TOKYO — The Japanese government will set up the country’s first long-stay evacuation shelters on an island near Taiwan by the end of fiscal 2027 amid growing concerns over tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
The construction of the first such shelters — designed to allow evacuees to stay for around two weeks — will start in fiscal 2026 on Yonaguni Island, Japan’s westernmost island and part of the Sakishima Islands chain. Following Yonaguni, similar shelters will be built on neighboring municipalities of Ishigaki, Miyakojima, Taketomi and Tarama.
