A briefing session for residents about the Ground Self-Defense Force garrison opened this month on Ishigaki Island in Okinawa Prefecture was held on the evening of the 22nd.

The Ministry of Defense opened a new garrison of the Ground Self-Defense Force, the Ishigaki Garrison, on Ishigaki Island on January 16 to strengthen the defense of the Nansei Islands.

In relation to this, on the evening of the 22nd, the Ministry of Defense and Ishigaki City held a briefing session for residents, and the person in charge of the Ministry of Defense explained the equipment such as missiles to be placed at the garrison and the drills planned in the future.

In addition, when a participating resident asked, "Is it highly likely that missiles to exercise 'counterattack capability' will be deployed on Ishigaki Island," they replied, "The specific deployment destination has not been decided."

In addition to questions from participants about the treatment of wastewater from garrisons and the operation of helicopters, participants also expressed opinions such as "I would like to see more diplomatic efforts instead of deploying the Self-Defense Forces."

The briefing session was held at a venue with a capacity of about 1000,170 people, but only about 30 people participated, and there were many empty seats.

A farmer in his <>s who participated said, "Even after listening to the explanation, I felt that some people would still be anxious, and I was worried that missiles would be deployed to exercise 'counterattack capabilities' in the future and that the garrison would become even larger."