Okinawa is not the only place China is targeting. Did you know that there was once a small Japanese island that China tried to buy for a huge sum of money? Mageshima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture. Mageshima Island is located in southern Kagoshima Prefecture, about 40 minutes by boat from Tanegashima Island, the place where firearms were introduced to Japan. This small uninhabited island, with an area of approximately 8 km and a circumference of 16 km, is now considered one of the most important locations for Japan’s national defense. A Defense Ministry official said. “Mage Island, which overlooks China and Taiwan, can be called the front line in the war against China. It is planned to become a training site for takeoffs and landings for American aircraft carrier-based aircraft. Both Japan and the United States view the island as a key defense point.” The government began construction of a Self-Defense Force base on Mageshima in January last year. It is aiming for completion in March 2030. ■Renovating the island with 15 billion yen of private funds Although Mageshima is now a place where the Japanese flag flies, it was once a “haunted island” at the mercy of the intentions of private companies. A local newspaper reporter explains. “Mageshima was purchased by the then Heiwa Mutual Bank in the 1970s to build a leisure facility. However, the plans were thwarted by the economic downturn following the oil crisis. After that, there were plans to use the site as a nuclear fuel waste disposal facility or as a radar base for the Self-Defense Forces, but neither plan came to fruition.” In the 1980s, suspicions arose that the Heiwa Mutual Bank had handed out 2 billion yen to politicians in connection with the construction of a radar base. This escalated into the “Mageshima Incident,” involving members of parliament, and the group was forced to give up the island. “The man who raised his hand was Isao Tateishi, a Kagoshima native who had worked his way up from a long-distance tuna fishing boat to running a construction company. In 1995, Tateishi bought the island for 400 million yen, and since then, the development company he represents, “Taston Airport,” has been the owner.” (Local newspaper reporter, as above)
■China offered 10 times the amount Frustrated, Tateishi even wrote a petition to then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in February 2013. Documents obtained from sources stated, “In 2006, banks stopped lending to the company, and the company was asked to sell to another company. The repayment to the bank will then be 7 billion yen. Since then, the company’s cash flow has worsened” (original text), describing the dire situation. Furthermore, he made the following “threat” to the country. Please construct an unsinkable aircraft carrier, Mageshima, to counter the Chinese military’s advance into the East China Sea. China is conducting island landing exercises. If we don’t do anything, China will come — that’s how they pressured the government. Even as they stress the need for a base against China, the debt continues to grow day by day. As if sensing his predicament, China tapped him on the shoulder. Another Defense Ministry official revealed this. “I had heard that several Chinese state-owned companies had been in contact with Tateishi since around 2012. Tateishi himself explained to those around him that “China has offered to buy the island for 10 times the price.” That’s 40 billion yen. At the time, the numbers were so unrealistic that no one took them seriously. However, the government was also wary of China’s actions.” The people involved said that at the time, they were unsure whether the Chinese acquisition was true or not, and they were dubious about it. The aforementioned Mageshima official also looked back on the event as follows: “Tateishi had a habit of exaggerating things. There were also concerns that the proposed acquisition of the islands by Chinese companies was being used as a card to hasten the Japanese government’s decision. On the other hand, however, it could not be denied that Tateishi, who was facing a cash shortage, might have no choice but to lean towards the Chinese side, and the Japanese side was certainly concerned about this. The negotiations continued to be a tightrope walk.” The turning point for the stalled negotiations came in 2019. Then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga appointed his aide, Hiroto Izumi, as the negotiator for Mageshima. Combined with the U.S. government’s desire to quickly secure a potential site for takeoff training, the government decided in November of the same year to purchase the island for 16 billion yen. Tateishi ended up drinking it as well. The reason why the government suddenly increased the purchase amount was because China was looming large. “I heard that in the summer of 2019, just before the agreement with the government was reached, Chinese lawyers suddenly contacted Mr. Tateishi with the intention of buying and selling the islands. “It’s highly likely that China has been trying to block Japan’s purchase,” said the Defense Ministry official. ■It was not a threat Furthermore, on November 14th of this year, the Asahi Shimbun reported that Tateishi had met with a Chinese state-run company just before the Japanese government decided to make the purchase. According to the article, Tateishi traveled to Shanghai around the summer of 2019 and even met with people related to Chinese state-owned enterprises. The full text below is from the source: Gendai Business 2024.12.14.
>>1 It makes no sense that China or its citizens can purchase Japanese assets. At the very least, it would be impossible for anyone other than the citizens of remote islands, areas with high asset value, or areas related to defense, including the economy.
To begin with, it’s weird that a system like this can allow enemy bastards to buy land. Prioritize national security and do your job, you incompetents.
It looks like some islands have already been bought by China. I’d like to know about the islands that have fallen into China’s hands, not the islands that have been successfully defended.
The Chinese Communist Party is always looking for an opportunity to carry out its sneaky invasion activities. They have a habit of wasting a lot of land and not knowing what to do with it, but I don’t really understand what these morons are thinking.
Well, it seems like an island that exists to build a military base. It’s a long, flat piece of land, within commuting distance of Tanegashima. All that’s left is to build a port.
It’s easy to resell land in this country. Just find some bureaucrats and create a government organization for them to retire to. They’ll push through anything if they can get a lot of money, even if it means disbanding. China should think about this too, they’re so corrupt that it’d be a piece of cake to set up frontline bases all over the country.
This island has a bad reputation dating back to the Heiwa Mutual Bank incident. This is one of the A○○○○ I once owned that was bad… Hatopoppo also had a hand in it.
They’re going to make it a casino island. In the event of a Taiwan emergency, they’re planning to invade the entire Nansei Islands at once and isolate the US military in Okinawa. It’s an eyesore for the Chinese military.
China tried to take over a port in Sri Lanka to turn it into a military base, but the US bought up the land surrounding the port, leaving them unable to do anything.
It may be possible to compulsorily acquire the land, but this kind of thing should have been bought a long time ago. Just like with exclusive economic zones, they are too careless. At this rate, in the event of an emergency there will be no ships coming to Japan and we’ll all starve to death lol.
It wasn’t a gift. It was put on hold until it was resolved through discussion. South Korea is refusing to refer it to the ICJ. If Lee Jae Myung becomes president and destroys the treaties and agreements between Japan and South Korea, Japan can exercise its right of self-defense and retake Takeshima by force.
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