politics

Mayor opposes deployment of land-based Aegis missile defense battery

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Just as the Osprey issue, the U.S. military-industrial complex must have been proactive on convincing the initially reluctant Japanese government to buy this high-cost Aegis Ashore system. If so, Chief Cabinet Secretary's justification for the purchase, saying, "It's a necessary equipment to protect our country", sounds empty and hollow.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

I vote S-400 or the new 500 version.

interesting that abe is from Yamaguchi though.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Since when does a mayor get a say in national defense? Amazing.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Not Akita!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It's these oppositions that keep our nation completely defenseless and force us rely on other nations help. When the day come when we truly need it,they will say because of lack of time or support,it was never put into use. It a defense system. It's use to stop incoming missiles! How it that even a threat to his town people or nature? They should be proud that they did something to protect the security of Japan as a whole and not some reputation of his town. Over the years,we have become too passive and relied on outsiders to defend ourselves. What's use is it to rely on foreign troops when our own people can't defend our own lands?

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I vote S-400 or the new 500 version

@Goodlucktoyou, that is a ridiculous and absurd suggestion that Japan should buy a Russian missile defense system. Russia and Japan don't even have a formal signed peace treaty so how can Japan procure a weapons systems from an adversary, let alone depend on them for sustainment support? Get real, dude.

It's these oppositions that keep our nation completely defenseless and force us rely on other nations help.....

@Hiro, a most realistic assessment and spot on!

It's a shame many people have been duped into believing a defensive system is a threat to their country because they believe it invites military attack. They also believe it is pointless to take means to defend your own country.  Of course these same people don't believe China, Russia or North Korea are threats. 

Furthermore, it is these same pacifist oppositions that are thwarting PM Abe's changes to the Article 9 restrictions so that Japan CAN and should be less reliant on U.S. forces. Unwittingly and inadvertently they are supporting continued U.S. military presence on mainland Japan and Okinawa.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Matt Hartwell,

From time to time I see a comment like your's that defense is a state's exlusive prerogative, so that a locality has no right whatsowever to opine what the state does. The Futenma issue in Okinawa tops in such an argument: Okinawa has no right to say anything about what the government does because defense is the state's exclusive prerogative..

But is the state infallible and so always correct in what it does? If so, then Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor was a correct option, and so was the expansion of the Vietnam War by the U.S. on the pretext that two U.S. destroyers were topedoed by a North Vietnamese patrol boat (the Gulf of Tonkin Incident). Note that there's been a persistent conspiracy theory also that Roosvelt had fully known about approaching Japanese task forces but let the attack happen anyway so that the U.S. could enter the war.

The Japanese people were allowed no say at all about national defense at the time. Do you think it was quite correct? The Gulf of Tonkin incident shows, enen in a nation that boasts itself for democracy and freedom, the powers that be can dupe the whole nation quite easily.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Halwick,

What's the accuracy of the Aegis Ashore batteries? And do you know how much each bettery costs? Initially, the U.S. offered a price tag for about $730 million per each unit but now it's said to exceed well over $900 billion.

Besides, the missiles that finessed the stage-one missile defense system at sea may be heading toward the U.S. mainland. If the Aegis Ashore must shoot down such missiles, doesn't it mean the Aegis Ashore is essentially for the defense of the U.S. mainland?

What a cleaver and lucrative business dealing for the U.S.!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Correction of figure:

What's the accuracy of the Aegis Ashore batteries? And do you know how much each bettery costs? Initially, the U.S. offered a price tag for about $730 million per each unit but now it's said to exceed well over $900 million.

Besides, the missiles that slip through the stage-one missile defense system at sea may be heading toward the U.S. mainland. If the Aegis Ashore must shoot down such missiles, doesn't it mean the Aegis Ashore is essentially for the defense of the U.S. mainland?

What a cleaver and lucrative business dealing this is for the U.S.!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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