Demographics

Toshima's population has been declining slowly since the Japanese census began in 1950, dropping below 1,000 by 1980, and has since stabilized at around 700. Per the most recent census, the population of Toshima in 2020 was 740 people.

History

Some of the islands have been inhabited since at least the Jōmon period. The islands were mentioned in the Shoku Nihongi and the Heike Monogatari, and local legend states that at least some of the islands were a refuge for the defeated Heike clan following the Genpei War. During the Edo period, the islands came under the control of the Shimazu clan of the Satsuma Domain.

After the Meiji Restoration, these islands were allotted to Kawanabe District of Satsuma Province, and then transferred to Ōshima District of Ōsumi Province in 1897. In 1908, the islands were grouped together with the Tokara Islands into , of which seven were inhabited. At that time, the ten islands included , , , , , , , , and .

After World War II, from 2 February 1946 all of the Japanese islands south of the 30th latitude, including the Tokara Islands, were placed under United States military administration as part of the Provisional Government of the Northern Ryukyu Islands. However, the three northern inhabited islands in the archipelago, known as the Iōjima, Kuroshima and Takeshimaremained under the control of Japan, and were placed under the administration of the village of Mishima. The remaining Tokara Islands were returned to Japan on 10 February 1952 and are now administered as the village of Toshima. In 1973, the two villages were transferred to Kagoshima District.

References

  • Toshima official website