Ryukyu Islands

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Geography & Travel

Ryukyu Islands

archipelago, Japan

Also known as: Nansei Islands, Nansei-Shotō, Ryūkyū-Shotō

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Apr 8, 2024 • Article History

Category: Geography & Travel

Also called:: Nansei Islands

Japanese:: Ryūkyū-Shotō, or Nansei-Shotō

Ryukyuan:: Okinawa

On the Web:: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Marine biodiversity research in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan: current status and trends (Mar. 15, 2024)

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Ryukyu Islands, archipelago, extending some 700 miles (1,100 km) southwestward from the southern Japanese island of Kyushu to northeastern Taiwan. The archipelago defines the boundary between the East China Sea (west) and the Philippine Sea (east). With a total land area of 1,193 square miles (3,090 square km), the Ryukyus consist of 55 islands and islets divided into three major groups: the Amami island chain in the north, the central Okinawa islands, and the Sakishima islands in the south. Administratively, the Ryukyus are part of Japan, the Amami group constituting a southern extension of Kyushu’s Kagoshima prefecture (ken) and the ...(100 of 498 words)

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