In a survey conducted by the Minami Nihon Shimbun on public awareness, respondents were asked about their opinions on the deployment of long-range counterattack missiles to Kagoshima. The results showed that 52.9% were in favor, which was 12.6 points higher than the 40.3% who were opposed.
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防衛省, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Of those who responded “in favor” or “somewhat in favor” to the development of the Self-Defense Force base in Magashima, 90% expressed their approval of the deployment in the prefecture. Japan announced on Jan. 12 that it has started the construction of a field carrier landing practice (FCLP) facility at Mageshima. The construction is expected to take about 4 years and the runways are expected to be finish in 2 years time. There will be two runways, one control tower, fuel facilities, and ammunition storage facilities added during the buildup. A berthing facility for warships will be built on the east side of the island.
The U.S. Navy is expected to use the FCLP to prepare its pilots for landing on aircraft carriers. A total of 20 practice days are expected to be carried out each year.
The overall response for the survey was “in favor” 30.9%, “somewhat in favor” 22.0%, “somewhat opposed” 22.4%, “opposed” 17.9%, and “don’t know” 6.8%.
Looking at the ratio of opinions by gender, men were 64.3% in favor and 31.9% opposed, while women were mostly opposed with 34.0% in favor and 55.7% opposed.
By age group, those in their 30s were the most in favor at 70.7%, followed by those in their 40s at 64.3% and those in their 20s at 63.0%. Those over 70 years old were the most opposed at 44.9%, followed by those in their 60s at 41.7% and those in their 50s at 41.3%. Those aged 18 and 19 had a small sample size, but 33.3% were in favor and 66.7% were opposed.
The Japanese cabinet had decided to possess a counterattack capability against enemy bases last year. It will be a major turning point in post-war security policy.
The survey was conducted on Apr. 15 and 16 and received responses from 1,062 people in the prefecture.
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