Japan islanders fear consequences if Taiwan attacked
Residents on a Japanese island close to Taiwan are worried they would be unable to cope with an influx of refugees if conflict between Taiwan and China broke out. Yonaguni Island's officials say their plea for help to the Tokyo government went unheard. - REUTERS
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00:00 This disaster drill is meant to prepare for crisis on Japan's westernmost frontier,
00:06 be it a natural disaster or, as island mayor Kenichi Itakatsu increasingly worries, a humanitarian
00:13 one.
00:14 Yonaguni Island recently ran this exercise with Japan's self-defense forces, bracing
00:21 both for tsunami and the event of the island's close neighbor, Taiwan, coming under attack
00:26 from China.
00:27 "I'm worried about what could happen.
00:32 It's a situation that we cannot predict."
00:34 Yonaguni is only about 60 miles east of Taiwan, a self-ruled island of 24 million people.
00:42 China claims it as its own territory and has ratcheted up simulated missile strikes and
00:47 other military displays.
00:51 Yonaguni residents say they worry about a possible refugee crisis if conflict broke
00:56 out nearby.
00:58 Japan has earmarked 290 billion dollars for defense this year, the biggest build-up since
01:05 the Second World War.
01:06 But more than two dozen current and former Japanese officials and island residents said
01:12 there was no plan from Tokyo for Yonaguni, where they imagine hundreds if not thousands
01:17 of refugees could try to flee.
01:20 "What if they come here?
01:23 What if they come here?
01:24 I asked the government.
01:25 There was no answer.
01:27 Everyone was silent.
01:28 It's like their mouths were taped shut."
01:31 Yonaguni has around 1,700 residents.
01:35 Koji Sugama, the official in charge of preparing the island for disasters, thinks right now
01:40 there wouldn't be enough emergency supplies if the worst comes to pass.
01:45 This container is one of three on the whole island.
01:49 Sugama says each one can support around 800 people.
01:53 "These are cookies made from rice.
01:56 Then there's curry pilaf, tomato risotto, corn pilaf, mixed rice.
02:00 This will do for one, maybe two days."
02:03 Yonaguni relies on biweekly ferry and a handful of daily flights from nearby islands for supplies.
02:10 But these can often be canceled due to bad weather.
02:14 So far, the Japanese government's response to rising tension in the Asia-Pacific has
02:18 focused on military spending, which Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plans to double in
02:23 the next five years.
02:26 "If something happens, I really have no idea how the Prime Minister at the time will
02:31 act, what decisions they will take or even be able to take."
02:35 (speaking in foreign language)