The Japanese government is drawing up plans to evacuate its citizens from South Korea in the event of a war, the Nikkei Asian Review reported on Tuesday.

That’s no small feat, as there are about 38,000 long-term Japanese residents and another 19,000 tourists and short-terms travelers in South Korea, Nikkei added.

North Korea conducted its largest-ever underground nuclear test on Sunday, just days after firing a missile that flew over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, sharply ratcheting up tensions in the region.

“If the U.S. decided on a military strike against the North, the Japanese government would start moving toward an evacuation on its own accord regardless of whether the American plans are public,” a source in the Japanese government reportedly told Nikkei.

The Japanese government is working on different scenarios to evacuate citizens in South Korea, including evacuating citizens home by sea from the southeastern port city of Busan should airports be closed, Nikkei reported.

Read Nikkei Asian Review’s story about Japanese evacuation plans for citizens in South Korea.

Source: cnbc china
Japan is drafting a plan to get its citizens out of South Korea