More than 90% of coral in the Sekisei Lagoon, located between Iriomote and Ishigaki islands in Okinawa Prefecture, has bleached, the Environment Ministry has announced.
The low number of typhoons and warm sea temperatures over the year have likely contributed to the bleaching that hit 92.8% of the area, home to the largest coral reef in Japan. More than half of the reef has died. This is the worst since 2016, when 97% of coral bleached and more than half died.
