Torishima islet in the Izu Island chain has traditionally been a breeding ground for the short-tailed albatross, an endangered species.
Researchers are now working on a project to move them from the islet, which has a history of volcanic eruptions, to the Muko Islands, also known as the Keeta Islands, in the Ogasawara chain some 300 km south, in the hope that the birds will form a new breeding colony there.
The short-tailed albatross used to be common throughout the Pacific but were hunted almost to extinction for their feathers.