Taiwanese media Liberty Times reported on the 4th that amid growing security concerns due to Chinese citizens purchasing islands in Okinawa Prefecture and other areas, the Japanese government is considering nationalizing uninhabited islands whose owners are unknown.

The article reported, "The Japanese government has decided on a policy to fully investigate the actual ownership status of approximately 13,400 uninhabited islands nationwide." As background, it pointed out that "in recent years, successive reports of Chinese citizens purchasing uninhabited Japanese islands have raised national security concerns."

Furthermore, it stated, "While the number of islands in Japan was once recognized as approximately 7,000, due to advances in surveying technology, it was confirmed in 2023 that there are 14,125 islands. Excluding the five main islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku, and Okinawa Main Island, 14,120 islands are classified as 'remote islands,' of which approximately 690 islands are directly managed by the state as inhabited islands or islands forming the baseline for territorial waters and exclusive economic zones (EEZ), but the remaining approximately 13,400 islands have been effectively left unattended."

On the other hand, it explained, "In recent years, there have been successive reports of Chinese citizens purchasing uninhabited Japanese islands, and in 2023, a Chinese woman in her 30s became a topic of discussion after revealing in a video that she had purchased an uninhabited island in Okinawa. Subsequently, it was discovered that this island was Yanaha Island, located just tens of kilometers from a U.S. military base in Okinawa, and half of the island's area was registered under the name of a Chinese-affiliated consulting company in Tokyo."

Furthermore, it reported, "It was also reported at the end of last year that a Chinese national purchased 3,700 square meters of land on Kasasa Island, a remote island in Suo-Oshima Town, Yamaguchi Prefecture." It added, "This location is approximately 20-50 kilometers from Iwakuni Air Base and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's Kure Base, and voices are being raised pointing out the possibility of information gathering by drones, or its use as a base for smuggling and illegal entry."

And as a response from the Japanese government, it mentioned, "In the future, islands near borders and in militarily important areas will be prioritized for investigation to confirm their actual owners. For islands where inheritance registration has not been carried out for a long period and whose owners cannot be confirmed, there are plans to proceed with nationalization." It also reported, "Satellite images and aerial laser surveying will be utilized to regularly confirm the usage status of islands and grasp the actual state of habitation and activities, in addition to conducting on-site surveys as necessary." (Translation/Editing: Kitada)