TOKYO - More than 1,000 Japanese people gathered on Monday in front of the Ground Self-Defense Force's Camp Kengun base in Kumamoto Prefecture, protesting the government's plan to deploy long-range missiles at the facility.

Demonstrators held placards reading "No missiles" and "Don't turn Kumamoto into a battlefield". They chanted slogans such as "Military force cannot bring peace", calling on the government to scrap the deployment plan and provide a full explanation to local residents.

Masahiko Yamashita, a representative of the protest organizers, said the planned missile deployment is unacceptable under Article 9 of Japan's pacifist Constitution.

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According to earlier reports by Japanese media outlets, the Defense Ministry plans to deploy an upgraded Type 12 surface-to-ship missile system at the Camp Kengun facility by the end of March.