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Iriomote
is the largest of the Yaeyama Islands of Japan, and the second largest in Okinawa Prefecture after Okinawa Island itself. The island has an area of and a 2005 population of 2,347. The island does not have an airstrip, and most visitors — over 390,000 in 2006 — arrive from Ishigaki by ferry, a ride to on Iriomote's northeast coast or on the southeast coast. Administratively the island belongs to Taketomi Town, Okinawa Prefecture. Infrastructure is limited to a single coastal road connecting the hamlets on the northern and eastern shores. Wildlife The island is famed for the Iriomote cat, a '' Critically Endangered'' wild cat found only on Iriomote. the population size is estimated to be 100–109 individuals. The island has a venomous snake—''Trimeresurus elegans'', known locally as the ''habu'', a species of pitviper whose bite has a fatality rate of 3% and a permanent disability rate of 6–8%.U.S. Navy (1991). ''Poisonous Snakes of the World''. New York: Dover P ...
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Iriomote Cat
The Iriomote cat (''Prionailurus bengalensis iriomotensis'') is a subspecies of the leopard cat that lives exclusively on the Japanese island of Iriomote. It has been listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2008, as the only population comprises fewer than 250 adult individuals and is considered declining. As of 2007, there were an estimated 100–109 individuals remaining. In Japanese, it is called . In local dialects of the Yaeyama language, it is known as , , and .今泉(1994), Pp.8–13, Pp. 144-147戸川(1972), Pp.13–92 Description The fur of the Iriomote cat is mostly dark gray and light brown, with lighter hair on the belly and insides of the limbs. Hair along the jaw is white. There are two dark brown spots on each cheek. There are 5–7 stripes spanning from the forehead to the back of the head, but, unlike the leopard cat, the stripes stop before reaching the shoulders. Dark brown spots cover the sides of the body, and there are 3–4 bands of ...
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Iriomote Coal Mine
The was a producing coal mine in the northwestern area of Uchibanare and Iriomote Islands, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. At its peak, between 120,000 and 130,000 tons of coal were produced annually in the years 1936 and 1937 by 1,400 coal mine workers, but production ceased in 1960. History On Iriomote Island, sandstone layers of the Iriomote Formation of the Yaeyama Group were laid down in the Miocene era. Between the layers of sandstone are layers of coal which vary from 15 to 90 cm thick. On the island, this ''burning stone'' had been known for a long time. In a document written at end of the 18th century, this burning stone was described in detail. In 1853 a technician with American Commodore Matthew C. Perry reported the presence of coal in Shioya Bay, Okinawa. In 1854 Ryūkyū ordered the people of Iriomote to plant trees to hide the coal mines. In 1871 Hayashi Tasuke of Satsuma asked Ōhama Kana to find the coal. Ōhama was exiled to a remote island for leaking the secre ...
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Iriomote Submarine Volcano
The Iriomote submarine volcano is an active submarine volcano located north of Iriomote Island, Japan. The volcano is also known as the Submarine Volcano NNE of Iriomotejima. Its only reported eruption occurred on October 31, 1924—measuring a Volcanic explosivity index (VEI) of 5, it is one of the largest historical eruptions in Japan. However, scientific knowledge about the eruption is sparse. 1924 eruption A volcanic eruption was first observed by the crew of the ''Miyako Maru'', a ship belonging to Mitsui O.S.K. Lines. It traveled from Iriomote Island en route to the Port of Keelung. A report was filed by Captain Naoichi Kano while sailing the Hatoma Channel between Iriomote and Hatoma islands towards Ishigaki Island. At 9:35 a.m, the sea was reportedly discolored over . Pumice blanketed the ocean from the islands of Akari to Iriomote. The Captain Kano concluded that this was the product of a submarine eruption and diverted its course from east towards Ishigaki Island to no ...
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Taketomi, Okinawa
is a town located in Yaeyama District, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The town includes all of the islands in the Yaeyama Islands excluding Ishigaki, Yonaguni, and the Senkaku Islands. This includes the islands of Iriomote, Yubu, Taketomi, Kohama, Kuroshima, Hateruma, and Hatoma. Although Ishigaki is not part of the town of Taketomi, the town hall is located there. As of October 2016, the town has an estimated population of 4,050 and the density of 12 persons per km2 (31/sq mi). The total area is 334.02 km2 (128.97 sq mi). Transportation Hateruma Airport is located on Hateruma Island in Taketomi. Education Combined elementary and junior high schools include: * Funauki Elementary and Junior High School (竹富町立船浮小中学校) - Iriomote Island * Hateruma Elementary and Junior High School (竹富町立波照間小中学校) - Hateruma * Hatoma Elementary and Junior High School (竹富町立鳩間小中学校) - Hatoma * Iriomote Elementary and Junior High Sch ...
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Ishigaki Island
, also known as ''Ishigakijima'', is a Japanese island south-west of Okinawa Hontō and the second-largest island of the Yaeyama Island group, behind Iriomote Island. It is located approximately south-west of Okinawa Hontō. It is within the City of Ishigaki in Okinawa Prefecture. The city functions as the business and transport center of the archipelago. The island is served by New Ishigaki Airport, the largest airport in the Yaeyamas. Much of the island and surrounding waters including Mount Omoto and Kabira Bay are protected as part of Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park. Ishigaki Island, like the rest of Okinawa, is culturally influenced by both Japan and Taiwan due to its location, about off the north eastern coast of Taiwan. History A tsunami of record height hit Ishigaki Island in 1771. One of the perpetrators of Aum Shinrikyo's sarin gas attack, Yasuo Hayashi, was arrested on Ishigaki Island 21 months after the attacks and from the scene of the crime. Ishigak ...
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Yaeyama Islands
The Yaeyama Islands (八重山列島 ''Yaeyama-rettō'', also 八重山諸島 ''Yaeyama-shotō'', Yaeyama: ''Yaima'', Yonaguni: ''Daama'', Okinawan: ''Yeema'', Northern Ryukyuan: ''Yapema'') are an archipelago in the southwest of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, and cover . The islands are located southwest of the Miyako Islands, part of the Ryukyu Islands archipelago. The Yaeyama Islands are the remotest part of Japan from the main islands and contain Japan's most southern (Hateruma) and most western (Yonaguni) inhabited islands. The city of Ishigaki serves as the political, cultural, and economic center of the Yaeyama Islands. Natural history The Yaeyama Islands are home to numerous species of subtropical and tropical plants, and mangrove forests. The islands produce sugarcane and pineapples. Coral reefs around the islands are ideal habitats for dolphins, sea turtles, and larger fish such as manta rays and whale sharks. Before being wiped out by humans, whales and dugongs wer ...
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Okinawa Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city of Okinawa Prefecture, with other major cities including Okinawa, Uruma, and Urasoe. Okinawa Prefecture encompasses two thirds of the Ryukyu Islands, including the Okinawa, Daitō and Sakishima groups, extending southwest from the Satsunan Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture to Taiwan ( Hualien and Yilan Counties). Okinawa Prefecture's largest island, Okinawa Island, is the home to a majority of Okinawa's population. Okinawa Prefecture's indigenous ethnic group are the Ryukyuan people, who also live in the Amami Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture. Okinawa Prefecture was ruled by the Ryukyu Kingdom from 1429 and unofficially annexed by Japan after the Invasion of Ryukyu in 1609. Okinawa Prefecture was officially founded in 1879 by the Empire ...
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Yaeyama Language
The Yaeyama language (, ''Yaimamuni'') is a Southern Ryukyuan language spoken in the Yaeyama Islands, the southernmost inhabited island group in Japan, with a combined population of about 53,000. The Yaeyama Islands are situated in the Southern Ryukyu Islands, southwest of the Miyako Islands and to the east of Taiwan. Yaeyama (''Yaimamunii'') is most closely related to Miyako. The number of competent native speakers is not known; as a consequence of Japanese language policy which refers to the language as the , reflected in the education system, people below the age of 60 tend to not use the language except in songs and rituals, and the younger generation exclusively uses Japanese as their first language. As compared to the Japanese ''kokugo,'' or Japanese national language, other Ryukyuan languages such as Okinawan and Amami have also been referred to as dialects of Japanese. Yaeyama is noted as having a comparatively lower "language vitality" among neighboring Ryukyuan langua ...
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USS Snook (SS-279)
USS ''Snook'' (SS-279), a ''Gato''-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the common snook, an Atlantic marine fish that is bluish-gray above and silvery below a black lateral line. ''Snooks keel was laid down by the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine on 17 April 1942. She was launched on 15 August 1942 sponsored by Mrs. Audrey Emanuel Dempsey, wife of Lieutenant James C. Dempsey who had been awarded the Navy Cross for heroism as commanding officer of the submarine ''S-27'', and commissioned on 24 October 1942. Patrols First patrol After shakedown training off the New England coast, ''Snook'' departed New London on 3 March 1943 and set sail for the Pacific. Following a 12-day stopover at Pearl Harbor, the submarine put to sea on 11 April and headed for the Yellow Sea and East China Sea for her first war patrol. Upon completion of mine planting in the Shanghai area, ''Snook'' continued on up the coast of China to the Yellow Sea. ...
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Satakentia Liukiuensis
''Satakentia liukiuensis'' (satake palm, yaeyama-yashi apanese ヤエヤマヤシ satakentia palm, yaeyama palm), is a species of palm tree. They are endemic to Ishigaki Island and Iriomote Island in the Yaeyama Islands, the south-westernmost of the Ryukyu Islands, Japan. It is the only species in the genus ''Satakentia''. The genus and the species were both circumscribed by Harold 'Hal' Emery Moore in Principes vol.13 on page 5 in 1969. The genus name of ''Satakentia'' is in honour of Toshihiko Satake (1910–1998), who was a Japanese factory owner (the 2nd President of Satake Corporation based in Hiroshima, Japan, is a multinational company mainly focused in equipment for the processing and sorting of agricultural products such as rice, grains and beans. The corporation was founded in Japan by Riichi Satake in 1896. They have ...), producer of rice-processing equipment and also an expert in Arecaceae. References Carpoxylinae Flora of the Ryukyu Islands Data de ...
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Satakentia
''Satakentia liukiuensis'' (satake palm, yaeyama-yashi apanese ヤエヤマヤシ satakentia palm, yaeyama palm), is a species of palm tree. They are endemic to Ishigaki Island and Iriomote Island in the Yaeyama Islands, the south-westernmost of the Ryukyu Islands, Japan. It is the only species in the genus ''Satakentia''. The genus and the species were both circumscribed by Harold 'Hal' Emery Moore in Principes vol.13 on page 5 in 1969. The genus name of ''Satakentia'' is in honour of Toshihiko Satake (1910–1998), who was a Japanese factory owner (the 2nd President of Satake Corporation based in Hiroshima, Japan, is a multinational company mainly focused in equipment for the processing and sorting of agricultural products such as rice, grains and beans. The corporation was founded in Japan by Riichi Satake in 1896. They have ...), producer of rice-processing equipment and also an expert in Arecaceae. References Carpoxylinae Flora of the Ryukyu Islands Data de ...
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Yonaguni
, one of the Yaeyama Islands, is the westernmost inhabited island of Japan, lying from the east coast of Taiwan, between the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean proper. The island is administered as the Towns of Japan, town of Yonaguni, Okinawa, Yonaguni, Yaeyama, Okinawa, Yaeyama Gun, Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawa, and there are three settlements: Sonai, Kubura, and Higawa. History Early human migration from Taiwan to Yonaguni island has long been the subject of scholarly debate. In 2019, a team of Japanese and Taiwanese researchers succeeded in completing the two-day journey from Cape Wushibi in Taitung County to Yonaguni island along the Kuroshio current in a dugout canoe based on technology and materials from 30,000 years ago. Otherwise, the early history of Yonaguni remains vague. The first written record that ever mentions the island is a 1477 Korean document (''Chosen Hyōryūmin no Yaeyama kenbunroku''), an account of several fishermen from the current Jeju Province who ...
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