Minami-Tori-shima — Attraction in Tokyo

The mysterious triangle island; here's some trivia about it In the 1800s, this island was the subject of a territorial dispute between the US and Japan. Both nations wanted the island because it was covered in guano, which was valued at the time for its use in fertilizer Later in WWII, the island had a Japanese garrison that was bombarded by American forces. The US never attempted to land troops on the island but the Japanese garrison later surrendered. The the garrison was supplied via submarine, the channel for which can be observed on the northwestern coast. Most recently, the island has been a point of economic interest due to large concentrations of rare earth oxides found deposited in the sediment in and around the island. This island also seems to be the basis of Birth Island, an island in the Pokemon games where Deoxys...

Minamitori Island, Japanese Minami-tori-shima, also called Marcus Island, coral atoll in the central Pacific Ocean 700 miles (1,125 km) southeast of Japan.

It rises to 204 feet (62 metres) and has an area of 740 acres (300 hectares). Minamitori Island was discovered by the Japanese navigator Shinroku Mizutani (1868) and was annexed by Japan (1898). Prior to World War II it was administered as part of the Tokyo fu (urban prefecture). Occupied by U.S. troops late in the war, it was returned to Japan in 1968.

It now shares a common administration with the Bonin Islands and the Volcano Islands. The atoll was the site of a meteorological station for studying typhoons. Marine products harvested include swordfish,...

US Coast Guard Loran C Transmitter base was located here from the late 1960's to around 1995. There was a Japanese meteorology center on the island during this time as well. America bombed this island in WW2 when the Japanese had a military base there.There are still remains of concrete bunkers from that era. Currently the Japanese have been developing a facility for processing rare minerals they are extracting from the mud in the bottom of the ocean...