Although small (151 ha or 370 acres),[1] it is of strategic importance, as it enables Japan to claim a 428,875-square-kilometre (165,589.6 sq mi) exclusive economic zone in the surrounding waters.

[2] The island is off limits to civilians except for Japan Meteorological Agency staff, although reporters, documentary makers, and scientific researchers can sometimes get an entry permit.

Minamitorishima is surrounded by fringing reefs, which range from 50 to 300 m (164 to 984 ft) in width, enclosing a shallow lagoon, which is connected with the open ocean by narrow passages on the southern and northeastern sides.

[2] After China restricted exports of strategic rare-earth oxides (REOs) in 2009, Japan started to explore its seabeds for deposits.

[4] The research team found a mud layer 2 to 4 metres (6.6 to 13.1 ft) beneath the seabed that is extremely concentrated in REO.

Various forms of marine life inhabit the ocean around the island, including sea snakes, tuna, sharks, and some rare fish.

[2] The first discovery and mention of an island in this area was made by a Spanish Manila galleon captain, Andrés de Arriola, in 1694.

Captain Bourn Russell (1794–1880) in the Lady Rowena departed Sydney, NSW, 2 November 1830 on a Pacific whaling voyage.

[15] The United States Navy bombed it repeatedly in 1942[16] and in 1943,[17] but never attempted to capture it (the island was featured in the U.S. film The Fighting Lady).

The island was subject to repeated U.S. air attacks during World War II, and finally surrendered when the destroyer USS Bagley arrived on 31 August 1945.

[citation needed] In 1964, after some delays caused by storms that ravaged the island during construction, the U.S. Coast Guard opened a LORAN-C navigation station on Minamitorishima, whose mast was until 1985 one of the tallest structures in the Pacific area at 1,350 feet (411 m).

Coast guardsmen stationed on the island served one-year tours that were later modified to allow an R&R visit to mainland Japan at the six-month point.

[citation needed] While under U.S. administration, a C-130 Hercules from the 345th Tactical Airlift Squadron, Yokota Air Base, Japan, resupplied the island on missions every Thursday.

An unusually long four-hour ground time was scheduled to allow technicians who flew in to perform maintenance on the transmitter and to offload extra fuel from the C-130 to power the island's generator.

It also allowed the coast guardsmen to read and answer letters while aircrews snorkeled and collected green glass fishing buoys that had washed up on the shore.

"[citation needed] The Marcus Island station was transferred from the U.S. Coast Guard to the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) on 30 September 1993 and was closed on 1 December 2009.