Senkaku(尖閣) Islands are islands group in the southwestern part of the East
China Sea. Ishigakijima(石垣島) north
approximately 130 – 25 degrees N 44' - 56' of 150km, the sea
area of 123 degrees E 30' -124 degrees 34' are dotted.
Senkaku Islands are located in the East
China Sea of the Ryukyu Islands west and are located the west of the Okinawa
trough. Philippine Sea plate sinks under Eurasia plate, and, in Senkaku
Islands, the distance is far from the Okinawa Island year by year here. There
is it on a continental shelf following the Eurasian Continent from the
South-West Islands.
The geological feature is volcanicity, and
bedrock was bared. People did not settle down, because there was not the source
of a river such as a river and wetlands. So, they could not do agriculture. But
Japanese settled down, they made the "Koga-mura" village that was
associated with a pioneer at one point before World War II, and more than 200
lived. But it was abandoned by an afterwards economical reason. In last years
of Great War , the civilian ship who met with a disaster on the way letting a
private citizen evacuate from Ishigakijima to Taiwan was washed ashore, and
higher than 50 are starvation, before they was saved.
Because neighbor rhood sea area is a good fishing area, there is the habitat of a
large quantity of seabirds which live on it ; particularly there is breeding
place of. the albatross (performed for from 1 to 4 on August in 1953,in the
Senkaku Islands investigation by the Senkaku Islands research group and
sciences investigating group of Tetsuo Takara University of Ryukyu assistant
professor ,Assistant Professor Motosuke Miyagi and eleven students of Ryukyu
university, confilm of the habitation of several albatrosses unofficially in
Senkaku Islands Kitakojima(North kojima).Afterward the formula confilmed of
twelve albatrosses inhabiting in Senkaku
Islands south Kojima professors at Sadao Ikehara University of Ryukyu
University of Ryukyu arts and sciences investigating group on April 1, 1970) and
a black-footed albatross (on December 10, 1970, Kyushu and Nagasaki University
combination arts and sciences investigating group discovers several
black-footed albatrosses in Senkaku Islands north Kojima. In 1971, Sadao
Ikehara professor of Ryuku University and Ryuku University sciences
investigating group confirms the habitation of six black-footed albatrosses in
Senkaku Islands north Kojima. However, because Okinawa was occupied by the U.S.
forces, and a large quantity of Taiwanese fishermen " illegally entry into
the zone " in Senkaku Islands in the 1960s when Japanese Government was
not able to have sovereignty, they confirmed that the seabirds which were more
than 1 million in the fourth investigation by Tetsuo Takara Professor of the
University of Ryukyu performed for from 15 to 18 on May in 1963, but by the fifth investigation performed for from
7 to 9 on July in 1968, Katsuodori in north Kojima shapely decreased to 10,000
birds from 200,000 and Seguroazisashi decrease to 500,000 from 100,000, because
Taiwanese fishermen went ashore in an occasion of the illegal operation, and
plundered seabirds and an egges in large quantities. After that, the illegal
landing by Taiwanese fishermen is reported, but now there is the paradise of
the original seabird because there is protected and landing there is restlicted
.
•The climate of Sennkaku Islands is
subtropical oceanic climate, and the annual average air temperature is 23.8
degrees, the highest temperature of the monthly average is 28.9 degrees in
August, the minimum temperature of the monthly average is 17.3 degrees in February(according to AD1995('Heisei 7')).
The annual
average humidity is 78%, and the rainy season sets in from April to May, and in
August with the largest monthly precipitation, it rains 235.9 millimeters and in
February with the shortest monthly precipition, it rains 112.9 millimeters. In
addition, annually, it becomes 2,065.6 millimeters.(according to the average
from AD1961(‘Syowa 36’) to AD1990(‘’Heisei 2’)) A strong typhoon tends to hit
it in about September in a typhoon season over about October from summer. "typhoon
5" that attacked Yaeyama Islands on July 31 1997(‘Syowa 52’)and is the
largest typhoon in the Japanese observation history recorded atmospheric
pressure 931.7 millibar, maximum wind velocity 53.0 meters, maximum
instantaneous wind speed 70.2 meters.
