is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

located entirely on

Minamidaitōjima , also spelt as Minami Daitō or Minami-Daitō, is the largest island in the Daitō Islands group southeast of Okinawa, Japan. It is administered as part of the village of Minamidaitō, Okinawa. Shimajiri District, Okinawa and has a populat ...

Shimajiri District is a district located in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Etymology Modern translation of Shimajiri means "Butt of the island" which may refer to its southerly position on the island of Okinawa. Compare this to Kunigami District, Okinawa. Howev ...

Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan. It consists of three main island groups—the Okinawa Islands, the Sakishima Islands, and the Daitō Islands—spread across a maritime zone approximately 1,000 kilometers east to west an ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Minamidaitōjima is located approximately east of

Okinawa Island , officially , is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands of Japan in the Kyushu region. It is the smallest and least populated of the five Japanese archipelago, main islands of Japan. The island is ...

. Minamidaitō covers . As of June 2013, the city had a

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 1,418 and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

of 46.4 people per km².

Geography

The island is in the subtropical zone and was formed out of coral reef. With the exception of neighboring Kitadaitō, there is no inhabited land within 400 km of Minamidaitō.

Administrative divisions

The village includes six wards. *Ikenosawa (池之沢) *Kita (北) *Kyūtō (旧東) *Minami (南) *Shintō (新東) *Zaisho (在所)

Climate

Minamidaitō has a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southeast Florida, United States ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Af'') with very warm summers and mild winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year; the wettest month is June and the driest month is February. The island is subject to frequent

typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...

History

Minamidaitōjima remained uninhabited until formally claimed by the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

in 1885. In 1900, a team of pioneers from Hachijōjima, became the first human inhabitants of the island, and started the cultivation of

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

from 1903. Until

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Kitadaitōjima was owned in its entirety by Dai Nippon Sugar (now Dai Nippon Meiji Sugar). After World War II, the island was occupied by the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The village of Minamidaitō was established in 1946.

Land reform Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution. Lan ...

was carried out in favor of the residents of Minamidaitō in 1964. A freight train system was established and later dismantled in favor of contemporary transportation. The island was returned to Japan in 1972.

Economy

Sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

is the chief product of the village, and is cultivated in the central lowlands of the island. There is also seasonal tourism and commercial fishing. Rum is produced here. Grace Rum distillery, founded in 2004 is producing there two kinds of rum, Cor Cor red label and Cor Cor Green label, made from molasses and sugar juice respectively.

Transportation

Minami-Daito Airport is an airport in Minamidaitō, Shimajiri District, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The prefecture operates the airport, which is classified as a third class airport. Only a flight from Naha to Minami-Daito is operated every day. History The orig ...

, located at the east of the island, connects Minamidaitō with the nearby island of Kitadaitō and

Naha is the Cities of Japan, capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 people per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). ...

, Okinawa. Okinawa Prefecture operates the airport, and classifies it as a third class airport. There is no port on the island and ships must be loaded/offloaded by crane.

Education

The village of Minamidaitō maintains a single school: Minamidaitō Elementary and Junior High School (南大東村立南大東小中学校). As of 2010 the school had 95 elementary students and 49 junior high students. The village has no high school; students leave the island to complete their secondary education.

Minamidaitō in popular culture

In 2013, a motion picture called was released. Themes include the relationship between inhabitants of Minamidaitō and Kitadaitō and families being torn apart because of the lack of a senior high school on the island.

Cultural Properties

*Name (Japanese) (Type of registration)

Cultural Properties Cultural property, also known as cultural patrimony, comprises the physical items that are part of the cultural heritage of a group or society, as opposed to less tangible cultural expressions. They include such items as cultural landscapes, histo ...

*Minamidaitō Island west harbour former boiler room (南大東島西港旧ボイラー小屋) (National)

Natural Monuments Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, elements and phenomena of the physical world, including life. Although humans are part ...

*Lake Ōike black mangrove community ''Bruguiera gymnorhiza'' (大池のオヒルギ群落) (National) *Minamidaitō Island east coast plant community (南大東島東海岸植物群落) (National)

References

External links

*
Minamidaitō official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minamidaito, Okinawa Villages in Okinawa Prefecture Daitō Islands Populated coastal places in Japan