... Koizumi told reporters as he inspected the Yonaguni base ... Further east, Okinawa contains major Japanese and US military installations.Yonaguni marks the western end of the Ryukyu island chain.
“The deployment can help lower the chance of an armed attack on our country,” Koizumi told reporters on Sunday as he wrapped up his first trip to the base on the southern Japanese island of Yonaguni.
The moves come amid heightened tensions, with Japan scrambling F-15Js after a Chinese drone flew near Yonaguni last week ... Yonaguni is also a key node in the US “FishHook” underwater sensor network that runs along the FirstIslandChain.
Japan’s decision to deploy medium-range surface-to-air missiles on Yonaguni — a quiet island just 110 kilometers from Taiwan — marks a strategic shift with implications far beyond its immediate defense posture.