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On a Japanese Western border, small island Yonaguni, deprived of even angular shops, offers nature lovers unique experience: diving with a hammer sharks and watching miniature horses grazing on Hillsides.
However, this peaceful scene is increasingly opposed to a growing military presence. Radar sites now brought wooden mountain chains, and camp yonaguni, a Japanese Land self-defense base, occupies land once used as a cattle station.
The island is a regular basis military exercises Between Japan and the United States, and the plans are in starting the establishment of a new rocket unit and expand the existing airport and port.
Event development underlines the strategic importance of Yonagunija as a potential front in conflict Taiwanself-governing island that China He claims as his own.
The inhabitants of the island are growing with this shift. “As a child, I was so proud of this most concave border island,” it reflects Fumie Kano, a local innkeeper. “But recently we repeatedly said that this place was dangerous, and I feel so sad.”
The militarization was especially true that the population of the island decreases. There are fewer than 1,500 local residents.
Fans say new members of the services that come needed for the safety of the island and the combat economy. Opponents like Kano say that military accumulations saves the environment, making an island economy depends on the army and can cause an attack.
On the front
Yonaguni is only 68 miles east of Taiwan, around which China intensified military activity.
Concerned about the conflict, Japan made a “southwest shift” in his military posture and speed up the accumulation of the defense and spent around the front.
Rocket units for PAC-3 interceptors are arranged on Yonaguni and nearby islands Ishigaki and Miyako.
Yonaguni residents are located in the center of geopolitical tension. The recent government plan for the implementation of multiple rockets, maybe in the long run, caused discomfort on the future of the island, even among those who initially supported hosting troops.
Kano, Yonaguni rodom, recalls that officials and residents once wanted to improve the economy and the environment by commercial exchanges with Taiwan’s operational management between the island. But that is allocated when the host plan for Japanese troops has become a lighter alternative to acquiring state subsidies and protection.
Disagreement on the plan shared a small community. Hosting support for Japanese troops carried in a referendum for 2015. year; This would mean that the fate of the island will greatly decide the security policy of the Central State.
A year later, the 160-member coast was established for the hour to monitor the Chinese military activity, with radiators built on the Mount Inba and elsewhere. There are now about 210 soldiers, including the electricity unit. Members of the service and their families are one fifth of the total population of the island.
The local economy largely depends on the members of services and their families who use local trade, schools and community services.
On the island cares about the pace and the scope of militarization, says Kyoko Yamaguchi, Potter. “Everything is pushed on behalf of emergency, and many feel that this is too much.”
Non-Fatal Court in October Japanese-like elevation of the Osprey Army during a joint exercise with the US Army on the island also caused to be terrible.
Japan and China build their soldiers
Japanese and maritime force in the Okinawa’s prefectural capital in Okinawina’s examination are crucial for the protection of southwestern airspace and territorial water.
Naha’s southwestern defense-based defense defense are most often in Japanese four regional air force. In Fiscal 2023. force coded 401 times, or 60% of the national total of 669, mainly against the Chinese, the Ministry of Defense.
Rear Adm. Takuhiro Hiragi, the commander of the air wing fleet 5 of Japanese marine self-defense forces, says the mission of his group flies P-3C plane over the eastern Chinese sea nearby Okinawa And his remote islands, including Yonaguni and the Japanese island of Senkak, which Beijing also claims.
“We need to be mobile, fast and thorough to keep cards in this region,” said Hiraga, noting the presence of key seabares in the area, including those used to navigate in the Pacific Ocean. “We look over their exercises, not just near Taiwan, but everything is necessary.”
Defense officers say China speeds up their military activities in the area between Taiwan and Yonagunija.
In August, the Chinese reconnaissance plane breached a briefly breached Japanese air space from the southern Main Island of Kyushu, encouraged the Japanese army to strengthen the combat nozzles and warn the plane. The Chinese survey ship separately violated Japanese territorial waters with today’s Days of the South Islands. In September, the Chinese airplane bracket that has laught and two destroyers of vessels between Yonagunija and nearby irionodes, entering the band leading just outside the Japanese territorial water.
Growing fear
Yonaguni Fisherfolk, who close the foreign vessels, were among the first to see the growing Chinese military activity.
2022. Several ballistic china missiles fired as part of the exercise were followed by Japanese southwest water afterwards – US President Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan’s visit in August. One of them landed only 80 miles (50 miles) from Yonagunija, while more than 20 local fishing boats worked.
Although he did not cause injuries or damage, Chinese exercises were kept by a business fisherman for a week, Yonaguni Fisherman Association boss and member of the Shigenori Acureishi City Assembly. “It was an extremely dangerous exercise that really did to us to feel a potential threat in China right next to us.”
Fear of Taiwan War opens bitter memories here battles in Okinawa, in which about 200,000 people were killed, almost half of civilians. Historians say the army sacrificed Okinawa to defend the Japanese mainland. Today, the main island of Okinawa hosts more than half of 50,000 American troops in Japan.
(an asterisk) to be at the center of this issue is very stressful for the residents, “said the seller Takako Ueno.” I don’t want people to imagine this beautiful island turns into a battlefield. ”
In order to continue to happen to happen, he says that the mayor Kenichi Itokaz says, the advocate of military accumulation that advocated for the deployment of several Japanese troops for decades.
What happens in an emergency?
Some inhabitants feel uncomfortable because of their vulnerability, even in the middle of military accumulated.
The government’s evacuation plan showed the relocation of 120,000 people with five remote islands, including Yonaguni, would last for at least six days to the main islands of Japan. Some question whether such evacuation is even possible.
Itokazu, the mayor wants to build a shelter in the basement of the new city hall and expand the Higawa Port for ship evacuation, a plan that opposes ecologies who say that there are rare sea species there.
But some skepticism is of some.
“It’s absurd,” Kano said in the evacuation plan, because all Japan would be in danger if Okinawa is pulling in the fight. “I just hope that the money will be spent on policies that will help people in Yonaguni live peacefully.”