Minami Torishima Airport, airport
Minami Torishima Airport is a military air facility on a small coral island in the Pacific, located about 1800 kilometers east of Tokyo. The facility has a single asphalt runway approximately 1400 meters long and 44 meters wide, situated just above sea level on flat terrain.
The island was discovered by European sailors in the late 17th century and later became known as Marcus Island. Japan established a weather station and airfield here in 1935, lost control to the United States after World War II, and regained sovereignty in 1968.
The name Marcus Island comes from early European explorers and sailors who first charted these remote waters centuries ago. Visitors notice today a purely functional setting built around operational needs, with no space for leisure or tourism.
The site is not open to the public; only military, government, and scientific personnel can travel to the island. Access comes through scheduled military flights or supply ships, both rare and available only for official duties.
The island sits above vast deposits of rare-earth elements on the seabed, with an estimated 16 million tons of valuable oxides in the depths. These resources are critical for modern electronics and defense systems, yet the waters and terrain remain largely unexplored.
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