Locals counting on America to provide Japan protection
Boston-area residents with roots in Japan say they’re worried about their families back home in the wake of North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile launch and hope the United States will step in and protect the country.
“It’s really dangerous and more harmful,” said Natick resident Miho Owens, whose 9-year-old daughter Layla is visiting her parents in the Aichi prefecture in central Japan. “It has more of a chance to get to the mainland so I’m worried about them.”
According to North Korean officials, the missile launched early yesterday had a range of 580 miles, which was backed up by analysis from Japanese and South Korean officials.
Although the missile landed in the Sea of Japan, President Trump said U.S. officials believe the missile was a more powerful ICBM than those used in previous launches. Contrary to North Korean claims, U.S. officials don’t believe it was powerful enough to hit the U.S. mainland.
Owens, who said she sends her daughter to visit her parents every summer for additional schooling, will be leaving for a business trip to Japan in the next few days. North Korea’s frequent missile tests, she said, have become an unfortunate part of her parents’ everyday lives.
“There’s nothing they can do, North Korea has been testing so many times,” Owens said. “We’d like (the U.S.) to protect Japan, but it’s not easy.”
Etsuko Yashiro, who cochairs the city’s annual Japan Festival, said she was scared for her parents and brother, who live in Tokyo, after hearing of the test.
“I was very frightened,” Yashiro said, “this time it’s really different.”
Yashiro’s parents, who were children during World War II and saw the United States’ military might, are now counting on the U.S. to protect Japan in the face of this latest threat, she said.
“My parents are so scared,” Yashiro said, “but they’re also thinking North Korea can’t do anything because the United States is helping us.”