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Japan Is Fortifying This String of Islands Close to China
The Wall Street Journal
@wsj.com
Beijing’s ambitions to absorb Taiwan have become a core security challenge for Japan.
Japan Is Fortifying This String of Islands Close to China
Tokyo’s fortifications to protect its southwestern islands have an added advantage: They complicate China’s freedom of maneuver.
on.wsj.com
4:10 AM · Mar 31, 2026
@wsj.com
Beijing’s ambitions to absorb Taiwan have become a core security challenge for Japan.
Japan Is Fortifying This String of Islands Close to China
Tokyo’s fortifications to protect its southwestern islands have an added advantage: They complicate China’s freedom of maneuver.
on.wsj.com
4:10 AM · Mar 31, 2026
Beijing’s ambitions to absorb Taiwan have become a core security challenge for Japan.
— The Wall Street Journal (@wsj.com) 2026-03-31T08:10:24.496096Z
Asia
Japan Is Fortifying This String of Islands Close to China
Tokyo faces what it calls a severe security environment, not least because of China’s threats against Taiwan
By Niharika Mandhana, Jason Douglas and Daniel Kiss
March 30, 2026 11:00 pm ET
TOKYO—For years, defense planners in Japan have watched China’s rise with alarm. Beijing’s might, from military bases to missile arsenals, looks especially menacing from their country’s southwest.
A string of Japanese islands stretches across the East China Sea and stops less than 70 miles from Taiwan. Beijing’s ambitions to absorb Taiwan—and its regular displays of power encircling the self-governing island with warships, aircraft, missiles and more—have become a core security challenge for Japan.
{snip}
Copyright ©2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Japan Is Fortifying This String of Islands Close to China
Tokyo faces what it calls a severe security environment, not least because of China’s threats against Taiwan
By Niharika Mandhana, Jason Douglas and Daniel Kiss
March 30, 2026 11:00 pm ET
TOKYO—For years, defense planners in Japan have watched China’s rise with alarm. Beijing’s might, from military bases to missile arsenals, looks especially menacing from their country’s southwest.
A string of Japanese islands stretches across the East China Sea and stops less than 70 miles from Taiwan. Beijing’s ambitions to absorb Taiwan—and its regular displays of power encircling the self-governing island with warships, aircraft, missiles and more—have become a core security challenge for Japan.
{snip}
Copyright ©2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8