Status: 08/22/2022 4:13 p.m
Yonaguni Island is the westernmost point of Japan – not far from Taiwan. Residents fear that if China attacks, missiles could also hit their island. They expect little from Tokyo.
Fisherman Ichinari Toshitsugu and his boat are increasingly stranded. The yield is meager this year: the water temperature is rising due to climate change, and sometimes the 32-year-old has to stay on land. Orders from above – going out was too dangerous because of the Chinese.
When several Chinese missiles hit the water within earshot of the fishermen a little over two weeks ago as part of the maneuvers around Taiwan after US politician Nancy Pelosi’s visit, there was a five-day ban on leaving the country. And a growing sense of fear that a possible attack on Taiwan would end peace on the island forever.
Fisherman Ichinari Toshitsugu on his boat wonders about his family’s future.
Image: ARD Studio Tokyo
Taiwan in sight
Yonaguni is the westernmost point of Japan, located just 110 kilometers east of Taiwan, on a clear day you can see the island’s outline on the horizon. The 1500 inhabitants of Yonaguni live from fishing, work in the small town hall or take care of the few diving tourists.
For many decades, the island suffered from population decline. Five years ago, the Japanese Ministry of Defense moved around 160 self-defense forces to Yonaguni in response to the growing threat from China.
Since then there has been more life on the island: the armed forces control the waters and the airspace, their children go to the local elementary school, the women in the armed forces work in the small grocery stores.
A fax from Tokyo
The island has so far been untouched by mass tourism, there are no hotel resorts, instead azure blue water and deserted beaches. Hectic Tokyo not only feels incredibly far away, it is: 2000 kilometers. The residents of Yonaguni feel let down by local politics.
“Although rockets fell just 80 kilometers from here, the government’s reaction was a silly piece of paper. They sent a fax to inform us about it. What should I think of that?” asks fisherman Ichinari Toshitsugu.
He was a member of the armed forces himself, but he doesn’t trust them to defend the island if attacked. Since retiring two years ago, he has been trying to support his family by fishing. His wife is expecting their first child. “Can that grow up in peace?” he wonders.
Yonaguni is the westernmost point of Japan – on a clear day you can see as far as Taiwan, 110 km away.
Image: ARD Studio Tokyo
“No safe places on the island”
A few kilometers away, Kenichi Itokazu, the island’s mayor, stands in his town hall hunched over a large map and frowns. In an emergency, he would like to evacuate his citizens as quickly as possible, but where to?
“There are no safe places on the island, no place to hide,” says Itokazu. He doesn’t believe China will attack Taiwan any time soon – the country feared US and European sanctions too much – but if it does, his island could become collateral damage.
It would take at least a week to fly out all the islanders. Because the two ports are tiny, as is the airport, and the runway is too short for large machines. Therefore, the mayor is now working on a plan to expand the infrastructure.
Island Mayor Kenichi Itokazu is fighting for an emergency evacuation plan for the island.
Image: ARD Studio Tokyo
Worried about the evacuation
But Tokyo isn’t much of a help: Itokazu thinks that more armed forces are to be deployed to the Yonaguni base in the near future, but they won’t be of much use if civilians are to be evacuated. “In a year or two, China will be on par with America economically. Then they could dare a military attack.”
He hopes that the Japanese government will have found a solution for his island by then. “If push comes to shove, I don’t want to have to leave a single citizen here.”
The blue marlin caught by Yonaguni fishermen that day fetches the equivalent of 700 euros – a handsome catch.
Image: ARD Studio Tokyo
Drive out – despite the fear
Back in port, Ichinari clears Toshitsugu on his boat. His colleagues have just made a big catch: the blue marlin they pulled out of the water fetches the equivalent of a good 700 euros.
The 32-year-old would also like to go out again soon – despite the risk that a Chinese missile could fall into the sea again at any time. But the rent has to be paid and the flight to the next larger island for the next ultrasound scan of his pregnant wife. “
When I’m out, I often drive past Taiwanese fishermen. We wave at each other like friends,” he says. “These are also people who make their living from the sea, and they’re even more afraid than we are here.”
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