Minamidaitō

Minamidaitō 南大東村
—  Village  —
Flag
Location of Minamidaitō in Okinawa
Minamidaitō
Coordinates: 25°49′44″N 131°13′55″E / 25.82889°N 131.23194°E / 25.82889; 131.23194Coordinates: 25°49′44″N 131°13′55″E / 25.82889°N 131.23194°E / 25.82889; 131.23194
Country	Japan
Region	Kyūshū (Ryukyu)
Prefecture	Okinawa
District	Shimajiri
Government
– Mayor	Kenshō Nakada
Area
– Total	30.57 km2 (11.8 sq mi)
Population (July 2008)
– Total	1,417
– Density	46.4/km2 (120.2/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
Phone number	09802-2-2001
Address	144-1 Aza Minami, Minamidaitō-son, Shimajiri-gun, Okinawa-ken 901-3895
Website	Minamidaitō Village

Minamidaitō Village Office

Minamidaitō (南大東島, Minamidaitō-jima^?), also spelt as Minami Daitō or Minami-Daitō, is the largest of the Daitō Islands located in Shimajiri District, Okinawa, Japan. The municipality serving the island is the village of Minamidaitō (南大東村, Minamidaitō-son^?).

The island was originally named South Borodino Island after being discovered by the Russian marine vessel Borodino in 1820.

NASA picture of Minamidaitō.

In 1899 a pioneering team from Hachijō Island became the first human inhabitants of the island, using the land to grow sugarcane. A freight train system was established and later dismantled in favor of contemporary transportation.^[1]

Rum is produced here. Grace Rum distillery, founded in 2004 is producing there two kinds of rum, Cor Cor red lablel and Cor Cor Green label, made frome molasse and sugar juice respectivelly.^{[citation needed]}

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 400km of Minamidaitō.

Minami-Daito Airport serves the island.

Island groupings

• Ryukyu/Nansei Islands
  • Ryūkyū Shotō
    • Okinawa Islands
      • Daitō Islands

References

1. ^ MACHINAMI : Minami Daito Island

External links

• Minamidaito travel guide from Wikitravel

Media related to Minamidaitō, Okinawa at Wikimedia Commons

• Minamidaitō official website (Japanese)