Okinotorishima (沖ノ鳥島, Okinotori-shima) is a coral reef with two rocks enlarged with tetrapod-cement structures. It is administered by Japan with a total shoal area of 8,482 m2 (2.096 acres) and land area 9.44 square metres (101.6 sq ft).[1] Its dry land area is mostly made up by three concrete encasings and there is a 100 by 50 m (330 by 160 ft) stilt platform in the lagoon housing a research station. There is a third complete artificial tetrapod-cement islet. It is located on the Palau–Kyushu Ridge in the Philippine Sea, 534 km (332 mi) southeast of Okidaitōjima and 567 km (352 mi) west-southwest of South Iwo Jima in the Bonin Islands or 1,740 km (1,080 mi) south of Tokyo, Japan. The atoll is the southernmost part of Japan and the only Japanese territory in the tropics.
Japan claims the atoll is significant enough for Japan to have a 200 nautical mile (370.4 km) exclusive economic zone (EEZ) around the atoll, but China, South Korea, and Taiwan dispute the Japanese EEZ, saying that the atoll does not meet the definition of an island under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The English meaning of the name is "remote bird islands".
The atoll has multiple designations in English (Okinotori coral reefs, Okinotori Islands). Its original name was Parece Vela,[2] Spanish for "it looks like a sail" (alluding to the original appearance of the reef). This name has been retained in English as well, especially to designate the geological formations of the islets.
It was possibly first sighted by the Spanish sailor Bernardo de la Torre in 1543,[2] certainly by Miguel López de Legazpi in 1565, and its first recorded name was Parece Vela ("looks like a sail" in Spanish).
In 1789, William Douglas arrived with the British ship Iphigenia and, in 1790, the place was named Douglas Reef (also spelled Douglass Reef).[3] The existence of the atoll might not have been known by the Japanese until 1888. In 1922 and 1925, the Japanese navy ship Manshu investigated the area.[3] In 1931, confirming that no other countries had claimed the reefs, Japan declared it Japanese territory, placing it under the jurisdiction of the Tokyo Metropolis, classifying it as part of the Ogasawara Village, and naming it Okinotorishima.[3]
During 1939 and 1941, a foundation was completed for "a lighthouse and a meteorological observation site" but construction was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II.[3] After Japan's defeat, the United States assumed sovereignty over the Ogasawara islands, and returned authority over the islands to Japan in 1968.[3]
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.
1. With respect to Nanpo Shoto and other islands, as defined in paragraph 2 below, the United States of America relinquishes in favor of Japan all rights and interests under Article 3 of the Treaty of Peace with Japan signed at the city of San Francisco on September 8, 1951, effective as of the date of entry into force of this Agreement. Japan, as of such date, assumes full responsibility and authority for the exercise of all and any powers of administration, legislation and jurisdiction over the territory and inhabitants of the said islands.
2. For the purpose of this Agreement, the term "Nanpo Shoto and other islands" means Nanpo Shoto south of Sofu Gan (including the Bonin islands, Rasairo Island, and the Volcano Islands) and Parece Vela and Marcus Island, including their territorial waters.
Between 1987 and 1993 the government of Tokyo and later the central government built steel breakwaters and concrete walls to stop the erosion of Okinotorishima, which today leaves only three of the five rocks that were present in 1939 above water; in 1988 the Japan Marine Science and Technology Center built a marine investigation facility which it has since maintained following typhoon damage.[3] Funding for full repairs was finally allocated in early 2016.[5] The facility also doubles as an EEZ observation post for the Maritime Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, being equipped with radar and various other sensors to help monitor activity in the zone.[5]
On March 16, 2007, a light beacon was installed by the Japan Coast Guard. The beacon is plotted on the hydrographic chart.
Geologically, the islets are a coral atoll, built on the Kyushu–Palau Ridge, the westernmost part of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) around the atoll, but China, South Korea, and Taiwan dispute the Japanese EEZ, saying that the atoll does not meet the definition of an island under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The English meaning of the name is "remote bird islands".
The atoll has multiple designations in English (Okinotori coral reefs, Okinotori Islands). Its original name was Parece Vela,[2] Spanish for "it looks like a sail" (alluding to the original appearance of the reef). This name has been retained in English as well, especially to designate the geological formations of the islets.
It was possibly first sighted by the Spanish sailor Bernardo de la Torre in 1543,[2] certainly by Miguel López de Legazpi in 1565, and its first recorded name was Parece Vela ("looks like a sail" in Spanish).
In 1789, William Douglas arrived with the British ship Iphigenia and, in 1790, the place
The atoll has multiple designations in English (Okinotori coral reefs, Okinotori Islands). Its original name was Parece Vela,[2] Spanish for "it looks like a sail" (alluding to the original appearance of the reef). This name has been retained in English as well, especially to designate the geological formations of the islets.
It was possibly first sighted by the Spanish sailor Bernardo de la Torre in 1543,[2] certainly by Miguel López de Legazpi in 1565, and its first recorded name was Parece Vela ("looks like a sail" in Spanish).
In 1789, William Douglas arrived with the British ship Iphigenia and, in 1790, the place was named Douglas Reef (also spelled Douglass R
In 1789, William Douglas arrived with the British ship Iphigenia and, in 1790, the place was named Douglas Reef (also spelled Douglass Reef).[3] The existence of the atoll might not have been known by the Japanese until 1888. In 1922 and 1925, the Japanese navy ship Manshu investigated the area.[3] In 1931, confirming that no other countries had claimed the reefs, Japan declared it Japanese territory, placing it under the jurisdiction of the Tokyo Metropolis, classifying it as part of the Ogasawara Village, and naming it Okinotorishima.[3]
During 1939 and 1941, a foundation was completed for "a lighthouse and a meteorological observation site" but construction was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II.[3] After Japan's defeat, the United States assumed sovereignty over the Ogasawara islands, and returned authority over the islands to Japan in 1968.[3]
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.