Irisaki Lighthouse, Lighthouse at Cape Irizaki, Yonaguni Island, Japan

Irisaki Lighthouse is a white cylindrical structure standing on a rocky outcrop at Cape Irizaki, the westernmost point of Yonaguni Island. It reaches a focal height of 59 meters and emits light signals visible up to 38 kilometers across the ocean.

Japanese maritime authorities built this lighthouse in 1957 to improve navigation safety around the Ryukyu Archipelago in Okinawa Prefecture. Its construction addressed the need to guide the growing volume of ship traffic passing through these waters.

The lighthouse has served as a vital reference point for local fishing communities and international vessels since its establishment. It embodies the maritime heritage of the island and represents the connection between the island's people and the sea.

The lighthouse stands at Cape Irizaki, the western end of Yonaguni Island, and is reached by road from the island's settlements. It also carries weather instruments that report wind direction, wind speed and air pressure. A separate light on the same site, the Irisaki Northwest Light, illuminates the Toishi reef about 230 metres to the northwest.

The lighthouse also operates the Irisaki Northwest Beam (7252.1), a secondary light aimed at Tuishi, a reef about 230 metres to the northwest. The main tower carries weather instruments that record wind direction, wind speed and air pressure for the island. Yonaguni's east cape, Cape Agarisaki, has its own lighthouse, the second-most-westerly in Japan.