Minamitorishima

The island is off limits to civilians except for Japan Meteorological Agency staff, although reporters, documentary makers, and scientific researchers can sometimes get an entry permit. No commercial boat tours or flights visit the island, and civilians are currently not allowed access to Minamitorishima for tours or sightseeing, due to its use by the JSDF as an observation station.

File:Minami_Torishima_Map.jpg

Minamitorishima is very remote. There is no other land for over {{convert|1000|km|nmi mi|0|abbr=on}} in any direction.

The island is triangular in shape, and has a saucer-like profile, with a raised outer rim of between {{convert|5|and|9|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} above sea level. The central area of the island is {{convert|1|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} below sea level. Minamitorishima is surrounded by fringing reefs, which range from {{convert|50|to|300|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} in width, enclosing a shallow lagoon, which is connected with the open ocean by narrow passages on the southern and northeastern sides.

Outside the reef, the ocean depths quickly plunge to over {{convert|1000|m|ft|abbr=on}}. The island has a total land area of {{convert|1.51|km2|mi2|0|abbr=on}}.{{cite web |url=http://www.mlit.go.jp/common/001025368.pdf |script-title=ja:国土交通省 南鳥島の概要 |trans-title=Overview of Minamitorishima. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism}} It takes about 45 minutes to walk around the island.

The sea is clear in the shallow area around Minamitorishima. At night, no light pollution occurs, so rarely noticed stars are clearly visible in the sky.

The island does not have soil adequate to produce substantial crops, so food is brought in by supply ships and planes. The only food grown on the island is papaya, mustard greens, and coconuts, and saltwater fish are caught offshore.

After China restricted exports of strategic rare-earth oxides (REOs) in 2009, Japan started to explore its seabeds for deposits.{{cite web |url=http://www.mining.com/japans-massive-rare-earth-discovery-threatens-chinas-supremacy-89013/ |author=Jamasmie, Cecilia |title=Japan's massive rare earth discovery threatens China's supremacy |publisher=Mining.com |date=25 March 2013 |access-date=16 April 2018 |df=dmy-all}}

In January 2013, a deep-sea research vessel of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology obtained seven deep-sea mud core samples from the seafloor at 5,600 to 5,800 m depth, about {{convert|250|km|nmi mi|abbr=on}} south of the island.{{cite news |title=Seabed offers brighter hope in rare-earth hunt |url=http://asia.nikkei.com/Japan-Update/Seabed-offers-brighter-hope-in-rare-earth-hunt|access-date=11 December 2016 |work=Nikkei Asian Review |agency=Nikkei Inc. |date=25 November 2014}} The research team found a mud layer {{convert|2|to|4|m|ft}} beneath the seabed that is extremely concentrated in REO. Analytical results showed that the maximum REO content in the mud was up to 0.66%.{{cite web |title=Discovery of rare earths around Minami-Torishima |url=http://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/utokyo-research/research-news/discovery-of-rare-earths-around-minami-torishima/|website=UTokyo Research |publisher=University of Tokyo |access-date=11 December 2016 |date=2 May 2013 |df=dmy-all}}{{cite conference |last1=Zhi Li |first1=Ling |last2=Yang |first2=Xiaosheng |title=China's rare earth ore deposits and beneficiation techniques |url=http://www.eurare.eu/docs/eres2014/firstSession/XiaoshengYang.pdf |conference=1st European Rare Earth Resources Conference |publisher=European Commission for the 'Development of a sustainable exploitation scheme for Europe's Rare Earth ore deposits' |place=Milos, Greece |access-date=11 December 2016 |date=4 September 2014 |df=dmy-all}}

In 2018 a scientific study of the seabed mud resulted in an estimate of 16 million tons of REO mineralised sediments within the studied area. The calculated rare-earth element and yttrium content for the research area was more than 16 million tons (average = 964 ppm).{{cite journal |title=The tremendous potential of deepsea mud as a source of rare-earth elements |journal=Scientific Reports |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=5763 |doi=10.1038/s41598-018-23948-5 |pmid=29636486 |pmc=5893572 |year=2018 |last1=Takaya |first1=Yutaro |last2=Yasukawa |first2=Kazutaka |last3=Kawasaki |first3=Takehiro |last4=Fujinaga |first4=Koichiro |last5=Ohta |first5=Junichiro |last6=Usui |first6=Yoichi |last7=Nakamura |first7=Kentaro |last8=Kimura |first8=Jun-Ichi |last9=Chang |first9=Qing |last10=Hamada |first10=Morihisa |last11=Dodbiba |first11=Gjergj |last12=Nozaki |first12=Tatsuo |last13=Iijima |first13=Koichi |last14=Morisawa |first14=Tomohiro |last15=Kuwahara |first15=Takuma |last16=Ishida |first16=Yasuyuki |last17=Ichimura |first17=Takao |last18=Kitazume |first18=Masaki |last19=Fujita |first19=Toyohisa |last20=Kato |first20=Yasuhiro |bibcode=2018NatSR...8.5763T |display-authors=6}}{{cite news |last1=Palin |first1=Megan |title='Game changer': Discovery on tiny island could alter global economy |url=https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/game-changer-discovery-on-tiny-island-could-alter-global-economy/news-story/021697a05680d6d3b14dd3137cd709fa |access-date=16 September 2019 |work=news.com.au |date=18 April 2018 |df=dmy-all}}

A species in the gecko family Gekkonidae, Perochirus ateles, inhabits the island. In Japan, these are only found in Minamitorishima and South Iwo Jima. They are thought to have arrived from Micronesia on driftwood.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}

Also, a large number of land snails, Achatina fulica, have parasites that are harmful to humans. Various forms of marine life inhabit the ocean around the island, including sea snakes, tuna, sharks, and some rare fish. Small fish are in the shallow area around the island.{{cite web |series=Tokyo / Ogasawara Islands |title=Minamitorishima is the easternmost point in Japan. A large survey of the solitary islands of the sea! |publisher=Travelbook.co.jp |url=https://www.travelbook.co.jp/topic/38231 |access-date=2019-08-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190817181547/https://www.travelbook.co.jp/topic/38231 |archive-date=2019-08-17 |df=dmy-all}}

No local residents live on Minamitorishima. Civilians are not allowed to reside there, and the personnel of the Japan Meteorological Agency, JSDF, and the Japan Coast Guard, only serve on the island for a limited time, and in limited numbers.

File:Japan Exclusive Economic Zones.png's exclusive economic zones: Minamitorishima is at the center of the isolated easternmost circle.{{legend|#dd12c2|Japan's EEZ}}{{legend|#f080e1|Joint regime with Republic of Korea}}{{legend|#f2d1ee|EEZ claimed by Japan, disputed by others}}]]

The first discovery and mention of an island in this area was made by a Spanish Manila galleon captain, Andrés de Arriola, in 1694.{{sfnp|Welsch|2001}} It was charted in Spanish maps as Sebastián López, after Spanish Admiral Sebastián López, victorious in the battles of La Naval de Manila in 1646 against the Dutch. Its exact location was left unrecorded until further sightings in the 19th century.

Captain Bourn Russell (1794–1880) in the Lady Rowena departed Sydney, NSW, 2 November 1830 on a Pacific whaling voyage. On his return on 27 June 1832, he reported an island, not on his charts, which he named "William the Fourth's Island". The Sydney Herald reported Russell's description of the size, shape, and orientation of the island and its reef, but misspelled his name and gave the island a Southern Hemisphere latitude.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12844875 |newspaper=The Sydney Herald |place=NSW |date=1832-07-16 |df=dmy-all |page=2B |title=[no title cited]}}

The island was sighted again on 16 December 1864 by Captain Charles Gelett of the Hawaiian Evangelical Association's missionary ship Morning Star, and was called "Weeks Island" by him. Its position was recorded by a United States survey ship in 1874 and first sighted by a Japanese national, Kiozaemon Saito, in 1879.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UwKBEgII5MAC&pg=PA458 |title=The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1868 |date=2013 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781108054881 |page=458 |access-date=12 May 2020}}{{cite book |last1=Hiraoka |first1=Akitoshi |title=Japanese Advance into the Pacific Ocean: The Albatross and the Great Bird Rush |date=2012 |publisher=Springer Nature |location=Singapore |isbn=9789811051401 |page=16 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G2A1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA16 |access-date=12 May 2020}}{{cite book |last1=Stommel |first1=Henry |title=Lost Islands: The Story of Islands That Have Vanished from Nautical Charts |date=21 June 2017 |publisher=Dover Publications |location=Mineola, NY |isbn=9780486784670 |page=62 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZpmkDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA61}}

On 30 June 1886, Japanese explorer {{Interlanguage link|Shinroku Mizutani|ja|水谷新六}} (水谷新六, 1850–1921) led a group of 46 colonists from Haha-jima in the Bonin Islands to settle on Marcus Island. The settlement was named "Mizutani" after the leader of the expedition. The Empire of Japan officially annexed the island 24 July 1898,Kuroda (1954) p. 87 the previous United States claim from 1889 according to the Guano Islands Act not being officially acknowledged. The island was officially named "Minamitorishima" and placed administratively under the Ogasawara Subprefecture of Tokyo (Tōkyō-fu).{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}

Sovereignty over the island before World War I was apparently disputed, as various sources from the time move the island from the American to Japanese domain without specific explanation. In 1902, the United States dispatched a warship from Hawaii to enforce its claims, but withdrew on finding the island still inhabited by Japanese, with a Japanese warship patrolling nearby. In 1914, William D. Boyce included Marcus Island as an obviously American island in his book, The Colonies and Dependencies of the United States. In 1933, by orders of the Japanese government, the civilian inhabitants of Minamitorishima were evacuated. In 1935, the Imperial Japanese Navy established a meteorological station on the island and built an airstrip.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}

File:Minamitori-Island-Attack-Aug-1943.jpg

After the start of World War II, the Japanese garrison stationed on the island consisted of the 742-man Minamitorishima Guard Unit, under the command of Rear Admiral Masata Matsubara, and the 2,005-man 12th Independent Mixed Regiment of the Imperial Japanese Army, under the command of Colonel Yoshiichi Sakata.{{cite web |first1=Akira |last1=Takizawa |first2=Allan |last2=Alsleben |url=https://warfare.gq/dutcheastindies/japan_garrison.html |title=Japanese garrisons on the by-passed Pacific Islands 1944-1945 |date=1999–2000 |work=Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106231303/http://www.dutcheastindies.webs.com/japan_garrison.html |archive-date=2016-01-06 |df=dmy-all}} The United States Navy bombed it repeatedly in 1942{{cite book |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USN-CN-Raids/USN-CN-Raids-3.html |article=The Raids on Wake and Marcus Islands |title=Early Raids in the Pacific Ocean |series=USN Combat Narrative series |department=Office of Naval Intelligence |publisher=United States Navy |year=1943}} and in 1943,{{cite book |url=http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/st/~magneson/battles.html |title=Paramount Battles Involving Essex Class Carriers |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515075743/http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/st/~magneson/battles.html |archive-date=2008-05-15 |df=dmy-all}} but never attempted to capture it (the island was featured in the U.S. film The Fighting Lady). Japan was able to resupply the garrison by submarine, using a channel, still visible today, cut through the reef on the northwest side of the island. The island was subject to repeated U.S. air attacks during World War II, and finally surrendered when the destroyer {{USS|Bagley|DD-386|6}} arrived on 31 August 1945.{{cite web |url=http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/history-up-close/surrender-at-marcus-island/ |title=Surrender at Marcus Island |date=2015-03-30 |df=dmy-all}}

File:Minami_Torishima_Island_Aerial_photograph.1975.jpg

The Treaty of San Francisco transferred the island to American control in 1952.{{efn|Article 3 of the Treaty of San Francisco: "Japan will concur in any proposal of the United States to the United Nations to place under its trusteeship system, with the United States as the sole administering authority, Nansei Shoto south of 29° north latitude (including the Ryukyu Islands and the Daito Islands), Nanpo Shoto south of Sofu Gan (including the Bonin Islands, Rosario Island and the Volcano Islands) and Parece Vela and Marcus Island. Pending the making of such a proposal and affirmative action thereon, the United States will have the right to exercise all and any powers of administration, legislation, and jurisdiction over the territory and inhabitants of these islands, including their territorial waters."}} The island was returned to Japanese control in 1968, but the Americans retained control of the airstrip and LORAN-C station.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}

In 1964, after some delays caused by storms that ravaged the island during construction, the U.S. Coast Guard opened a LORAN-C navigation station on Minamitorishima, whose mast was until 1985 one of the tallest structures in the Pacific area at {{convert|1,350|ft|m|0|order=flip}}. Before replacing Loran A for general marine navigation, Loran C was used by submarine-launched Polaris missile systems and the existence and location of Loran C stations was classified. LORANSTA Marcus Island was billeted for 23 US Coast Guard personnel. The commissioning commanding officer was U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander Louis. C. Snell. A detachment of SeaBees remained on the island for several months making repairs to the island's airstrip.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}

The island is extremely isolated. Coast guardsmen stationed on the island served one-year tours that were later modified to allow an R&R visit to mainland Japan at the six-month point. At the end of this isolated tour of duty, crew members received an additional 30 days of compensatory leave.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}

While under U.S. administration, a C-130 Hercules from the 345th Tactical Airlift Squadron, Yokota Air Base, Japan, resupplied the island on missions every Thursday. Coast guardsmen often amused themselves by judging aircraft landings, raising placards painted with large numbers. An unusually long four-hour ground time was scheduled to allow technicians who flew in to perform maintenance on the transmitter and to offload extra fuel from the C-130 to power the island's generator. It also allowed the coast guardsmen to read and answer letters while aircrews snorkeled and collected green glass fishing buoys that had washed up on the shore. During the Vietnam war era, the weekly log flight was a DC-6 flight conducted by the CIA-operated "Air America."{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}

The Marcus Island station was transferred from the U.S. Coast Guard to the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) on 30 September 1993 and was closed on 1 December 2009.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}

The island is currently used for weather observation and has a radio station, but little else. The JMSDF garrison was supplied by C-130s from Iruma Air Base, or by C-130s from Haneda or Atsugi Air Base with flights via Iwo Jima on a weekly basis. The runway of Minami Torishima Airport is only {{convert|1300|m|ft|abbr=on}} long and cannot handle large aircraft.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}

Minamitorishima has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw), with warm to hot temperatures throughout the year. The wettest months are July and August, while the driest months are February and March. It has the highest average temperature in Japan of {{cvt|25|C}}.{{cite web |url=http://www.climate-charts.com/Countries/Japan.html |title=Japan |website=climate-charts.com |access-date=2009-04-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171030040135/http://www.climate-charts.com/Countries/Japan.html |archive-date=2017-10-30 |url-status=dead }} Temperature extremes range from {{cvt|13.8|C}} on February 10, 1976 to {{cvt|35.6|C}} on July 17, 1951.

{{Weather box

|location = Minami-Torishima (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1951−present)

|single line = Y

|metric first = Y

|Jan record high C = 29.7

|Feb record high C = 29.0

|Mar record high C = 30.2

|Apr record high C = 31.9

|May record high C = 34.0

|Jun record high C = 35.0

|Jul record high C = 35.6

|Aug record high C = 34.7

|Sep record high C = 35.3

|Oct record high C = 33.5

|Nov record high C = 34.2

|Dec record high C = 31.6

|Jan record low C = 13.9

|Feb record low C = 13.8

|Mar record low C = 14.2

|Apr record low C = 16.4

|May record low C = 19.1

|Jun record low C = 20.0

|Jul record low C = 21.6

|Aug record low C = 21.8

|Sep record low C = 21.7

|Oct record low C = 20.8

|Nov record low C = 19.2

|Dec record low C = 16.7

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 69.7

|Feb precipitation mm = 43.4

|Mar precipitation mm = 56.0

|Apr precipitation mm = 59.6

|May precipitation mm = 100.6

|Jun precipitation mm = 44.3

|Jul precipitation mm = 139.8

|Aug precipitation mm = 177.1

|Sep precipitation mm = 94.8

|Oct precipitation mm = 89.6

|Nov precipitation mm = 83.0

|Dec precipitation mm = 90.8

|year precipitation mm = 1052.8

|Jan mean C = 22.4

|Feb mean C = 21.8

|Mar mean C = 22.5

|Apr mean C = 24.3

|May mean C = 26.1

|Jun mean C = 28.0

|Jul mean C = 28.5

|Aug mean C = 28.4

|Sep mean C = 28.5

|Oct mean C = 27.9

|Nov mean C = 26.5

|Dec mean C = 24.5

|year mean C = 25.8

|Jan high C = 24.6

|Feb high C = 24.3

|Mar high C = 25.3

|Apr high C = 27.1

|May high C = 29.0

|Jun high C = 31.0

|Jul high C = 31.3

|Aug high C = 31.0

|Sep high C = 30.9

|Oct high C = 30.2

|Nov high C = 28.7

|Dec high C = 26.7

|year high C = 28.3

|Jan low C = 20.3

|Feb low C = 19.6

|Mar low C = 20.4

|Apr low C = 22.3

|May low C = 24.1

|Jun low C = 25.8

|Jul low C = 26.1

|Aug low C = 26.1

|Sep low C = 26.4

|Oct low C = 25.9

|Nov low C = 24.7

|Dec low C = 22.6

|year low C = 23.7

|Jan humidity = 70

|Feb humidity = 70

|Mar humidity = 74

|Apr humidity = 79

|May humidity = 79

|Jun humidity = 77

|Jul humidity = 77

|Aug humidity = 79

|Sep humidity = 79

|Oct humidity = 78

|Nov humidity = 76

|Dec humidity = 74

|year humidity = 76

|Jan sun = 170.8

|Feb sun = 179.4

|Mar sun = 222.3

|Apr sun = 240.2

|May sun = 275.1

|Jun sun = 311.2

|Jul sun = 276.3

|Aug sun = 248.1

|Sep sun = 254.6

|Oct sun = 250.8

|Nov sun = 211.0

|Dec sun = 182.3

|year sun = 2821.7

|unit precipitation days = 0.5 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 10.9

|Feb precipitation days = 8.5

|Mar precipitation days = 8.1

|Apr precipitation days = 7.8

|May precipitation days = 9.3

|Jun precipitation days = 7.2

|Jul precipitation days = 14.8

|Aug precipitation days = 16.7

|Sep precipitation days = 14.1

|Oct precipitation days = 12.7

|Nov precipitation days = 10.4

|Dec precipitation days = 11.8

|year precipitation days = 132.7

|source 1 = Japan Meteorological Agency{{cite web

| url = https://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/index.php?prec_no=44&block_no=47991&year=&month=&day=&view=

|script-title=ja:気象庁 / 平年値（年・月ごとの値）

| publisher = Japan Meteorological Agency

| access-date = May 19, 2021}}

}}

{{Graph:Weather monthly history

| table=Ncei.noaa.gov/weather/Minamitorishima.tab

| title=Minamitorishima temperature

}}

• Geography of Japan
• Japanese Archipelago
• List of extreme points of Japan
• Imperial Japanese Navy Land Forces
• List of reefs

{{notelist}}

{{reflist|25em}}

• {{cite book |author=Bryan, William A. |title=A monograph of Marcus Island |series=Occasional Papers of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum |volume=2 |issue=1 |year=1903}}
• {{cite journal |author=Kuroda, Nagahisa |title=Report on a trip to Marcus Island, with notes on the birds |journal=Pacific Science |volume=8 |issue=1 |year=1954}}
• {{cite web|first=Klemen |last=L |url=https://warfare.gq/dutcheastindies/index.html |title=Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942 |date=1999–2000 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726053035/http://www.dutcheastindies.webs.com/index.html |archive-date=2011-07-26 |df=dmy-all}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Lévesque |first1=Rodrigue |title=The Odyssey of Captain Arriola and His Discovery of Marcus Island in 1694 |journal=Journal of Pacific History |year=1997 |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=229–233 |doi=10.1080/00223349708572841}}
• {{cite book |title=Pub 158 Japan |volume=1 |publisher=National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency |place=Bethesda, Maryland |url=http://pollux.nss.nima.mil/sdr/ |access-date=2006-08-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071103014239/http://pollux.nss.nima.mil/sdr/ |archive-date=2007-11-03 |url-status=dead }}
• {{cite journal |author=Sakagami, Shoichi F. |title=An ecological perspective of Marcus Island, with special reference to land animals |journal=Pacific Science |volume=15 |issue=1 |year=1961}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Welsch |first1=Bernhard |title=The Asserted Discovery of Marcus Island in 1694 |journal=Journal of Pacific History |year=2001 |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=105–115 |doi=10.1080/00223340120049479|s2cid=161496300 }}
• {{citation |last=Welsch |first=Bernhard |date=June 2004 |contribution-url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25169675 |contribution=Was Marcus Island Discovered by Bernardo de la Torre in 1543? |title=Journal of Pacific History |volume=39 |issue=1 |pages=109–122 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |location=Milton Park |doi=10.1080/00223340410001684886 |jstor=25169675 |s2cid=219627973 }}.

{{commons category|Minami Torishima}}

• {{cite web |url=http://www.geocities.com/kunitaka_tanaka/territories/minami-torishima.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091019170532/http://geocities.com/kunitaka_tanaka/territories/minami-torishima.html |archive-date=2009-10-19 |url-status=dead |title=Minami Torishima info and pictures |website=geocities}}{{rs|date=March 2021}}
• {{cite web |url=https://tides.mobilegeographics.com/locations/4625.html |title=Marcus Island (Minami Tori Shima) – sunrise, sunset, tides |access-date=2019-08-05 |archive-date=2013-09-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929020635/https://tides.mobilegeographics.com/locations/4625.html |url-status=dead }}
• {{cite web |url=http://www.gsi.go.jp/WNEW/LATEST/special00-01/Nhigashi.htm |title=Map and aerial photo of Minami Torishima |publisher=Geographical Survey Institute of Japan |access-date=2006-03-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060411184221/http://www.gsi.go.jp/WNEW/LATEST/special00-01/Nhigashi.htm |archive-date=2006-04-11 |url-status=dead }}
• {{cite web |url=http://www.ussshubrick.com/photos/intro/019.htm |title=The island during the Pacific War (USS Shubrick DD 639)}}

{{Ogasawara, Tokyo}}

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Category:Coral reefs

Category:Atolls of Japan

Category:Uninhabited islands of Japan

Category:Former disputed islands

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Category:Pacific islands claimed under the Guano Islands Act

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Category:Extreme points of Japan