aegis and Abe with it.

Funny...if the government really thought that was THE best place, they should have just jammed it down their throats! I mean let's be fair here, if "local" opposition is the guide to forcing the government to change the location of an important military installation, then they should called hypocrites for not listening in other locations!

Just trying to be funny I've been watching too much tic toc lately

These are missles, pls get the right place to place these missiles before U waste any more precious resources and time.

Simply, Japan can't quite afford any childish Chinese protest at the moment. The national economy is already fragile. It can't handle any Chinese economic threat.

Ah, another of lap-dog-of-America Abe's attempts to appease his master Donald Trump as he funnels our money into it and other, similar wastes for said appeasement. And as usual with Abe, from this to the Olympics, to his personal face mask project, even his failures cost us billions.

If he tries otherwise, he will end up like Ngo Dinh Diem or Park Chung Hee. When Diem was kicking out American advisors and doing the war on his own way, he was shot. When Park wanted to develop nuclear weapons and split from the US, he was shot under the support of CIA. If Abe or any Japanese leader tries something foolish, the entire Imperial family and political-economic leadership of Japan will be gone and swiftly replaced by more obedient puppets.

Japan is always the largest customer of American defense industry because the US demands so as a way of balancing trade deficits.

Lots of open cities in Fukushima and neighboring areas.

Govts are required by their people to "do something", lest they get called "do nothing govts." That's often worse politically than spending money.

RADAR is only dangerous when fairly close. It is a 1/r^2 law like all electromagnetic signals. OSHA says to stay more than 3m away. The danger falls off to basically nothing about 30m away.

I bet they can protect Japan from ballistic missiles from any country

Not designed to intercept icbms

protecting Japan from North Korean ballistic missiles.

I bet they can protect Japan from ballistic missiles from any country, not just North Korea. In fact, given the time the ballistic missiles need to get from the US to Japan, I bet the Aegis would be better at protecting Japan from American ballistic missiles than North Korean missiles.

Ah, another of lap-dog-of-America Abe's attempts to appease his master Donald Trump as he funnels our money into it and other, similar wastes for said appeasement. And as usual with Abe, from this to the Olympics, to his personal face mask project, even his failures cost us billions.