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June 30, 2026
 

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YONAGUNI

Minoru Kihara
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 29, 2026
Japan calls China Coast Guard moves in its EEZ near Yonaguni ‘unacceptable’
The unusual moves follow an agreement between Japan and the Philippines last month to launch maritime border delimitation talks, which overlap with areas claimed by Beijing.
Transcarpathia is a western Ukrainian region and one of the country's most ethnically diverse areas, populated by groups including Hutsuls, seen here in Yasynya, as well as Hungarians, Romanians, Slovaks and Ukrainians.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 11, 2026
Language, power and the price of entry
The same logic that protects Hungarians in Ukraine leaves Russian in the cold. Language policy, it turns out, has a foreign policy.
With Taiwan visible from its western shores, Yonaguni has always been more linked to events in Asia than other stretches of Japan.
LIFE / Travel
Feb 28, 2026
On westernmost Yonaguni, geopolitics can’t spoil the island’s aura
Residents are split on plans for development and militarization, but a visit to the island reveals an enduring atmosphere of peace above all else.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks during a regular news conference Tuesday at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2026
Japan to deploy missiles to Yonaguni Island by fiscal 2030, defense chief says
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the timing for the deployment of the weapons could change depending on the progress of future facility improvements.
Military radar towers on Yonaguni, the westernmost inhabited island of Japan.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2025
Japan builds up ‘missile archipelago’ near Taiwan to counter China
As tensions between China and Japan rise, the sparsely populated island of Yonaguni finds itself right on the front lines.
Soldiers stand guard at a gate of the Yonaguni military base in October 2021. The Self-Defense Forces plan to deploy Chu-SAM missiles to strengthen the air defenses around the island, which lies just 110 kilometers from Taiwan.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 28, 2025
Koizumi’s significant (and insignificant) Yonaguni visit
The timing of Koizumi’s visit amid the ongoing China-Japan tension made this stop there much more interesting than it otherwise would have been.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi (left) meets Tsuneo Uechi, mayor of Yonaguni in Okinawa Prefecture (second from right) at the Ground Self-Defense Force's Camp Yonaguni on Sunday.
JAPAN
Nov 24, 2025
Takaichi government to ramp up efforts for defense of Japan’s southwest
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi has visited some of the islands in the region, only about a month after taking office.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to reporters after inspecting the Ground Self-Defense Force garrison on Yonaguni Island, Okinawa Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2025
Japan on track to deploy missiles to island near Taiwan, Koizumi says
Japan is planning to station medium-range surface-to-air missiles on Yonaguni, about 110 kilometers east of Taiwan, as part of a broader military build-up.
The Ground Self-Defense Force's Camp Yonaguni in Yonaguni, Okinawa Prefecture
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 25, 2025
Okinawa town elects independent mayor cautious about defense expansion
Independent candidate Tsuneo Uechi has been elected mayor of the town of Yonaguni, Okinawa Prefecture, a result that could influence the central government's defense policy.
Self-Defense Forces soldiers take part in an evacuation drill, at Nama Hama Beach on Yonaguni island, Japan's westernmost inhabited island in Okinawa Prefecture, in November 2023.
JAPAN
Jun 28, 2025
Japan aims to complete Yonaguni evacuation shelter in 2028
The project was started bearing in mind a possible emergency over Taiwan in the Nansei southwestern island region.
Five crew members re-create a log boat voyage from Taiwan to Yonaguni island, Okinawa Prefecture, in July 2019.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2025
Rowing from Taiwan to Japan was possible 30,000 years ago, says team
The voyage in a log boat, with no sails, was possible if all the rowers were highly skilled and adjusted their course with the fast Kuroshio current in mind.
Yonaguni Island in Okinawa Prefecture. China has removed its last buoy from Japanese economic waters near the island.
JAPAN
May 29, 2025
Tokyo says China has removed its last buoy from Japan’s economic waters
Japanese media said this could signal an intention by Beijing to improve strained ties with Tokyo.
Ground Self-Defense Force vehicles during training in Yokohama on Oct. 17
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2024
Human error behind Osprey accident on remote Japan island: GSDF
During Japan-U.S. joint exercises on Oct. 27, the Osprey keeled over when taking off from a GSDF camp in Yonaguni, and the left wing touched the ground and was damaged.
A Ground Self-Defense Force V-22 Osprey transport aircraft
JAPAN
Oct 28, 2024
GSDF suspends Osprey flights over accident during training
All GSDF Ospreys will remain grounded until the cause of the incident is identified and countermeasures are taken thoroughly.
Yonaguni Mayor Kenichi Itokazu speaks to a Ground Self-Defense Force soldier at the town hall on Yonaguni, Japan's westernmost inhabited island in Okinawa Prefecture last November.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 26, 2024
Deterring Taiwan conflict is top priority for Japan’s ‘front-line’ mayor
The mayor believes the U.S. and Japan must do away with “strategic ambiguity” over Taiwan if they intend to keep China in check.
China's Liaoning aircraft carrier sails in waters near Okinawa Prefecture on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2024
Chinese carrier sails between Japanese islands near Taiwan for first time
China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier passed through a narrow waterway between Yonaguni and Iriomote islands in Okinawa Prefecture.
A Mexican man rescued near Uotsuri Island in the Senkaku chain in Okinawa Prefecture is believed to have drifted to the area in a canoe from the island of Yonaguni, also in Okinawa.
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2024
Japan rescues Mexican man from Senkakus
A Mexican national had gone missing from an accommodation facility on Yonaguni, and it appears this was the rescued person, officials said.
Map exercises for evacuations, simulating a situation in which an armed attack is expected, are conducted at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office in Naha on Jan. 30.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2024
Japan works on evacuation plans in event of Taiwan contingency
Issues such as stockpiling food and being able to swiftly evacuate all residents of the islands in Okinawa remain as Japan considers various contingencies.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel meets with members of the Self-Defense Forces stationed on Yonaguni, Okinawa Prefecture, on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 17, 2024
U.S. envoy to Japan makes landmark visit to front-line island near Taiwan
Rahm Emanuel is the first U.S. ambassador to travel to the far-flung Japanese island, which is home to a Ground Self-Defense Force base and is just 160 km from Taipei.
Commercial and residential buildings are seen on Ishigaki Island, in Okinawa Prefecture.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2024
Japan to set up new shelters on southwestern islands
The central government has picked five municipalities on the Sakishima southwestern islands in Okinawa Prefecture.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Chinese and Russian bombers and fighter jets stage joint patrol near Japan
A Chinese Air Force H-6 bomber is seen during a joint patrol with Russian military aircraft on Saturday.
U.S. missile moves in Japan send China clear message: A new era has arrived
Soldiers conduct the first Typhon midrange capability live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States, firing an SM-6 missile in July last year in Australia's Northern Territory during Exercise Talisman Sabre.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

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