Yonaguni Island
| Native name: Dunan | |
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 Yonaguni
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| Geography | |
| Location |
Pacific Ocean East China Sea |
| Coordinates | 24°27′20″N 122°59′20″E / 24.45556°N 122.98889°ECoordinates: 24°27′20″N 122°59′20″E / 24.45556°N 122.98889°E |
| Archipelago | Yaeyama Islands |
| Highest elevation | 231.4 ft (70.53 m) |
| Highest point | Mount Urabu |
| Administration | |
| Region | Kyushu |
| Prefecture | Okinawa Prefecture |
| Town | Yonaguni, Okinawa |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 1,684 (2009) |
| Pop. density | 58.2 /km2 (150.7 /sq mi) |
| Ethnic groups | Japanese |
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.
In the 15th century, it was incorporated into the Ryūkyū Kingdom. 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. The initial planned complement of a 150 troops include personnel stationed at a physically separate garrison camp located on the outskirts of Yonaguni town. The station's radar became active on March 28, 2016. Separately, a joint (GSDF/ASDF) “mobile aircraft control & warning squadron" is planned to be formed and co-located at the station.
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