Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya has acknowledged that being in the vicinity of a new land-based missile defense system could cause people to feel ill. But he promised the government would take necessary steps to ensure that residents near the proposed sites of Aegis Ashore batteries can’t come near them.

The government plans to deploy Aegis systems in the cities of Akita and Hagi, in northern and western Japan, respectively. Residents have raised concerns that the electromagnetic waves from the systems’ radars could affect their health.

Iwaya was asked at an Upper House committee meeting on Tuesday what could happen if a child or pregnant woman spent 10 minutes at a distance of 50 meters from a radar during maximum output.

He said their body temperature might go up, and they could possibly feel sick.

Iwaya stressed that electromagnetic shielding would be put up on the walls surrounding the radar systems, and that children and pregnant women would have no access to the facilities.