Yaeyama Islands
Native name: Yaeyama-rettō (八重山列島) | |
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Map of the Yaeyama Islands | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 24°21′47″N 123°44′47″E / 24.36306°N 123.74639°E |
| Archipelago | Sakishima Islands |
| Adjacent to | East China Sea |
| Total islands | 23 |
| Major islands | Ishigaki Island, Iriomote Island, Yonaguni Island |
| Area | 587.16 km2 (226.70 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 525.5 m (1724.1 ft) |
| Highest point | Mount Omoto |
| Administration | |
| Prefecture | Okinawa Prefecture |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 53,627 (March 31, 2011) |
| Pop. density | 91/km2 (236/sq mi) |
| Ethnic groups | Ryukyuans, Japanese |
The Yaeyama Islands (八重山列島 Yaeyama-rettō, also 八重山諸島 Yaeyama-shotō, Yaeyama: Yaima, Yonaguni: Daama, Okinawan: Yeema, Northern Ryukyuan: やへま Yapema) are an archipelago in the southwest of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, and cover 591.46 square kilometres (228.36 sq mi). The islands are located southwest of the Miyako Islands, part of the Ryukyu Islands archipelago. The Yaeyama Islands are the most remote part of Japan from the main islands and contain Japan's southernmost (Hateruma) and westernmost (Yonaguni) inhabited islands. The city of Ishigaki serves as the political, cultural, and economic center of the Yaeyama Islands. On maps dating to the 1700s, the Yaeyama Group of Islands appears as the "Majico Sima Group", "Nambu-soto Islands", "Nambu Soto", and the "Taipin Islands".