Japan Intends to Boost Defense Capabilities on Yonaguni Island; Area Set to Deploy Ballistic Missile Countermeasures

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:13 JST, January 23, 2025

The government intends to develop facilities to deploy surface-to-air guided missile units on Yonaguni Island in Okinawa Prefecture, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told reporters on Wednesday.

“Strengthening the defense system in the Nansei area is an urgent issue,” Nakatani said during a visit to the Ground Self Defense Force Camp Yonaguni, located on the island.

Yonaguni Island is located at Japan’s westernmost point and is close to Taiwan, about 110 kilometers away, and island residents fear a Taiwan contingency. The Self-Defense Forces opened the camp in 2016, but only a coastal surveillance team is deployed to monitor naval vessels and aircraft.

The Defense Ministry said that an unmanned aircraft believed to belong to the Chinese military passed between Taiwan and Yonaguni Island on Wednesday afternoon. Air Self-Defense Force fighter jets were scrambled in response.

The ministry is currently trying to acquire land adjacent to the camp for the deployment of the GSDF’s Type 03 medium-range surface-to-air guided missiles, which are capable of countering ballistic missiles.

On the same day, Nakatani met with Yonaguni Town Mayor Kenichi Itokazu at the town hall to seek his understanding of the deployment plan. “I hope the government will address the issue firmly,” Itokazu said. He asked Nakatani for cooperation in constructing shelters where residents can evacuate in an emergency.

The government has been preparing temporary shelters where residents of remote islands can take refuge for a certain period of time. The Defense Ministry has allocated funds in its fiscal 2025 budget proposal to subsidize the construction of these facilities in Yonaguni Town and the cities of Ishigaki and Miyakojima.

Nakatani also visited Taketomi and Hateruma islands for the first time as defense minister and inspected ports and airports that will serve as evacuation bases.

Nakatani said, “I felt people’s strong sense of crisis in these remote border islands. I want to take all possible measures for the national defense of our country.”