Japan to set up evacuation shelters on island near Taiwan by 2027
Tokyo steps up civil protection plans in preparation for potential armed conflict
Japan's Self-Defense Force personnels attend drills at Yonaguni Airport in Yonaguni Island, Okinawa, in 2024. © Kyodo
RYUTO IMAO
TOKYO -- The Japanese government will set up the country's first long-stay evacuation shelters on an island near Taiwan by the end of fiscal 2027 amid growing concerns over tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
The construction of the first such shelters -- designed to allow evacuees to stay for around two weeks -- will start in fiscal 2026 on Yonaguni Island, Japan's westernmost island and part of the Sakishima Islands chain. Following Yonaguni, similar shelters will be built on neighboring municipalities of Ishigaki, Miyakojima, Taketomi and Tarama.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
an hour ago
Ishiba Declines to Say How Long He Will Stay On
News from Japan Politics Aug 4, 2025 14:41 (JST) Tokyo, Aug. 4 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Monday declined to say how long he would stay in office following his ruling coalition's defeat in a parliamentary election last month. "I have to keep businesses from being unfairly disadvantaged" by the Japan-U.S. trade agreement, Ishiba said at a meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament. He said, "I can't say for sure now" on how long he will stay on. "There is no way that anxiety (among businesses) will continue indefinitely. I'll make efforts to find a solution and overcome this national crisis as soon as possible," he said. He emphasized his determination to ensure that the trade agreement, including on a cut in U.S. auto tariffs, is implemented. U.S. President Donald Trump is a person who changes rules, Ishiba said. "It is harder to put an agreement into action than reach an agreement." Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi said that there will be no increase in rice imports under the agreement. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
The Mainichi
an hour ago
- The Mainichi
Japan PM's message to warn against calamity of war, 80 yrs after WWII
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Monday he wants to convey a message that underscores the need for Japan to remember the calamity of World War II, as this year marks the 80th anniversary of its defeat. Ishiba also told a parliamentary session that he recognizes the importance of sticking to the war anniversary statements issued by prime ministers on the 50th, 60th and 70th anniversaries. These statements have been scrutinized by other nations, particularly those like China and South Korea that suffered under Japanese aggression. Ishiba's remark came as government sources said the prime minister is unlikely to express his views on the war anniversary on Aug. 15 but may do so later, potentially on Sept. 2, the date when Japan signed the instrument of surrender in 1945. He has already decided not to issue another war anniversary statement approved by the Cabinet. "Whatever the format, I believe it is important to release something so as to avoid the fading (of World War II memories) and to never go to war again," Ishiba told a session of the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives. He also said Japan must show "what we can do" to prevent another war, instead of "simply expressing thoughts," adding that he will make a decision by examining the past statements in detail. After taking office last year, he expressed his wish to take a fresh look at the country's wartime history and draw lessons from it. Ishiba is scheduled to attend a ceremony on Wednesday to mark the Aug. 6, 1945, atomic bombing of Hiroshima, western Japan, the government said. He will then travel to Nagasaki Prefecture in southwestern Japan for another memorial ceremony on Saturday, commemorating Nagasaki's devastation by an atomic bomb on Aug. 9, 1945. On the 50th anniversary in 1995, then Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, leader of a major left-leaning party, expressed "deep remorse" and offered his "heartfelt apology" for Japan causing damage and suffering to the people of many nations. In 2015, then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a conservative, retained key phrases such as "aggression" and "colonial rule" from the statement and acknowledged Japan's past apologies without offering a new one of his own. Some lawmakers within the LDP associated closely with Abe do not want Ishiba to issue a statement that could dilute the 2015 statement that they believe helped end the country's "apology diplomacy."
4 hours ago
Plumbing New Lows: Ishiba's Support Drops with the LDP's Election Performance
Public Opinion Watch Japanese media firms' July 2025 public opinion surveys painted a brutal picture for Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, with his support ratings plummeting from the previous month in connection with his ruling coalition's losses in the upper house election. Dramatic Plunges for Ishiba The nation's main media organizations have released their results for public opinion surveys carried out in July 2025. This was a month that included a House of Councillors election that saw the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Kōmeitō lose its simple majority in the house. The survey results matched this bad news for Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, showing serious drops in the percentages of respondents approving of his administration. The largest drop was in the Yomiuri Shimbun poll, where the approval rating fell 10 percentage points to 22%. In its July 23 edition, the paper reported this as 'even lower than the 23% rating marking the lowest approval for Prime Minister Kishida Fumio,' Ishiba's predecessor in office. The smallest drop for Ishiba from June to July came in the Asahi Shimbun poll, but even at just 3 points, this brought his approval to just 29%. The only slightly bright spot for the prime minister was the 5-point rise in the Mainichi Shimbun poll, bringing him to 29% approval there as well. Ishiba's ratings hit all-time lows in five polls: Yomiuri, as described above, along with NHK (31%), Jiji Press (20.8%), Kyōdō News (22.9%), and Nikkei (32%). Jiji coverage accompanying its poll results noted that this was a figure on a par with that seen just before the House of Representatives election in 2009, when the LDP lost control of the Diet to usher in a Democratic Party of Japan administration. A comprehensive comparison across all surveys is difficult, as each company uses different polling methods, but in all, the approval ratings ranged from the Sankei Shimbun (34.6%) on the high end down to Jiji's 20.8%. Just two of the polls had Ishiba below 30% support in June; this number was up to five in July. The surveys asking whether Ishiba should step down or remain in office following his party's losses in the July 20 upper house election saw a range of responses. More than half of respondents thought it was time for him to go in the polls from Yomiuri (54%) and Kyōdō (51.6%), while in the Asahi survey those stating there was no need for him to quit as prime minister outnumbered those thinking he should quit, 47% to 41%. The Sankei respondents were largely balanced in their replies, with 47.7% stating Ishiba should step down versus 44.2% who thought he should remain in office. The Mainichi poll, meanwhile, had 42% saying Ishiba should quit, outstripping the 33% willing to have him remain at his post—but a following question asking who would be the ideal politician to lead Japan next also named Ishiba as the top choice. (Originally written in Japanese. Banner photo: Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru answers press questions at LDP headquarters in Tokyo on July 28, 2025. © Jiji.)
