September 4, 2007: Japan had to move one of its Patriot anti-missile launching sites because a 38 story building going up nearby threatened to become an obstacle if any missiles were fired. This all began earlier this year, when the Japanese became so concerned about North Korean ballistic missiles, that they set up Patriot anti-missile missile batteries inside Tokyo. This had to be done because the anti-missile version of Patriot (the PAC 3) can only defend out to about twenty kilometers.

Normally, Patriot, or any other type of anti-aircraft missile is positioned in a wide open space, to avoid missiles colliding with anything but their intended targets. Missiles are not really guided at take-off, just pointed in the general direction of the target. The guidance system kicks in within a few seconds, but by then the missile may have gone several kilometers. That's because the solid fuel rocket motor is basically a slow burning explosive. The fuel is often all gone very

Patriot missiles are also very noisy when they launch. Basically it's a sudden, and very loud, explosion. If you are at home asleep when that happens, you will definitely wake up. This was the experience of civilians living within several kilometers of Patriot batteries in northern Saudi Arabia in 1991. The Japanese can live with the loud noise of a Patriot missile taking off, but not with the after-effects of said missile colliding with a nearby skyscraper. The Japanese are going to miss the