Japan was shocked when a Chinese woman revealed that she had purchased some uninhabited islands in the northern part of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. As the uninhabited island is close to the US military base in Okinawa, there are voices of concern about security.
According to the Sankei Shimbun and NHK Broadcasting on the 15th, a Chinese woman in her 30s bought part of Yanaha Island in the northern part of Okinawa Prefecture in the name of a Chinese business consultant company.
The area of the island that Mr. A bought in the name of the company is 380,000 square meters, which is half of the total 740,000 square meters. Of the 917 ownership cases on the island, Mr. A owns 720. The rest of the ownership is known to be held by residents near the island, respectively.
It is said that the contract was signed on two occasions, on December 24, 2020 and February 2, 2021. It is not known how much the island was purchased for. However, a local real estate official revealed that the island was auctioned for about 15 million yen (about 140 million won) at the time. Yanaha Island was in the process of being purchased by another company for prawn farming about 10 years ago, but the plan went awry and was temporarily put up for auction.
A Chinese woman in her 30s posted on her social media a video of Yanaha Island in Japan that she purchased three years ago. weiboMr. A posted a video introducing the island on social media at the end of January. He said in the video, “My family has been involved in real estate for a long time. If I meet a rich person later, I think it would be nice to sell to that person.” We went around the island and took pictures on the boat.
Company A claimed to have purchased part of the island for the purpose of developing a resort. On the company website, it is written that “a resort development plan is currently underway” regarding Yanaha Island. A business plan and detailed plans were not uploaded. Mr. A’s company said, “We plan to post a detailed plan on the website within a few days.”
Residents of nearby islands claim that they were unaware of the resort development plan. A person in charge of the village tourism association confessed, “There is no electricity on the island, and it would be difficult for a company to develop independently.”
An official said, “Some of the villagers are complaining of anxiety, so we will review the response while keeping an eye on the trend.”
When the news of Mr. A’s purchase of the island became known, Chinese netizens cheered and said, “China’s territory has increased.” On the other hand, Japanese netizens raised concerns that Yanaha Island is about 50 kilometers away from the US military base in Okinawa, and that it “might develop into a problem related to national security.” Some people are suspicious of the military behind the purchase of the island.
Regarding the controversy, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno explained, “It is not an uninhabited border island with a territorial sea steamer or an uninhabited border island where people live, and it is not subject to legal regulation.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.