Kim Jong-Un
© AFP/Getty ImagesJapan is readying itself for an influx of tens of thousands of North Koreans as part of Tokyo's war preparations amid heightened tensions between both countries, it has emerged. Pictured: North Korean tyrant Kim Jong-un
Japan is examining plans to deal with a possible influx of tens of thousands of North Korean evacuees in the event of war breaking out in the region, it has emerged.

Rescue teams would bring boats fleeing the Korean Peninsula into designated ports before checking individuals for criminal records and deporting anyone seen as a threat, it is claimed.

Details of the contingency plans come amid heightened tensions between Japan and Kim Jong-un's North Korea.

Tokyo and America launched a joint naval drill today in a show of force aimed at Pyongyang, whose nuclear ambitions dominated US President Donald Trump's recent Asia trip.

trump shinzo abe
© AFP/Getty Images
According to the Yomiuri newspaper, those fleeing North Korea would be temporarily allowed to stay in the country, housed in emergency detentions centres - most likely in Southern Japan.

Following the newspaper reports, an official from the justice ministry's immigration bureau would confirm only that authorities were examining possible plans to cope with an influx of people from the secretive state.

Meanwhile a 10-day joint military exercise, involving some 14,000 US servicemen, aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and the guided-missile destroyers USS Stethem, USS Chafee and USS Mustin, among others, 'will take place in waters surrounding Okinawa' in southern Japan from today, the US navy said in a statement.

North Korea, which has stoked regional tensions with nuclear and missile tests in recent months, has repeatedly denounced such military drills as rehearsals for invasion and sometimes conducts its own military manoeuvres in response.

The annual drill 'is designed to increase the defensive readiness and interoperability of Japanese and American forces through training in air and sea operations,' the US navy said.

naval drill
© The Asahi Shimbun via Getty ImagesTokyo and America launched a joint naval drill today in a show of force aimed at Pyongyang, whose nuclear ambitions dominated US President Donald Trump's recent Asia trip
It comes after three US aircraft carriers, including the USS Ronald Reagan, held rare joint drills in the western Pacific, joined separately by Japanese navy and South Korean warships over the weekend.

Those drills were slammed by North Korea's Ambassador Ja Song Nam, who said in a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres this week that the current situation was 'the worst ever' around the Korean peninsula.

The first such deployment of three US carriers since 2007 'is making it impossible to predict when nuclear war breaks out due to the US nuclear war equipment' taking up a 'strike posture,' wrote the ambassador.

North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test this year and test-fired a series of advanced missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles.

north korea missile test
© AFP/Getty ImagesNorth Korea has stoked regional tensions with nuclear and missile tests in recent months
On Wednesday, Trump vowed a global campaign of 'maximum pressure' on North Korea, warning Pyongyang will not subject the world to 'nuclear blackmail'.

Defending an almost two week trip to Asia that was long on pomp but - critics say - short on achievements, Trump said he had successfully galvanised opposition to North Korean proliferation.

As the drill kicked off, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met the commander of the US Pacific fleet, Harry Harris, and urged 'close coordination' between Tokyo and Washington to 'enhance deterrence' amid the North Korea threat.