Latest news with #Amami
Yomiuri Shimbun
02-08-2025
- Science
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Kagoshima: Zoo Succeeds in Breeding Rare Spiny Rats, Endangered Spieces
KAGOSHIMA — Hirakawa Zoo in Kagoshima has successfully bred Amami togenezumi, or Amami spiny rats, an endangered species. The rare rats are kept at eight facilities in Japan, and the zoo became the seventh facility to successfully breed them. The spiny rats are rodents that grow to lengths of 10 to 15 centimeters. Their fur includes characteristically needle-like hairs. They inhabit only Amami-Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture and are nocturnal, feeding on acorns and insects. Unlike most mammals, their males lack the Y chromosome that ordinarily determines male sex. According to the zoo, five babies — three males and two females — were born. In mid-May, one female rat stopped coming out of her nest, prompting the zoo staff to observe her with a monitor. They discovered that the rat had given birth on April 26 and confirmed all five offspring on May 19. The mother rat and her offspring are all said to be healthy. The Environment Ministry believes that the number of Amami spiny rats decreased due to predation by mongooses and wildcats as well as the deterioration of their habitat caused by road construction that has divided forests. In 2017, the ministry partnered with universities and others to begin conservation activities. They transferred the spiny rats they captured to domestic zoos, including Hirakawa Zoo, which has been working to keep and breed the rats without exhibiting them.
NHK
28-07-2025
- Climate
- NHK
Two storms approaching Japan
Japan's weather officials say tropical storm Co-may is approaching Okinawa's main island, after having regained strength Sunday night. The storm is sustaining a maximum wind speed of 72 kilometers per hour, and a maximum instantaneous wind speed reaching up to 108 kilometers per hour. Winds of 54 kilometers per hour or higher were observed within 500 kilometers northeast and within 165 kilometers southwest of the storm's center. Developing rain clouds in limited areas of the Okinawa and Amami regions are being fed by atmospheric conditions rendered unstable by warm, moist air around the storm, and a high pressure system over the Pacific. Minami-Daito Island in Okinawa Prefecture registered its highest recorded rainfall since 1979, when Japan's Meteorological Agency started taking statistics. Rainfall over the 72-hour period through 10:30 a.m. Monday morning hit 527.5 millimeters. That's more than four times the average rainfall for the island in July. The Amami region can expect localized heavy rain accompanying lightning. The 24-hour rainfall forecasts through Tuesday evening are 150 millimeters for the Amami region and 80 millimeters for Okinawa Prefecture. Gusty winds are expected to continue in the Okinawa and Amami regions, creating high wave conditions in the ocean. Meanwhile, Typhoon Krosa is moving north while maintaining its strong power. It is expected to get closest to the Ogasawara Islands overnight. High winds of up to 90 kilometers per hour, gusting at 126 kilometers, are expected over the islands towards Wednesday. Intermittent thunder showers are also expected from Tuesday to Wednesday with chances of localized severe rain. Ogasawara Islands will get up to 150 millimeters of rain over the next 24 hours through Tuesday evening and 100 millimeters more over the next 24-hour period. Rainfall is likely to increase even after that. With the typhoon expected to move slower from Tuesday to Wednesday, the storm's impact may linger. Caution is also advised against lightning strikes and gusty winds.
Yomiuri Shimbun
05-07-2025
- Science
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Kagoshima: ‘Mystery Circle' Made by Puffer Fish on Seabed; Males Stir Up Sand to Make Spawning Areas
AMAMI, Kagoshima — A circular geometric pattern was found this year on the seabed off the course of Kagoshima Prefecture's Amami Oshima Island. The 2-meter diameter pattern is a puffer fish spawning bed. The spawning ground was created by a species known as Amami night-sky puffer fish, which themselves measure about 10 to 15 centimeters in length. The pattern, referred to as the 'seabed mystery circle,' was found at a depth of 29 meters by Katsuki Oki, the head of the Amami Marine Life Research Association, among other parties, on June 6. The association conducts research on the ecology of marine life in the waters near the island. According to the association, male puffer fish create these spawning beds by stirring up the sand on the seabed using their fins to draw female fish. On June 7, a female was observed laying eggs at the center of the 'mystery circle.'The male that created the bed would then release sperm there and guard the eggs for about a week until they hatch. This is a common sight each year during the species' spring-to-summer breeding season. 'Their breeding behavior cannot be observed unless their environment is in good order, with sandy, mostly flat seabed with small stones,' Oki said. 'We hope this rare behavior can be carefully observed.'
Japan Times
26-06-2025
- Science
- Japan Times
Rowing from Taiwan to Japan was possible 30,000 years ago, says team
A Japanese team has concluded that it was possible to travel from Taiwan to Japan's westernmost island of Yonaguni in a dugout canoe 30,000 years ago. The voyage in a log boat, with no sails, was possible if all the rowers were highly skilled and adjusted their course with the fast Kuroshio current in mind, the team said. The team's findings resulted from a project by Japan's National Museum of Nature and Science to recreate how Japanese ancestors traveled from mainland China to present-day Taiwan, which was connected by land at the time, and then sailed to Yonaguni, east of Taiwan. The findings were included in two papers published in U.S. journal Science Advances on Wednesday. "You can see Yonaguni from some of the high peaks in Taiwan, but you don't arrive by chance (at Yonaguni) just by drifting," said Yosuke Kaifu, the team's leader and professor at the University of Tokyo. "We surmise that our ancestors picked a date to start the voyage based on the seasonal, weather and sea conditions, and rowed out to sea in a group of men and women with the intention of settling down (in the new location)," he said. The voyage was re-enacted in 2019, involving four men and one woman rowing a 7.5-meter-long dugout canoe. The group left the eastern shore of Taiwan on the afternoon of July 7, 2019, and arrived at Yonaguni in Okinawa Prefecture 45 hours later despite being swept away by the ocean current at times. The oldest archeological sites in Okinawa and the neighboring Amami island region of Kagoshima Prefecture date back 27,500-35,000 years. As boats used back then have not survived to this day, the research team initially created a boat made from reeds and a bamboo raft. It found, however, that such boats were too slow. Although a dugout canoe would have been difficult to build using stone axes, the team concluded that this was the only option, as no other boat possible back then could reach a speed allowing the crossing of the Kuroshio current. An ocean current simulation by researchers from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, or JAMSTEC, and Ehime University has shown that sea levels at the time were lower than now. While faster back then, the Kuroshio current flowed closer to Yonaguni. The team selected a southern point in eastern Taiwan to set off on its voyage, but it found that a point some 100 kilometers north of the point of departure was a better option.
Asahi Shimbun
12-06-2025
- Science
- Asahi Shimbun
‘Crop circles' made by love-struck pufferfish spotted off island
SETOUCHI, Kagoshima Prefecture—Mysterious geometric patterns dubbed 'underwater crop circles' are appearing on the seafloor as the spawning season of a local pufferfish begins off the southern coast of Amami-Oshima island. The intricate, circular formations are created by male Amami night-sky pufferfish as part of their elaborate courtship ritual. On June 7, Katsuki Oki, head of the Amami Marine Life Research Association, captured rare footage of this unusual behavior in the Oshima Strait at a depth of 29 meters. According to Oki, a male pufferfish had completed the artful sand structure the day before. During filming, a female entered the center of the circle to spawn. In a brief but intimate moment, the male pressed close to the female, appearing to nip at her as he released sperm to fertilize the eggs. The male will guard the eggs, laid in the central basin of the circle, until they hatch about a week later. 'The fish is a charming and symbolic species that represents the marine biodiversity of the island,' said Oki. 'Its unique spawning behavior is captivating and beloved. It's something we should all strive to protect.' A fully grown Amami night-sky pufferfish measures about 15 centimeters in length. The species gets its name from the star-like speckles on its back. The fish are found primarily around Amami-Oshima island and are also believed to inhabit the nearby waters off Okinawa Prefecture. However, the elaborate geometric spawning nests have only been confirmed off Amami-Oshima. Local tour operators offer diving tours to observe these remarkable underwater structures during the spawning season, which runs from April to July.
