World Heritage property

The World Heritage property consists of four regions on Amami-Oshima Island, Tokunoshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, Northern part of Okinawa Island, and Iriomote Island in Okinawa Prefecture, covering a land area of approximately 42,700 ha. These islands are part of the Ryukyu Chain, which is located at the southern tip of the Japanese Archipelago. Influenced by the Kuroshio Current and subtropical high-pressure, the islands have a warm and humid subtropical climate, and are largely covered with evergreen broadleaved rainforests. This makes the area a globally rare place where rainforests develop in a subtropical zone.