The Japanese government is putting together an emergency plan to evacuate 60,000 of its citizens from South Korea should war erupt with North Korea.
During a Monday meeting with his ministers, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said:
"There is a possibility of further provocations. We need to remain extremely vigilant and do everything we can to ensure the safety of our people."
But, with the U.S. signaling diplomacy was nearing the end of the road with North Korea, the Japanese are developing contingencies to rapidly remove all of its nationals from the Korean Peninsula. The Nikkei Asian Review is reporting it will involve a four-part plan:
Tokyo is working on a four-tier emergency plan based on the severity of the situation: discouraging unessential travel to South Korea, discouraging all travel to South Korea, urging Japanese citizens there to evacuate, and finally, urging them to shelter in place.
This would suggest Japan would have advance knowledge of a resumption of the now-67-year-old war between the North and South. Should Kim Jong-un launch a sudden attack, the Japanese government has arranged access for its citizens in safety shelters.
As the Nikkei report states, getting them out of South Korea would become the biggest challenge:
The Japanese government is working to obtain cooperation from U.S. forces stationed in South Korea to transport evacuees across the country from Seoul to Busan ...
Approval has not been forthcoming and could provoke a backlash from a South Korean public harboring historical grievances at the former colonial power. But SDF vessels could help in ferrying Japanese citizens home from Busan.
The report also states that Japan is considering temporary holding facilities to conduct security screenings to ensure “terrorists and other dangerous individuals” aren’t among those who are ferried over from South Korea.