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☆ A strong earthquake rocks Taiwan, collapsing buildings and causing a tsunami
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A powerful earthquake struck off Taiwan early Wednesday, rocking the entire island and collapsing buildings. Japan issued a tsunami alert for the southern Japanese island group of Okinawa. A powerful earthquake rocked the entire island of Taiwan early Wednesday, collapsing buildings in a southern city and creating a tsunami that washed ashore on southern Japanese islands. The Japan Meteorological Agency forecast a tsunami of up to 3 meters (9.8 feet) for the southern Japanese island group of Okinawa. A wave of 30 centimeters (about 1 feet) was detected on the coast of Yonaguni island about 15 minutes after the quake struck.

Organizations: Television, U.S . Geological Survey, Japan Meteorological Agency Locations: Taiwan, Japan, Okinawa, Hualien, Taipei, U.S, Yonaguni, Miyako

☆ Strong Quake Strikes Taiwan, Setting Off Tsunami Warning in Japan
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Meaghan Tobin | More About Meaghan Tobin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

In Japan, according to the broadcaster NHK, tsunami waves as high as 30 centimeters had already started hitting the shore on Yonaguni Island at 9:14 a.m. local time. Residents on Okinawa, Miyako and Yaeyama islands in southern Japan were told to get as far away from coastal areas as possible. According to NHK, the tsunamis were expected to hit the islands shortly after 10 a.m., with waves as high as 3 meters, or 10 feet, on Miyako and Yaeyama. Motoko Rich contributed reporting from Tokyo.

Persons: Motoko Rich Organizations: NHK Locations: Japan, Okinawa, Miyako, Tokyo

The temblor set off at least nine landslides, collapsing hillsides onto the Suhua Highway in Hualien, according to local media reports. The quake was centered in the waters off Hualien, according to the United States Geological Survey. The epicenter was about 10 miles under the earth’s surface, according to Taiwan. Here is the latest: In Japan, tsunami waves as high as 30 centimeters hit the shore on Yonaguni Island at 9:14 a.m. local time. People in China took to social media saying they felt the tremors as far as away as Hangzhou, Xiamen, and Shanghai.

Persons: Tobin, Motoko Rich Organizations: Rail, United States Geological Survey, Weather Administration, U.S . Pacific, Warning Locations: Taiwan, Japan, Hualien, Taiwan’s, Taipei, People, China, Hangzhou, Xiamen, Shanghai

But the $290 billion outlay comes without a parallel plan to prepare Yonaguni for a possible humanitarian crisis that residents like Sakihara say could quickly overwhelm their shores. Tokyo, they said, has no plan to deal with them, and locals' pleas for help have gone unanswered. A spokesperson for Japan's Cabinet Secretariat said that "if large numbers of refugees came to Japan, relevant government departments would work together to respond". Even if he had a refugee plan, Kishida would still face an obstacle: his contentious relationship with the Okinawa government that administers Yonaguni. NOT ENOUGH TO SHAREBack in Yonaguni, resident Satoshi Nagahama, 33, was surprised to learn the government had no humanitarian plan for refugees.

Persons: Sonkichi Sakihara, chancing, Kenichi Itokazu, Itokazu, Hirokazu Matsuno, Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, Lai Ching, Matsuno, Fumio Kishida, Kevin Maher, Maher, Yoshihide Yoshida, Japan's, shouldn't, Kishida, Denny Tamaki, it's, Hironobu, Satoshi Nagahama, Sakihara, Koji Sugama, Tim Kelly, Kaori Kaneko, Yukiko Toyoda, Ben Blanchard, Kentaro Sugiyama, David Crawshaw Organizations: Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reuters, U.S, Japan Coast Guard, Migration Policy Institute, Nations, NMV Consulting, State Department, Defense Forces, it's, University's Research, of Disaster Management, Thomson Locations: YONAGUNI, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, China, Beijing, Tokyo, Yonaguni, Taipei, Myanmar, Europe, East, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Washington, East Asia, Okinawa

☆ Japanese island holds disaster drill in shadow of Taiwan threat
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( Tim Kelly | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Local residents watch an evacuation drill by Japan Self-Defense Forces soldiers on Yonaguni island, Japan's westernmost inhabited island in Okinawa prefecture, Japan November 12, 2023. About 200 island officials and members of Japan's military, known as the Self-Defence Force (SDF), took part in the exercise on Yonaguni, Japan's westernmost island, 2,000 km (1,240 miles) southwest of the capital, Tokyo. "Today we conducted a disaster drill, but it also gives people something to think about that will come in useful in a Taiwan emergency," Sugama said. About 180 Yonaguni residents came to the island's only junior high school to watch the first such exercise in four years. Troops stationed at an island army camp, that was opened in 2016 as part of a programme to reinforce Japan's island outposts, provided lunch and foot baths.

Persons: Issei Kato, Kenichi Itokazu, Koji Sugama, Sugama, Yonaguni, Nancy Pelosi, Fumio Kishida, Tim Kelly, Robert Birsel Organizations: Japan Self - Defense Forces, REUTERS, Sunday, - Defence Force, SDF, Troops, Thomson Locations: Okinawa prefecture, Japan, China, Taiwan, Tokyo, island's, Honshu, Ukraine, Beijing, Japan's

☆ A millennial dad of 2 bought an abandoned home in Japan for $23,600. He says restoring it is easier than expected.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Amanda Goh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Eric McAskill bought an abandoned house, or akiya, in the rural Japanese countryside for $23,600. Eric McAskill and his wife, together with their two children. Over the next decade, he would find himself visiting Japan again and again, each time visiting a different prefecture. McAskill bought his akiya through an akiya bank, which is a database maintained by the local municipalities for abandoned or vacant houses. "The first person to bid starts to enter into negotiations with the owner," McAskill said of the bidding process in Japan.

Persons: Eric McAskill, Eric McAskill's, —, McAskill, let's, Eric McAskill McAskill, Eric McAskill McAskill's, I'm, haven't, It's, I've, he's Organizations: Service, IKEA Locations: Wall, Silicon, Japan, Bali, Nagano Prefecture, Vancouver, Canada, Abashiri, Hokkaido, Yonaguni, Taiwan, Indonesian

☆ Japan says Russian warships spotted near Taiwan, Okinawa islands
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, July 1 (Reuters) - Japan's defence ministry said late on Friday it had spotted two Russian Navy ships in the waters near Taiwan and Japan's Okinawa islands in the previous four days, following a similar announcement this week from Taiwan. Taiwan's defence ministry said on Tuesday it had spotted two Russian frigates off its eastern coast and send aircraft and ships to keep watch. Japan's government said last month that repeated Russian military activity near Japanese territory, including joint drills with Chinese forces, posed "serious concern" for Japan's national security. The Japanese ministry said two Steregushchy-class frigates were first spotted 70 km (40 miles) southwest of Japan's westernmost island of Yonaguni, in Okinawa prefecture neat Taiwan, on Tuesday morning. The vessels sailed back and forth through the waters between Yonaguni and Taiwan, moved eastward and were last spotted on Friday in the waters between Miyako and Okinawa islands, it said, adding Japan dispatched two vessels to monitor the Russian ships.

Persons: Kantaro Komiya, William Mallard Organizations: Russian Navy, United, Russian Pacific Fleet, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Taiwan, Okinawa, Japan, United States, Russia, Ukraine, Japan's, Yonaguni, Miyako, Russian, Philippine

To help address that, Tokyo in April said it would offer like-minded countries military aid, including radars, that the officials said would help the Philippines plug defensive gaps. One, however, said the aid effort was a Japanese initiative and not anything the United States had pressed for. The Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs said it was not immediately able to comment on security aid from Japan or hosting Japanese troops. LOOSENING THE RULESThe scope of Japanese military aid is limited by a self-imposed ban on lethal equipment exports. But he said Japan and the United States are treading carefully in trilateral talks with the Philippines.

Persons: Read, Fumio, Katsutoshi Kawano, Joe Biden's, Jake Sullivan, Takeo Akiba, Eduardo Ano, Fumio Kishida, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Kishida, Kawano, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Marcos, Yusuke Ishihara, Tim Kelly, Sakura Murakami, Yukiko Toyoda, Neil Jerome Morales, Gerry Doyle Organizations: U.S, Marines, Warriors, Philippine Marine Corps, Japanese, Reuters, Washington, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs, Ukraine, Group, Seven, Self - Defence Forces, Staff, Japan's National Institute for Defense Studies, Thomson Locations: Philippine, Japan, South Korea, ”, Taguig City, Metro Manila, Philippines, TOKYO, Indonesia, Taiwan, Ukraine, East Asia, Tokyo, Pacific, China, Japanese, United States, Kyiv, Manila, Yonaguni, Britain, Australia

☆ Biden, Kishida to discuss Japan ‘stepping up’ security
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The Oval Office meeting and signing ceremony at NASA’s Washington headquarters will cap a weeklong tour for Kishida that took him to five European and North American capitals for talks on his effort to beef up Japan’s security. Japan’s defense spending has historically remained below 1% of GDP. “Japan is stepping up and doing so in lockstep with the United States,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. Kishida also discussed with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron his hopes to improve security cooperation between Japan and their respective nations. “Those days are gone.”Biden administration officials have praised Japan for stepping up in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

☆ Biden and Kishida discuss Japan ‘stepping up’ security
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Inside the Oval Office, the U.S. president praised Japan for its "historic" increase in defense spending and pledged close cooperation on economic and security matters. Japan's defense spending has historically remained below 1% of GDP. "Japan is stepping up and doing so in lockstep with the United States," White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. Kishida also discussed with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron his hopes to improve security cooperation between Japan and their respective nations. Kishida met with Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday before his meeting with Biden to discuss U.S.-Japan space cooperation and other issues.

☆ Explainer: Why the U.S. is overhauling its marines on Japan's Okinawa
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Tim Kelly | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The U.S. military presence on Okinawa, which began during World War Two, includes most of the 18,000 U.S. marines stationed in Japan. MARINE LITTORAL REGIMENTSThe U.S. Marine Corps is creating 'Marine Littoral Regiments' of around 2,000 troops as part of restructuring plan proposed by the Marine Commandant General David Berger in 2020. Dispersing marine units across Okinawa, even if only temporarily, could see U.S. troops return to islands along the chain for the first time since Washington returned Okinawa to Japanese control in 1972. JAPAN'S OKINAWA PIVOTTo reinforce Okinawa, Japan is building new anti-ship and air defence missile bases, and radar stations, including one on Yonaguni, it hopes will deter Chinese forces from attacking. Those weapons, along with anti-ship missiles fielded in Okinawa by the new littoral regiments, could help close a growing missile gap with China, say experts.

☆ Japan to deploy missile defence unit in Yonaguni, near Taiwan - Jiji
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

TOKYO, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Japan's Ministry of Defence will deploy a surface-to-air missile defence unit in Yonaguni Island, the country's westernmost island, near Taiwan, Jiji news reported on Tuesday. The instalment of missile troops is part of a plan to expand a Ground Self-Defense Force camp on the island, part of Okinawa prefecture, to reinforce defence of Japan's southwestern islands, Jiji quoted ministry spokesperson Takeshi Aoki as saying. Earlier this month, Japan unveiled its biggest military build-up since World War Two with a $320 billion plan that would buy missiles capable of striking China as regional tensions and Russia's Ukraine invasion stoke war fears. read moreReporting by Kantaro Komiya Editing by Chang-Ran KimOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ As regional threats rise, Japan eases defense-only strategy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

With China, North Korea and Russia directly to its west and north, Japan “faces the severest and most complicated national security environment since the end of the war,” the strategy said, referring to World War II. Japan’s defense buildup has long been considered a sensitive issue at home and in the region, especially for Asian victims of Japanese wartime atrocities. Rapid advancement of missiles have become “realistic threats” in the region, making interception by existing missile defense systems more difficult, the strategy said. North Korea fired more than 30 ballistic missiles this year, including one that flew over Japan. Japan needs standoff, or long-range missiles, to strike back and prevent further attacks “as an unavoidable minimum defensive measure,” the document stated.

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