Cape Sōya

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Lore & Background

Cape Sōya is the location of the Tower of Prayer, a memorial to Korean Air Lines Flight 007, shot down in 1983. The monument, which is 19.83 metres tall and constructed from granite, stands in remembrance of the 269 people that were killed during the flight on 1 September 1983. The aircraft was shot down by a Soviet Air Forces Sukhoi Su-15 interceptor near Moneron Island, roughly 98 kilometres to the north of the cape. Also on the site stands the Monument of Peace, a memorial to the USS Wahoo, sunk with 80 men aboard on October 11, 1943, as well as 5 Japanese merchant ships sunk with 690 people, attacked by Wahoo. The inscription on the memorial reads in part: 'When the Wahoo was lost it was the highest-scoring submarine in the U.S. Navy. Eighty Americans sleep in the Soya Strait 12 miles northeast of here. Many Japanese sleep in the Sea of Japan from Wahoo attacks. This monument was erected by the members of the Japanese Attack Group and relatives of Americans lying in the Wahoo. Old enemies met as brothers to ensure that our countries will have lasting peace and war will never again destroy the friendship we enjoy today.' The exact position of Wahoo was confirmed by a dive team from the Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd in July 2006.

Reader's Guide

Cape Sōya has more than ten monuments, including the Monument of the northernmost Point of Japan, the Tower of Prayer, a statue of Mamiya Rinzō, and the Monument of Peace. Sōya Misaki settlement, east of the cape, has many facilities known to be 'the northernmost in Japan', including the northernmost lighthouse (Cape Sōya Lighthouse), the northernmost filling station (Idemitsu Cape Sōya SS), and the northernmost elementary school (Ōmisaki Elementary School). The name Soya is theorised to come from so ya in Ainu, meaning 'Rocky shore'. Cape Soya is called notetu in the Ainu language, where not means chin or cape, and etu means nose. The cape is just 43 kilometres (27 mi) away across La Perouse Strait from Cape Crillon, Sakhalin Island, making it possible to see the island of Sakhalin from Cape Sōya on a clear day.

Did You Know?

• The true northernmost point under Japanese control is the small deserted island of Benten-jima, 1 kilometre (3,300 ft) northwest of Cape Sōya.
• The Tower of Prayer at Cape Sōya is 19.83 metres tall and made of granite, commemorating the 269 victims of Korean Air Lines Flight 007.
• The Monument of Peace memorializes both the 80 American crew of the USS Wahoo and the 690 Japanese aboard 5 merchant ships sunk by Wahoo.
• The exact position of the USS Wahoo was confirmed by a dive team from the Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd in July 2006.
• Cape Sōya is called notetu in the Ainu language, where not means chin or cape, and etu means nose.