Clueless coast guard: Japan missed an island

It has been quite safe - as Japan's coast guard is sure. But now, lacking any trace of Esanbe Hanakita Kojima. The tiny island was about 500 meters off the coast of the Northern island of Hokkaido, in the vicinity of the village of Sarufutsu, Northern Japan.

Now, the piece of state territory is gone. It was found, said a spokesman for the coast guard. The small island was only established in 1987 by Japan's coast guard officially registered and explored. Your surface has never been measured accurately, the highest elevation was built on the top 1.40 m of the sea above the sea level.

Well possible, that it sunk in the ocean, because Wind, waves and ice sediments blown or washed away. "It is not inconceivable that such a small island is simply pounded by the elements," said the spokesman for the coast guard.

the Disappearance was Noticed in October, according to Japanese news site "NHK". At the time, a writer had traveled to the village of Sarufutsu, to write the sequel to his book on the many small Islands off the coast. When he noticed that the island was not alarmed he is a fisherman from the village. But they could not find the piece of Land. The older fishermen had but can remember Esanbe Hanakita Kojima: Pasgol you have the waters, but eventually shunned, because their navigation systems would have classified the place as an underwater reef.

Should no longer appear on the island permanently, it would probably impact on the size of the territory of Japan in the Pacific. The extent to which it would shrink, still needed to be measured, it said.

Japan is located in a volcanic and earthquake - prone region - the result of this is that the country is losing only occasionally to the territory, but also added wins. In 2015, a 300 Meter-long land rose back from the sea, which is now counted as part of the island of Hokkaido. Two years earlier, had formed in the South of the country, a small volcanic island.

in Addition, the country has been lost in other regions of the earth. A piece of the USA was wiped off the face of the map, after East Island, a remote part of Hawaii, last month was washed away by Hurricane Walaka. At the time, 4.5 hectares of Land have been lost. In the case of a further sea-level rise and a lack of supply of sediments does not rise to the island of Hawaii from the sea, predicted researchers.

joe/AFP