The Japanese government has compiled a plan to evacuate 120,000 people from some Okinawa islands to other parts of Japan in the event of situations such as a contingency involving Taiwan.

In the first such plan released on March 27, about 110,000 residents on the Sakishima Islands and around 10,000 tourists and others there will be transported by ship and airplane over a period of about six days.

Sakishima comprises islands administered by the municipalities of Ishigaki, Miyakojima, Taketomi, Yonaguni and Tarama.

The islanders will be able to spend about a month at hotels and Japanese-style inns in 32 municipalities in the seven prefectures on the main island of Kyushu and Yamaguchi Prefecture on the western end of Honshu.

The plan calls for grouping residents from the same community close to each other as much as possible.

The government plans to draw up basic guidelines for the plan and hold training in fiscal 2026 that ends in March 2027.