Aug 29 (Japan Times) - The Defense Ministry presented a detailed plan on Wednesday for new surveys at candidate sites for deploying the Aegis Ashore land-based missile defense system.
The new surveys are being conducted because the ministry used flawed data when giving explanations to a local government of its plans on setting up the missile system.
The government has chosen the Ground Self-Defense Force’s Mutsumi training area in Hagi, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and the GSDF’s Araya training area, in the northeastern city of Akita, as candidate sites to host the missile shield.
The ministry informed the Akita and Yamaguchi prefectural governments of its new survey plans.
It is likely to take six and a half months before the results of the survey in Akita will be ready, the ministry said.
The central government has a goal of starting operations of the Aegis Ashore system in fiscal 2023.
The ministry will conduct laser surveys in cooperation with private organizations using aircraft at the Araya training area and 19 other potential locations, all on state-owned land, in the prefectures of Akita, Aomori, and Yamagata.
