Yonaguni
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| Native name: Dunan[1] | |
|---|---|
| 200px
Map of Yonaguni
 Yonaguni
Location of Yonaguni in Okinawa
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| Geography | |
| Location | Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Archipelago | Yaeyama Islands |
| Area | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). |
| Coastline | 27.5 km (17.09 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 231.4 m (759.2 ft) |
| Highest point | Urabu |
| Country | |
| Town | Yonaguni |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 1,684 (as of 2009) |
| Density | 58.2 /km2 (150.7 /sq mi) |
Yonaguni (Japanese: 与那国島 Hepburn: Yonaguni-jima?, Yonaguni romanization: Dunan, Okinawan romanization: Yunaguni) is one of the Yaeyama Islands. It is the westernmost inhabited island of Japan and lies 108 kilometers (67 mi) from the east coast of Taiwan, between the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean proper.
Contents
Geography
The island has an area of 28.88 km2 (11.15 sq mi), a population around 1700, an annual mean air temperature of 23.9 °C, and annual precipitation of 3000 mm. All islands are under jurisdiction of the town of Yonaguni, Yaeyama Gun, Okinawa and there are three towns: Sonai, Kubura and Higawa.
Yonaguni, more specifically Cape Irizaki Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at the western tip of the island, is the westernmost point of Japan. Taiwan is said to be visible from Irizaki on a clear day.
Climate
Yonaguni has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen climate classification Af). The average yearly temperature is 23.8 °C (74.8 °F), and the average monthly temperature ranges from 18.4 °C (65.1 °F) in January to 28.8 °C (83.8 °F) in July. September is the wettest month while July is the driest.
| Climate data for Yonaguni | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 20.5 (68.9) |
21 (70) |
22.8 (73) |
25.2 (77.4) |
27.7 (81.9) |
29.8 (85.6) |
31.4 (88.5) |
31.2 (88.2) |
29.8 (85.6) |
27.6 (81.7) |
24.9 (76.8) |
21.9 (71.4) |
26.15 (79.08) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 18.4 (65.1) |
18.8 (65.8) |
20.4 (68.7) |
22.9 (73.2) |
25.3 (77.5) |
27.5 (81.5) |
28.8 (83.8) |
28.5 (83.3) |
27.3 (81.1) |
25.4 (77.7) |
22.8 (73) |
19.8 (67.6) |
23.83 (74.86) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 16.4 (61.5) |
16.8 (62.2) |
18.3 (64.9) |
20.8 (69.4) |
23.2 (73.8) |
25.6 (78.1) |
26.6 (79.9) |
26.2 (79.2) |
25.1 (77.2) |
23.5 (74.3) |
20.9 (69.6) |
17.9 (64.2) |
21.77 (71.19) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 198.8 (7.827) |
157.9 (6.217) |
152.1 (5.988) |
173.3 (6.823) |
207.4 (8.165) |
164.0 (6.457) |
138.5 (5.453) |
212.5 (8.366) |
293.2 (11.543) |
227.7 (8.965) |
248.3 (9.776) |
179.7 (7.075) |
2,353.4 (92.655) |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 74 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 81 | 83 | 80 | 81 | 79 | 75 | 74 | 72 | 77.8 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 55.7 | 57.2 | 82.4 | 99.5 | 140.1 | 182.1 | 258.9 | 229.3 | 182.5 | 136.9 | 85.9 | 64.7 | 1,575.2 |
| Source: JMA (1981-2010) [2] | |||||||||||||
History
In the 12th century, it was incorporated into the Ryūkyū Kingdom.[3] By 1879, the island was formally annexed into Japan.
Until the early 20th century, Yonaguni was part of the larger Yaeyama Magiri (village after 1907), which included the neighboring Yaeyama Islands. In 1948, it became an independent village. From 1945 to 1972, it was occupied by the United States and was then returned to Japan to form a part of Okinawa Prefecture.
On May 4, 1998, a part of the island was destroyed by a submarine earthquake.
As a result of increased tensions between Japan and China over the disputed sovereignty of the Japanese-controlled uninhabited Senkaku/Diaoyu/Tiaoyutai Islands which are located roughly 80 nautical miles north-northeast of Yonaguni Island, Japan began construction in 2014 of a coastal monitoring/early warning station with radar and other sensors on Yonaguni to counter a perceived threat from Chinese forces.[4][5][needs update] The initial planned complement of a 150 troops include personnel stationed at a physically separate garrison camp located on the outskirts of Yonaguni town.[6] Separately, a joint (GSDF/ASDF) “mobile aircraft control & warning squadron" is planned to be formed and co-located at the station.
Notable features
Yonaguni is known in Japan for the hanazake, a 120-proof rice-based distilled beverage (awamori) produced only on the island.
The island is also the only natural habitat of a distinctive horse breed, the Yonaguni horse.
Yonaguni is a popular attraction for divers because of the large numbers of hammerhead sharks that gather in the surrounding waters during winter.
Yonaguni Monument
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In 1986, local divers discovered a striking underwater rock formation off the southernmost point of the island. This so-called Yonaguni Monument has staircase-like terraces with flat sides and sharp corners. Although the majority of the academic society regard the rock formation as natural joint, Masaaki Kimura, a professor of seismology in University of the Ryukyus and some media believe it is an artificial (or artificially modified) structure engraved or built 2,000 to 3,000 years ago.[7]
Patrick D. Nunn, Professor of Oceanic Geoscience at the University of the South Pacific, has studied these structures extensively and notes that the structures below the water continue above and are slate that "has been fashioned solely by natural processes" and that "there seems no reason to suppose that they are artificial."[8]
Transportation
Yonaguni Airport serves Yonaguni island.
Television
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Yonaguni was the filming location for Fuji TV's drama series, Dr. Kotō Shinryōjo (Dr.コトー診療所 / Dr. Koto's Clinic) which aired between 2003-2006.
See also
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Kerr, George H. (2000). Okinawa: the History of an Island People. (revised ed.) Boston: Tuttle Publishing.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Japan wary of China military threat." Al Jazeera, 17 December 2010.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Nunn, Patrick D. Vanished Islands and Hidden Continents of the Pacific University of Hawaii Press (15 Aug 2008)ISBN 978-0824832193 p.127
External links
Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons
Yonaguni travel guide from Wikivoyage
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Pages with broken file links
- Pages using deprecated coordinates format
- Articles containing Japanese-language text
- Wikipedia articles in need of updating from September 2012
- All Wikipedia articles in need of updating
- Extreme points of Japan
- Islands of Okinawa Prefecture
- Yaeyama Islands
- Yonaguni, Okinawa
- Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
- Japan Air Self-Defense Force
