Japan has unveiled plans for the first time to evacuate over 100,000 civilians from remote islands near Taiwan in case of a regional conflict, as tensions between Beijing and Taipei continue to rise.
According to the contingency plan, around 110,000 residents and 10,000 tourists from five islands in the Sakishima chain, located in Japan’s far southwest, would evacuate via ships and planes. The evacuees would be transported to eight prefectures in southwestern and western Japan within six days, using private ferries or flights to Kyushu, before being relocated to accommodations in other areas, as reported by Kyodo news agency.
Concerns over a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory and seeks to “reunify,” have prompted Japan to enhance protective measures for its remote islands, which could be drawn into any conflict in the Taiwan Strait. China has ramped up military pressure on Taiwan in recent years and has not ruled out the use of force.
Japan is also set to deploy surface-to-air guided missile units on Yonaguni, an island located just 100 km from Taiwan. Yonaguni, which hosts a Japanese self-defense force base, is constructing temporary underground shelters stocked with two weeks’ worth of food and water, according to Japanese media reports.
In January, Gen Nakatani, Japan’s defense minister, expressed deep concern over the security of Japan’s remote border islands, stating, “I want to take all possible measures to defend our country,” as quoted by the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper.
While Taiwan was not explicitly mentioned in the plans, fears of a military conflict have grown since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the resurgence of Donald Trump’s “America First” foreign policy. Some local officials have questioned Washington’s commitment to defending Taiwan and its regional allies.
The evacuation plans have received widespread attention in C, where many observers linked them to cross-strait tensions and shifting US foreign policy. Taiwanese media outlets reported public concerns about Japan’s readiness to evacuate its citizens, while Taiwan’s government has yet to outline similar protective measures.
Recent Japanese reports also suggest that the government is considering deploying long-range missiles on Kyushu amid uncertainty over the US-Japan security alliance. Trump has criticized the postwar security pact, arguing that it unfairly obligates the US to defend Japan without reciprocal guarantees.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshimasa Hayashi, stated that the evacuation plans were developed with the expectation of a scenario where “armed attacks are predicted,” Kyodo reported.
Okinawa, which hosts nearly 50,000 US troops, is expected to play a crucial military role in any Taiwan-related crisis. Japan is also locked in a territorial dispute with China over the Senkaku Islands, an uninhabited chain in the East China Sea administered by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing, where they are referred to as the Diaoyu Islands.
