Japan and Taiwan are much closer than most people think. Only 68 miles off the east coast of Taiwan lies Yonaguni-jima 与那国島, the westernmost island in Okinawa Prefecture 沖縄県, and therefore the westernmost point of Japan 日本最西端の碑 (it's said that on clear days the mountains of Taiwan are visible from Irizaki 西崎). A part of Japan since armies from the Satsuma Domain 薩摩藩 invaded the Ryūkyū Kingdom 琉球王国 in 1609 (though hardcore Sinophiles might believe that "once a tribute state of China, always a tribute state of China"), these days "Yonaguni looks to Taiwan to survive", according to an article in today's Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ:
"Residents of Japan's westernmost island of Yonaguni are trying to find a way to counter its declining population by strengthening interactions with Taiwan."
A short history lesson follows:
"Before World War II, when Taiwan was under Japanese control and there was no border between the two islands, Yonaguni was affluent and had a population of 4,000 to 5,000 who could freely visit Taiwan, about 110 km away. Yonaguni, which has only one town, named Yonaguni 与那国町, was at its zenith for several years after the end of the war as a base for a thriving black market. It overflowed with people and material goods. The town boasted a population of 12,000 at a time when food and other things were scarce in the rest of the country. But the authorities cracked down on the black market and the island lost its vitality. The number of tourists, however, has exceeded 30,000 in the last two or three years thanks to a popular TV drama and the townspeople's efforts to promote the tourism industry."
Yonaguni is noted for sake 日本酒, horses, marlin fishing, the largest moth in the world (the Yonaguni atlas moth ヨナグニサン) and some underwater rock formations that people with double-digit IQ's believe to be man-made (those with single-digit IQs think it's the lost continent of Atlantis, or the work of extraterrestrials). Despite its popularity with Japanese travelers, trouble is looming:
"...the population of the island has fallen by about 200 in the past five years to about 1,650 at present."
As proof that all things are relative in this world, while the government in Taipei 台北 looks to Chinese visitors as the potential saviors of the local economy, the people of Yonaguni (where jobs are scarce) are:
"...focusing on Taiwan as a means of survival and are trying to establish the island as a gateway to Asia. About 70 people from Hualien 花連, Yonaguni's sister city in central Taiwan, made a group tour from July 4 to 7 to participate in an international fishing event to catch marlin. More than 300 Taiwanese reportedly applied for the trip. The group's trip marked the second time a chartered plane had been sent to Taiwan. The town set up a liaison office in Hualien in May 2007 to attract tourists and companies in an effort to strengthen relations."
According to Chiyoki Tasato, head of the Hualien liaison office:
"If we can function as a border, people and material goods from Taiwan, which has a population of 23 million, will come through Yonaguni, which has a history of sharing culture and of living within the sphere of Taiwan..."
The island has received ¥50 million from the central government in Tōkyō 東京, with which it is planning to:
"...use the money for a high-speed ship that will make two round trips to Taiwan on a trial basis in November. It had earlier petitioned the central government to designate the island as a special border interaction zone and assign a high-speed vessel to run between Taiwan and Yonaguni, but the government rejected it on grounds that there was no precedent. Local officials hope to establish a track record for Yonaguni as a 'border town' and customs, immigration and quarantine officials will eventually be stationed there on a permanent basis."
Considering how close Yonaguni-jima is to Taiwan, it would be great if direct transport links could be set up. At present, visiting the island from Taiwan means flying first to Naha 那覇, the prefectural capital, from which Yonaguni is a 90-minute flight away. The Japanese government should act on this, and do so soon, for, as the mayor of Yonaguni points out:
"If the situation remains as is, remote border islands like Yonaguni will go into decline. The residents will disappear."
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