Remote US Army radar site in Japan marks 20 years of watching for missile threats

American military members in camouflage uniforms and local Japanese civilians sit in a row of folding chairs during an outdoor ceremony, with additional attendees standing in the background and a hilly treeline in the distance.

U.S. troops, diplomats and locals celebrate Shariki Communications Site's 20th anniversary and America’s 250th birthday at the facility in Aomori prefecture, Japan, on Sept. 12, 2026. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)

By SETH ROBSON
STARS AND STRIPES

Published September 15, 2026 ·

SHARIKI COMMUNICATIONS SITE, Japan — For two decades, a small contingent of U.S. soldiers at this remote outpost overlooking the Sea of Japan — also known as the East Sea — has watched the skies for ballistic missiles that could threaten Japan, American forces or the United States.

On Saturday, the Army’s 10th Missile Defense Battery marked its 20th anniversary with a decidedly less ominous mission: celebrating alongside Japanese troops and area residents with music, dancing and festival food.

Shariki Communications Site, on a wooded bluff in Tsugaru, Aomori prefecture, was established in 2006 amid concerns about North Korea’s ballistic missile program.

The battery operates an AN/TPY-2 radar that provides long-range detection, classification and tracking of ballistic missiles in support of U.S. homeland and regional defense.

“We provide early warning of threats,” battery commander Capt. Rishad Readus told Stars and Stripes during Saturday’s celebration.

An American military officer and a Japanese military officer, both in camouflage uniforms, dance in a grass clearing, while a group of Japanese musicians in traditional blue robes play drums in the background.

Capt. Rishad Readus, commander of the U.S. Army's 10th Missile Defense Battery, dances with a Japanese soldier during a celebration for the 20th anniversary of the Shariki Communications Site in Aomori prefecture, Japan, on Sept. 12, 2026. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)

North Korea’s missile arsenal has expanded significantly since Shariki opened. Pyongyang has since tested intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the U.S., resumed ICBM launches in 2022 after a nearly five-year pause and carried out a record 63 ballistic missile launches that year. Its testing has continued this year, including repeated launches of short-range and tactical weapons.

Fewer than 100 Americans serve at the isolated installation, where the nearest major U.S. military facility, Misawa Air Base, is more than two hours away by road, Readus said.

From outside the restricted site, a white radar dome rises above a collection of small buildings, berms and shipping containers surrounded by barbed-wire fencing, farmland and forest.

Shariki sits near the Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s Shariki Subbase, and its soldiers work closely with JASDF units and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s Northern Army, Readus said.

Saturday’s event brought U.S. soldiers and diplomats together with Japanese troops and local residents for awards, equipment displays and a performance by a traditional Japanese drum and flute ensemble. The event also commemorated the United States’ 250th anniversary.

Readus told the gathering that the relationship between Americans and the surrounding community dates to the 19th century, when locals cared for shipwrecked U.S. sailors.

“When we got here 20 years ago, we stepped into a community that had already shown America true human kindness,” he said.

AN/TPY-2 is a high-resolution, X-band phased-array radar originally developed as a sensor for THAAD, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system. At Shariki, it operates in forward-based mode to detect and track ballistic missiles at long range and distinguish potential warheads from debris and decoys.

Another AN/TPY-2 is operated by the Army’s 14th Missile Defense Battery at Kyogamisaki Communications Site in Kyoto prefecture. Together, the radars provide early warning of ballistic missile threats.

Both units fall under the 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, headquartered at Sagami General Depot near Tokyo.

Shariki’s isolation also shapes daily life for the soldiers stationed there. The region averages about 36 feet of snow each winter, and the unit is geographically separated from the larger U.S. military communities elsewhere in Japan.

Sgt. Christopher Lopez, a radar operator and maintainer from Edinburg, Texas, arrived at Shariki about a year ago after serving at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq.

“When I found out I was coming, I was told I was lucky,” he said. “It’s a breath of fresh air. It is still high tempo, but it’s rewarding.”

Away from the radar, Lopez said he spends his free time exploring the countryside and fishing for bass.

“Not far from here there’s a lake full of water that is crystal blue,” he said.

Seth Robson is a Tokyo-based reporter who has been with Stars and Stripes since 2003. He has been stationed in Japan, South Korea and Germany, with frequent assignments to Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, Australia and the Philippines.