Yaeyama Islands

The Yaeyama Islands (八 重 山 诸岛jap, Yaeyama- shotō; literally: Archipelago eight times the mountains, Ryukyu Yaima ) are located in the southwestern Japanese prefecture of Okinawa and form the western part of the Sakishima Islands.

Geography

In the north- east, close to the Miyako Islands - the next island taramas -jima 34 km - with which the Yaeyama Islands are grouped into the Sakishima Islands. From the main island of Okinawa prefecture of the same name, they are 370 kilometers ( Ishigaki Island ), from Taiwan only 109 km. Yonaguni is the westernmost island of Japan.

150 km north are the Senkaku Islands.

Islands

The archipelago consists of the following 23 islands with an area of ​​at least one hectare, with the 12 inhabited are dark gray:

In addition there are several smaller islands. The total land area of the archipelago is about 586 km ². The Omoto -dake on Ishigaki- jima with its 525.5 m and the highest peak in the prefecture.

Culture

The original Yaeyama language or dialect of the archipelago and the Yonaguni language or dialect belong to the Ryukyu languages.

Economy

The main agricultural products are sugar cane and pineapple, along with the production of traditional Okinawa substances plays a role. Tourism constitutes an important source of income for all of the inhabited islands