The Ryukyu Islands (Japanese: 琉球列島, Hepburn: 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. Administratively, they are divided between Kagoshima Prefecture (the Satsunan Islands, further divided into the Ōsumi, Tokara, and Amami Islands) and Okinawa Prefecture (further divided into the Okinawa, Miyako, Yaeyama, Daitō, and Senkaku Islands). The larger ones are mostly volcanic islands and the smaller mostly coral. The largest is Okinawa Island. 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. 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. 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. 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.
Geography
Island subgroups
The Ryukyu islands are commonly divided into two or three primary groups:
either administratively, with the Northern Ryukyus being the islands in Kagoshima Prefecture (known in Japanese as the "Satsunan Islands") and the Southern Ryukyus being the islands in Okinawa Prefecture (known in Japanese as the "Ryukyu Islands"), or geographically, with the islands north of the Tokara Strait (Ōsumi and Tokara) being the Northern Ryukyus, those between the Tokara Strait and Kerama Gap (Amami and Okinawa) being the Central Ryukyus, and those south of the Kerama Gap (Miyako and Yaeyama) being the Southern Ryukyus. The following are the grouping and names used by the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department of the Japan Coast Guard. The islands are listed from north to south where possible.
Nansei Islands (南西諸島, Nansei-shotō) Satsunan Islands (薩南諸島, Satsunan-shotō) Ōsumi Islands (大隅諸島, Ōsumi-shotō) with: Tanegashima, Yakushima, Kuchinoerabu, Mageshima in the North-Eastern Group, Takeshima, Iōjima, Kuroshima in the North-Western Group. Tokara Islands (吐噶喇列島, Tokara-rettō): Kuchinoshima, Nakanoshima, Gajajima, Suwanosejima, Akusekijima, Tairajima, Kodakarajima, Takarajima Amami Islands (奄美群島, Amami-guntō): Amami Ōshima, Kikaijima, Kakeromajima, Yoroshima, Ukeshima, Tokunoshima, Okinoerabujima, Yoronjima Ryukyu Islands (琉球諸島, Ryūkyū-shotō) Okinawa Islands (沖縄諸島, Okinawa-shotō): Okinawa Island, Kume, Iheya, Izena, Aguni, Ie (Iejima), Iōtorishima Kerama Islands (慶良間諸島, Kerama-shotō): Tokashiki, Zamami, Aka, Geruma Sakishima Islands (先島諸島, Sakishima-shotō; the "Further Isles") Miyako Islands (宮古列島, Miyako-rettō): Miyakojima, Ikema, Ōgami, Irabu, Shimoji, Kurima-jima, Minna, Tarama Yaeyama Islands (八重山列島, Yaeyama-rettō): Iriomote, Ishigaki, Taketomi, Kohama, Kuroshima, Aragusuku, Hatoma, Yubujima, Hateruma, Yonaguni Senkaku Islands (尖閣諸島, Senkaku-shotō; claimed by China and Taiwan): Uotsurijima, Kuba Jima, Taisho Jima, Kita Kojima, Minami Kojima Daitō Islands (大東諸島, Daitō-shotō): Kita Daitō, Minami Daitō, Oki Daitō The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, another government organization that is responsible for standardization of place names, disagrees with the Japan Coast Guard over some names and their extent, but the two are working on standardization. They agreed on 15 February 2010, to use Amami-guntō (奄美群島) for the Amami Islands; prior to that, Amami-shotō (奄美諸島) had also been used.
Climate The climate of the Ryukyu islands is sub-tropical. It is significantly warmer than the main islands Kyushu, Shikoku and Honshu. There are occasional typhoons during the summer. Winter temperature is mild with optimal clearness of the ocean water.
Names and extents The English and Japanese uses of the term "Ryukyu" differ. In English, the term Ryukyu may apply to the entire chain of islands, while in Japanese Ryukyu usually refers only to the islands that were previously part of the Ryūkyū Kingdom after 1624.
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