During the day, this species is found roosting in natural caves, abandoned mines and bomb shelters, often in large colonies of up to 10,000 individuals (Maeda and Matsumoto 2004, Sano 2015).It forages in the surrounding woodland. Prey includes Diptera, Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Trichoptera, Odonata, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Orthoptera, Neuroptera, Blattaria and Araneae, feeds mainly on Coleoptera from spring to summer, Anomalaalbopilosaseems to be frequently consumed (Fukui et al. 2009). Maternity colonies comprise both sexes, single young are born from late May to June (Matsumura 1988). Self-feeding starts at 5–6 weeks of age, most females first give birth at the end of their 3rd year (S. Matsumura pers. comm.).

This species is known only from the Yaeyama (Sakishima) Islands of Japan, including Iriomote, Ishigaki, Yonaguni, and Hateruma Islands (Sano 2015) and is not likely to occur more widely.

The areas around some sites are national forests. There has been pressure to protect important roost sites and associated habitat. Fences were erected at the cave entrances to control tourists, and a small area originally designated for development was proposed as a reserve (Hutson et al. 2001). Near the new airport, an artificial cave has been constructed as an alternative roost, but only few individualsare roosted so far. It is listed as Threatened Local Population (LP) for Yonaguni and Hateruma islands populations in the Japanese Red List (Ministry of the Environment 2014).