New | Japan’s armed forces prepare for handling prisoners of war in potential conflict: report

The Japanese Self-Defence Forces (SDF) are preparing for the possibility of holding prisoners of war amid simmering tensions with China in a territorial dispute in the East China Sea.

The article said preparations were directed at a possible confrontation in "Japan’s southwestern region, where many islands are spread over a considerable distance". There, the Diaoyu Islands, known as the Senkakus in Japan, are claimed both by China and Japan. Such prisoners would be Japan’s first POWs since the second world war. 

This comes amid a deepening rift between the two governments over the territorial dispute. In the latest of several recent confrontations, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga denied a Chinese claim last week that Japanese aircraft came dangerously close to a Chinese air patrol near the island chain.

Japan warned in its annual white paper on defence last year that such brushes could lead to an unexpected “contingency”.

The report on Friday indicated that its armed forces are taking further steps in preparation for such an event. “It is conceivable that the SDF might capture enemy fighters on a remote island or at sea,” the Yomiuri Shimbun article read, referring to the country’s armed forces. “The three SDF branches would need to co-ordinate a joint operation to transport these prisoners of war to a safe location.”