YONAGUNI, A ROCKY island at the edge of the East China Sea, long had few defences: just two policemen and two guns. That suited locals, a laid-back, heavy-drinking bunch—until recently. China’s rise has made many wary. “Look at what’s happening in Hong Kong,” frets Itokazu Kenichi, the island’s mayor. There is also “a sense that America is in decline”, says Tasato Chiyoki, a councillor. As Japan’s westernmost territory, such worries are no abstraction: on a clear day, Taiwan looms a mere 111km away.