During an ichthyofaunal survey of Kikai-jima Island, Amami Islands (middle region of the Ryukyu Archipelago), Japan, a single specimen (148.7 mm standard length) of the Vanikoro Sweeper Pempheris vanicolensis Cuvier, 1831 (Perciformes: Pempheridae), distributed in the western Pacific Ocean, was collected from the east coast of the island. In Japanese waters, P. vanicolensis has previously been recorded only from the Yaeyama Islands (southern Ryukyu Archipelago), being the northernmost record for the species to date. Therefore, the Kikai-jima specimen, described herein in detail, represents a ca. 430 km northward distributional range extension of P. vanicolensis.