What is "yanbaru"

is the name given to the forested northern part of Okinawa Island in Japan. Spanning the northern villages of Higashi, Kunigami, and Ōgimi, Yanbaru contains some of the last large surviving tracts of subtropical rainforest in Asia, with many endemic species of flora and fauna. Many southerners fled to the area for refuge during the Battle of Okinawa. As of 2012, Japan is preparing to nominate the area for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List alongside the Amami Islands.

Yanbaru currently contains the 7,500 ha US Jungle Warfare Training Centre at Camp Gonsalves. As of 2010 there were twenty-two helipads in the training area with a further seven planned within two of the best preserved areas. Issues relating to the location of helipads has meant that the area is yet to be designated a National Park. Threatened by clearcutting and the removal of undergrowth, there have been warnings of an imminent extinction crisis. The US Marine Corps has noted that 'to continue to perform realistic military training activities, these habitats must be maintained.'