TOKYO, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Civic groups from Japan's Hiroshima and Yamaguchi prefectures on Monday submitted a petition calling on the Japanese government to urge the U.S. military to withdraw its Typhon intermediate-range missile system deployed in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi prefecture.
The groups voiced concerns that the temporary deployment under the guise of a joint exercise could become permanent.
Japan's Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. military conducted a large-scale joint drill from Sept. 11 to Sept. 25 across Japan's Kyushu and other areas, during which the U.S. military deployed the Typhon system in Japan for the first time.
The petition, submitted to a regional defense bureau of Japan's Defense Ministry, warned that the deployment of the Typhon system would provoke neighboring countries, and demanded its immediate removal while opposing any future redeployment.
According to Kyodo News report, Keisuke Kume, co-representative of a civic network, said the system would heighten regional tensions.
"We protest its deployment and urge the Japanese government to take this matter seriously," he was quoted as saying.
Kyodo also cited officials from Iwakuni City as saying that Japan's Defense Ministry had earlier promised to remove the system about a week after the exercise ended. However, according to city officials, the system has yet to be withdrawn. ■
