TOKYO, March 19 (UPI) -- Patriot missiles will be deployed in Tokyo to protect its key facilities under a Defense Ministry plan for emergency situations, a Japanese daily said Monday.
"State-of-the-art" Patriot missiles can protect areas within a radius of 20 kilometers from the launch sites, the Asahi Shimbun said, citing sources.
After deployment, the missiles will protect key facilities in central Tokyo, such as the Diet building (parliament) and the prime minister's official residence, from possible missile attacks from the outside, it said.
To accomplish their new mission, the missiles will be transported to Self-Defense Forces garrisons in Nerima and Ichigaya in Tokyo from the Air SDF Iruma base in southern Saitama Prefecture, it said.
It is the first time the locations of the emergency sites have been revealed, the newspaper said.
