Ryukyu Islands

Ryukyu Islands

Okinawan language: Ruuchuu (琉球（ルーチュー）) Japanese language: Nansei-shotō (南西諸島, Southwest Islands) Ryūkyū-rettō (琉球列島, Ryukyu Islands)[1]
Location of Ryukyu Islands
Geography
Location	On the boundary between the East China Sea and the Philippine Sea
Coordinates	26°30′N 127°54′E / 26.5°N 127.9°E / 26.5; 127.9
Total islands	100+
Major islands	Amami Ōshima Okinawa Island
Area	4,642.11 km2 (1,792.33 sq mi)
Highest elevation	1,936 m (6352 ft)
Highest point	Mount Miyanoura
Administration
Japan
Prefecture	Kagoshima Prefecture Okinawa Prefecture
Demographics
Demonym	Ryukyuans
Population	1,550,161 (2005)
Pop. density	333.93/km2 (864.87/sq mi)
Ethnic groups	Ryukyuan Japanese

The Ryukyu Islands^{[note 1]} (琉球列島, Ryūkyū-rettō), also known as the Nansei Islands (南西諸島, Nansei-shotō, lit. "Southwest Islands") or the Ryukyu Arc (琉球弧, Ryūkyū-ko), are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ryukyu Islands are divided into the Satsunan Islands (Ōsumi, Tokara and Amami) and Okinawa Prefecture (Daitō, Miyako, Yaeyama, Senkaku, Okinawa, Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), and Yonaguni as the westernmost). The larger ones are mostly volcanic islands and the smaller mostly coral. The largest is Okinawa Island.^{[citation needed]}

The climate of the islands ranges from humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) in the north to tropical rainforest climate (Köppen climate classification Af) in the south.^[3] Precipitation is very high and is affected by the rainy season and typhoons. Except the outlying Daitō Islands, the island chain has two major geologic boundaries, the Tokara Strait (between the Tokara and Amami Islands) and the Kerama Gap (between the Okinawa and Miyako Islands). The islands beyond the Tokara Strait are characterized by their coral reefs.^{[citation needed]}

The Ōsumi and Tokara Islands, the northernmost of the islands, fall under the cultural sphere of the Kyushu region of Japan; local inhabitants speak a variation of the Kagoshima dialect of Japanese. The Amami, Okinawa, Miyako, and Yaeyama Islands have a native population collectively called the Ryukyuan people, named for the former Ryukyu Kingdom (1429–1875) that ruled them. The varied Ryukyuan languages are traditionally spoken on these islands, and the major islands have their own distinct languages. In modern times, the Japanese language has been the primary language of the islands, with the Okinawan Japanese dialect prevalently spoken. The outlying Daitō Islands were uninhabited until the Meiji period, when their development was started mainly by people from the Izu Islands south of Tokyo, with the people there speaking the Hachijō language.^{[citation needed]}

The islands were held by the United States after the 1951 Treaty of San Francisco concluded the Pacific War. They were returned to Japan under the 1971 Okinawa reversion agreement, with China disputing the Senkaku Islands.

Administratively, the islands are divided between two prefectures: the northern islands, collectively called the Satsunan Islands, are part of Kagoshima Prefecture (specifically Kagoshima District, Kumage Subprefecture/District, and Ōshima Subprefecture/District), while the southern part of the chain makes up Okinawa Prefecture. The divide is between the Amami and Okinawa Islands, with the Daitō Islands part of Okinawa Prefecture.

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