Nishinoshima island ban being mulled

[yuiyoshida]

The Yomiuri ShimbunThe Environment Ministry is considering banning people from Nishinoshima island, which is part of the Ogasawara Islands, a remote part of Tokyo. According to the ministry, Nishinoshima is the world’s sole “natural experimental site,” and its local ecological system is expected to grow from scratch having almost been destroyed by volcanic eruptions starting in 2013.

The ban is being considered in order to prevent people who visit the island from taking non-native flora and fauna with them. The Japan Meteorological Agency will shortly reduce the areas on the island that are on alert for eruptions.

The Environment Ministry plans to dispatch a research team there as early as October as a step toward discussing protective measures.

Nishinoshima is a state-owned uninhabited island where grasses and low trees used to grow, and it was a breeding site by seabirds such as the booby. However, the island’s plants were almost lost due to lava discharged in a volcanic eruption. Since then, the total land area has grown to 268 hectares — 12 times its original size of 22 hectares.

No further eruptions have been confirmed since November last year. The JMA has decided it will soon reduce the area on alert for eruptions — currently the entire island — to a 500-meter radius around the crater having determined that volcanic activity has decreased. The move will open up part of the land area and could encourage researchers to visit the island.

http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0003115921