RAPD and RFLP analyses were carried out to determine the origin of Livistona chinensis R. Br. var, subglobosa Becc. from Iriomotejima, Ishigakijima, Okinawa, Yakushima, Tanegashima, Cape Sata, Cape Toi, Tsukishima, and Aoshima, Japan. RAPD data obtained using 5 random primers were clustered using UPGMA or the neighbor-joining method. Each population was classified into three clusters based on the phylogenetic tree. L. chinensis plants from Yakushima, Tanegashima and Cape Sata belonged to the isologous cluster, and those from Ishigakijima and Okinawa are contained in a different cluster. L. chinensis from Okinawa and Ishigakijima could be differentiated by being the oldest based on the genetic distance. The area that covers Ishigakijima and Okinawa is thought to be the origin of L. chinensis. L. chinensis plants from Iriomotejima were contained in the same cluster as those from Aoshima, The phylogenetic trees constructed by both RAPD and RFLP analyses indicate the possibility that seeds or green woods of L. chinensis were dispersed by tidal current from the south field around Iriomotejima, and they were washed to Aoshima and established gradually. Therefore, we support the drifting-ashore-naturalized-plant hypothesis on the origin of L. chinensis in Aoshima.