Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera on Friday sought to win local consent to deploy a U.S.-developed land-based missile shield, amid questions over the necessity of such a system as tensions ease on the Korean Peninsula.
The government is pushing a plan to install the costly Aegis Ashore system in Akita and Yamaguchi prefectures to strengthen Japan's defenses against potential threats from North Korean nuclear arms or missiles, with a view to the system possibly becoming 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 first-ever summit between a sitting U.S. president and North Korean leader earlier this month.