Minamitorishima

This island belongs to Ogasawara Village, Ogasawara Branch Office, Tokyo. It is located at the easternmost point of Japan and is also called Marcus Island in English. It is part of the Ogasawara Islands, but is an isolated island in the Western Pacific Ocean, 1,200 km southeast of Chichijima. It is a low-lying triangular raised coral reef with an area of ​​about 1.5 square kilometers, circumference of about 7.6 kilometers, and an elevation of about 9 meters. In 1896 (Meiji 29), Shinroku Mizutani moved Japanese people to the island for the purposes of exploration, bird catching (albatrosses), and fishing. In 1898, it became part of the Ogasawara Islands Office and was named Minamitorishima. In the past, guano was mined, bird feathers were collected, bonito was fished, and coconut was cultivated, and 30 to 40 people lived on the island, but the residents withdrew during World War II, and after the war it came under the rule of the US military, and in 1968 (Showa 43), it was returned to Japan along with the Ogasawara Islands. Currently, there are personnel from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, the Japan Coast Guard, and the Japan Meteorological Agency. Population: 23 (2010).

[Kikuchi Masao]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

東京都小笠原(おがさわら)支庁小笠原村に属する島。日本最東端に位置し、英語名でマーカス島Marcus Islandともよばれる。小笠原諸島に含まれるが、父島の南東1200キロメートルの西太平洋上の孤島。面積約1.5平方キロメートル、周囲約7.6キロメートル、標高約9メートルの低平な三角形の隆起サンゴ礁からなる。1896年（明治29）水谷新六が踏査、捕鳥（アホウドリ）、漁業の目的で日本人を移住させた。1898年小笠原島庁の所属となり、南鳥島と命名した。かつてはグアノの採掘、鳥毛の採集、カツオ漁、ヤシ栽培などが行われ30～40人の島民も居住したが、第二次世界大戦で住民は引き揚げ、戦後はアメリカ軍統治下に置かれ、1968年（昭和43）小笠原諸島とともに返還された。現在、海上自衛隊員と海上保安庁職員および気象庁の観測員がいる。人口23（2010）。

［菊池万雄］

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