Japan Plans More Evacuation Shelters in Okinawa Amid Taiwan Tensions

Members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) bring down the Japanese national flag in the early evening, at the JGSDF Miyako camp on Miyako Island, Okinawa prefecture, Japan, on April 20, 2022. Issei Kato/Reuters

Japan is planning to build additional evacuation shelters on the Okinawa islands to shield residents from missile threats amid the rising tensions in Taiwan, a government official said on Friday.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the Cabinet Secretariat sought a budget of 70 million yen ($477,000) for fiscal 2023 to study the specifications for shelters that can house residents during a military contingency.