Looking apprehensive, Masaharu Ito sits on a bench beside an approach road lined with stalls leading to Kogan Temple in Tokyo's Toshima ward. He has just finished paying homage at the shrine.
"Tokyo may be attacked, caught off guard," says the 61-year-old roofer.
Ito believes that after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States, Japan is no longer safe. He believes this is especially true now that Japan has joined the U.S.-led war on terrorism by sending Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels to the Indian Ocean to offer logistic support.