Uni Island
Uni Island is an island located in Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, on the border between Japan and South Korea. The entire territory of Uni Island is state-owned land, and the Air Self-Defense Force is stationed on the island. Therefore, except for military personnel, access to the island is not permitted.
Although there are no residential buildings on the island, Haikuri Island is not uninhabited as the Ministry of Defense has a government building. In the village of Waniura near Tsushima Island, a festival called the Itobatago Festival, during which villagers are allowed to visit the island to participate in the event, and local ferries are commissioned by the Self-Defense Forces to transport the crew three times a day.
The origin of the island's name comes from the fact that many sea urchins settle around the island, as the name Uni means sea urchin in Japanese.
History
- In 1903, the Imperial Japanese Army Ministry established a radio base on Uni Island.
- In 1935, the Uni Island Battery was completed, and the island served as a military base until the end of World War II. After the war it was handed over to the private sector for use as agricultural land.
- In February 1955, Unit 9056 of the Western Training Vigilance Team of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force was formed in Fukuoka City.
- In April 1956, the guard was relocated to Uni Island and began military cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense and the DAF.
- In July 1961, the 19th Alert Group of the Western Air Alert Control Regiment of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force was changed to the 19th Alert Group.
- In March 2003, it was reorganized into the 19th Vigilance Squad.