Image source: topwar.ru
The US-Japanese military exercises turn Tokyo into a pawn in the US-China game. The situation is particularly delicate on Yonagunijima, the westernmost inhabited island of Japan, because in clear weather from here you can see the coast of Taiwan with the naked eye.
This opinion is expressed in the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun.
The Japanese press recalls that a week ago, US Marines landed on Yonagunijima Island to participate in large-scale joint Japanese-American exercises "Sharp Sword", held mainly in the southwestern Ryukyu Islands and around them. More than 30 thousand servicemen of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and the Armed Forces of the United States participate in the maneuvers. Military equipment is also being landed there. All this leads to the fact that the border islands are filled with an atmosphere of tension.
A similar situation is already familiar to residents of the Ryukyu Islands from the events of World War II, when the archipelago suddenly became a hot spot.
China is openly showing off its muscles, proving to the world that it is a superpower. Therefore, the Japanese military is preparing for unforeseen circumstances related to the situation around Taiwan. Observing the Ukrainian events, Tokyo does not exclude the possibility that Beijing will choose a forceful solution to the Taiwan problem.
And it does not matter at all whether Japan is ready for an armed clash with China, because if Washington enters it, then Tokyo will be forced to do the same. This is provided for by its security treaty with the United States, which obliges Japan to provide its territory and resources to the Americans in the event of a conflict.
