عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Japanese Island Holds Disaster Drill in Shadow of Taiwan Threat

Japan Self-Defense Forces soldiers take part in an evacuation drill on Yonaguni island, Japan's westernmost inhabited island in Okinawa prefecture, Japan November 12, 2023. (Reuters)
Japan Self-Defense Forces soldiers take part in an evacuation drill on Yonaguni island, Japan's westernmost inhabited island in Okinawa prefecture, Japan November 12, 2023. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Japanese Island Holds Disaster Drill in Shadow of Taiwan Threat

Japan Self-Defense Forces soldiers take part in an evacuation drill on Yonaguni island, Japan's westernmost inhabited island in Okinawa prefecture, Japan November 12, 2023. (Reuters)
Japan Self-Defense Forces soldiers take part in an evacuation drill on Yonaguni island, Japan's westernmost inhabited island in Okinawa prefecture, Japan November 12, 2023. (Reuters)

Japan on Sunday conducted a tsunami evacuation drill on its westernmost island, an exercise that could also help residents respond to an emergency arising from any attempt by China to take control of nearby self-ruled Taiwan, an official said.

About 200 island officials and members of Japan's military, known as the Self-Defense Force (SDF), took part in the exercise on Yonaguni, Japan's westernmost island, 2,000 km (1,240 miles) southwest of the capital, Tokyo.

But SDF helicopters and landing craft from ships that had sailed more than 1,000 km (620 miles) from the main Japanese islands were unable to join the exercise because of strong winds.

"We can't choose the time when we will face a disaster. We have to think about the worst thing that can happen and plan for that," the mayor of Yonaguni, Kenichi Itokazu, told officials at the island's town hall at the start of the drill.

Japan is prone to earthquake-triggered tsunami. Nearly 20,000 people were killed by one on the northeast coast of its main island of Honshu in 2011.

But Koji Sugama, the Yonaguni official in charge of preparing the island's 1,700 residents for disasters, said the community also had to be prepared for the danger of conflict.

"Today we conducted a disaster drill, but it also gives people something to think about that will come in useful in a Taiwan emergency," Sugama said.

Yonaguni is only 110 km (68 miles) from Taiwan. In August last year, China fired missiles into nearby waters in response to a visit to Taiwan by the then US House speaker, Nancy Pelosi.

China claims Taiwan as its territory and has never ruled out the use of force to take control of it.

Concern over China's increased military activity, as well as worry that Russia's attack on Ukraine could embolden Beijing to strike Taiwan, prompted Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to unveil a plan to double defense spending over the next five years.

About 180 Yonaguni residents came to the island's only junior high school to watch the first such exercise in four years. Troops stationed at an island army camp, that was opened in 2016 as part of a program to reinforce Japan's island outposts, provided lunch and foot baths.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

US Judge Rules Pentagon Press Restrictions Unconstitutional

The Pentagon and the surrounding area is seen in this aerial view in Washington, Jan. 26, 2020. (AP)
The Pentagon and the surrounding area is seen in this aerial view in Washington, Jan. 26, 2020. (AP)
TT
TT

US Judge Rules Pentagon Press Restrictions Unconstitutional

The Pentagon and the surrounding area is seen in this aerial view in Washington, Jan. 26, 2020. (AP)
The Pentagon and the surrounding area is seen in this aerial view in Washington, Jan. 26, 2020. (AP)

A federal judge on Friday ruled that the Pentagon's press access overhaul, which saw accreditations from a host of prominent media outlets withdrawn, violated the constitution.

Elements of the policy are "unlawful because they violate the First and Fifth Amendments of the United States Constitution," a judge in Washington said in response to a lawsuit brought by The New York Times.

US media including the Times and Fox News, and a host of international news outlets such as AFP and AP, declined to sign the new policy in mid-October, resulting in the stripping of their Pentagon credentials.

It was the latest in a series of measures by President Donald Trump and top officials against journalists and outlets that are often derided as "fake news" when their reporting displeases the administration.

The ruling striking down the policy comes amid the US-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran that began on February 28.

The court said that while national security must be protected, it was vital for the public to have information in light of the US war with Iran and its recent intervention in Venezuela.

"It is more important than ever that the public have access to information from a variety of perspectives about what its government is doing -- so that the public can support government policies, if it wants to support them; protest, if it wants to protest," the ruling said.

"And decide based on full, complete, and open information who they are going to vote for in the next election."

- 'Learning opportunity' -

The Pentagon Press Association (PPA) hailed the ruling and demanded the "immediate reinstatement" of accreditations for journalists who refused to sign on to the new policy.

"This is a great day for freedom of the press in the United States. It is also hopefully a learning opportunity for Pentagon leadership, which took extreme steps to limit press access to information in wartime," the association said in a statement.

"We look forward to returning to the Pentagon and providing the public, including the members of the military currently involved in conflicts around the world, information about why and how the Defense Department is waging war," it said.

The new policy, enforced in October last year, was the latest in a series of moves restricting journalists' access to information from the Defense Department, the nation's single largest employer, with a budget in the hundreds of billions of dollars a year.

The department had announced earlier last year that eight media organizations including The Times, The Washington Post, CNN, NBC and NPR had to vacate their dedicated office spaces in the Pentagon, alleging that there was a need to create room for other -- predominantly conservative -- outlets.

It also required journalists to be accompanied by official escorts if they go outside a limited number of areas in the Pentagon -- another new restriction on the press.

And in January, Trump said he would sue what he has called the "failing" New York Times over an unfavorable opinion poll, after initially filing a $15 billion defamation suit last year.

He has fired off multiple defamation lawsuits against media companies, including the BBC, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, CBS and ABC. Some have ended in multimillion-dollar settlements.

World

Britain Condemns Iran’s ‘Reckless Attacks’ on Diego Garcia Air Base

Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) are taken from a US Air Force B-1 Lancer bomber at RAF Fairford in south-west England on March 15, 2026. (AFP)
Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) are taken from a US Air Force B-1 Lancer bomber at RAF Fairford in south-west England on March 15, 2026. (AFP)
TT
TT

Britain Condemns Iran’s ‘Reckless Attacks’ on Diego Garcia Air Base

Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) are taken from a US Air Force B-1 Lancer bomber at RAF Fairford in south-west England on March 15, 2026. (AFP)
Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) are taken from a US Air Force B-1 Lancer bomber at RAF Fairford in south-west England on March 15, 2026. (AFP)

Britain has condemned “Iran’s reckless attacks” after its military fired missiles at the UK-US air base on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

UK officials have not given details of the attempted strike, which was unsuccessful. It’s unclear how close the missiles came to the base, which is about 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) from Iran.

The Ministry of Defense said Saturday that Iran’s “lashing out across the region and holding hostage the Strait of Hormuz, are a threat to British interests and British allies.”

Britain has not participated in US Israeli attacks on Iran, but has allowed American bombers to use UK bases to attack Iran’s missile sites.

On Friday, the British government said US bombers can also use UK bases, including Diego Garcia, in operations to prevent Iran attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran targeted the base before that UK statement.

World

Iranian Man, Romanian Woman Charged Over Attempt to Enter UK Submarine Base

A photograph shows a general view of HM Naval Base Clyde at Faslane, north-west of Glasgow, Scotland on March 14, 2026. (AFP)
A photograph shows a general view of HM Naval Base Clyde at Faslane, north-west of Glasgow, Scotland on March 14, 2026. (AFP)
TT
TT

Iranian Man, Romanian Woman Charged Over Attempt to Enter UK Submarine Base

A photograph shows a general view of HM Naval Base Clyde at Faslane, north-west of Glasgow, Scotland on March 14, 2026. (AFP)
A photograph shows a general view of HM Naval Base Clyde at Faslane, north-west of Glasgow, Scotland on March 14, 2026. (AFP)

An Iranian man and a Romanian woman have been charged after attempting to enter Britain's nuclear submarine base in Scotland, Police Scotland said on Saturday.

The two, who British media have ‌called suspected ‌Iranian spies, were ‌arrested ⁠on Thursday.

The charges ⁠come three weeks into the US-Israeli war on Iran. While Britain has not taken part in the ⁠attacks on Iran, the ‌country's ‌forces have downed Iranian missiles ‌and drones in the ‌Gulf region.

HM Naval Base Clyde is located on the west coast of ‌Scotland and is key to Britain's security, hosting ⁠the ⁠country's nuclear-armed submarine fleet, as well as its attack submarines.

Police Scotland said the Iranian man, 34, and the Romanian woman, 31, are due to appear at Dumbarton Sheriff Court on March 23.