Ishigaki City enacted the “Ordinance on Establishing the Senkaku Islands Day” in December 2010. Under this ordinance, the City holds a ceremony every year on January 14, which is designated as “Senkaku Islands Day.”
To raise awareness, Ishigaki City also holds exhibitions on the Senkaku Islands, makes and distributes pamphlets and videos, and posts them on the web.
“Senkaku Islands Day” Ceremony 
Panels displayed at the venue 
The Precious Islands of Ishigaki City: The Senkaku Islands (Japanese)
The Precious Islands of Ishigaki City: The Senkaku Islands (English)
The Precious Islands of Ishigaki City: The Senkaku Islands (Chinese)
*Click to view the pamphlet in PDF format.
With the aim of ensuring a broad and correct understanding of the geography, history, and natural environment of the Senkaku Islands, “Let’s Explore! Senkaku Islands” was created as an educational material for students on the Senkaku Islands area of Ishigaki City.
It has been developed with full consideration of curriculum guidelines to facilitate its integration into classroom learning, and has become part of the local studies curriculum in elementary and junior high schools in Ishigaki City. If you wish to utilize this educational material for your classes, events, or other purposes, please contact the Planning and Policy Division of the Ishigaki City Office.
Ishigaki City conducts research and collects information on the Senkaku Islands to grasp their situation including environmental issues. In addition, the City formulated the “Basic Plan on Ocean Policy of Ishigaki City,” which proposes measures deemed necessary for the Senkaku Islands.
In March 2013, Ishigaki City formulated the “Basic Plan on Ocean Policy of Ishigaki City,” which stipulates measures such as preservation of the natural environment, management of fishery resources, and establishment of Marine Protected Area on the Senkaku Islands.
*Click to view the pamphlet in PDF format.
In this project, Ishigaki City collected and compiled materials on the history, fishery, and other aspects focusing on the natural environment of the Senkaku Islands to deepen understanding of the Islands.
Ishigaki City uses funds raised by hometown tax, a program that encourages taxpayers in Japan’s urban areas to donate to rural areas, for initiatives that contribute to collecting materials and disseminating information on the Senkaku Islands.
The Senkaku Islands are an inherent part of the territory of Japan and a municipal administrative district of Ishigaki City, Okinawa Prefecture.
Numerous historical documents provide evidence of this, including primary sources such as the “letter of appreciation” sent by the Republic of China in 1920, as well as records indicating that, until the late 1920s, the islands were inhabited by many people who engaged in economic activities, such as dried bonito manufacturing and feather collection.
Uninhabited since the late 1930s, pristine nature remains on the Senkaku Islands, with a large number of endangered species and unique flora and fauna having been confirmed. However, after a pair of goats were brought into the islands in the 1970s, wild goats have adversely impacted the ecosystem and are threatening rare species indigenous to the Senkaku Islands.
With the aim of ensuring that information on the Senkaku Islands, including the above historical documents and the situation of the natural environment, is understood correctly by many people, the Senkaku Islands Information Center of Ishigaki City was established with the support of donations (FurusatoNozei hometown tax).
We hope that many people will visit and deepen their interest in the Senkaku Islands.
Panels on the history and natural environment of the Senkaku Islands and replicas of historical records are exhibited
New administrative markers completed in August 2021
3D model of the Senkaku Islands
| Location | euglena-Ishigaki Ferry Terminal 2F, 1 Misakicho, Ishigaki City, Okinawa |
|---|---|
| Hours | 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. |
| Inquiries | Ishigaki City Planning and Policy Division 0980-82-1350 |
