Originally Posted by hoyateach
Probably protesters. When the airport was first built back in the 1960s/70s, the gov't forcibly confiscated a lot of farmland to build it on since there was nowhere else closer to Tokyo that hadn't already been developed. They paid the farmers fair market value (so I've heard) but of course, the farmers were less than thrilled at the idea. There some very violent protests at the time and some hard-core left-wingers are still at it. And the airport keeps trying to expand in a country where flat land is very, very scarce.
Hence the sign. I think.
That's correct. I lived in Japan in the 70's and at one point the control tower was actually taken over by the protesters. They put up steel? plates (or something like that) to keep tear gas from being shot into the windows...It ended 'peacefully' but could you imagine what would happen now, post 9/11...