is Japan's southernmost prefecture, and consists of hundreds of the Ryūkyū Islands in a chain over 1,000 km long, which extends southwest from Kyūshū (the southwesternmost of Japan's main four islands) to Taiwan. Okinawa's capital, Naha, is located in the southern part of the largest and most populous island, Okinawa Island, which is approximately half-way between Kyūshū and Taiwan. The disputed Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Islands) are also administered as part of Okinawa Prefecture.

History

---

The islands that now make up Okinawa Prefecture were formerly not part of Japan, but part of an independent nation called the Ryūkyū Kingdom. Currently they include the main island of Okinawa and the Yaeyama and Miyako island groups. Okinawa's location in the East China Sea, and relatively close proximity to Japan, Korea, China and South East Asia allowed the Ryūkyū Kingdom to become a prosperous trading nation. The many castle ruins that dot the island date from this period. However, in 1609 the Japanese Satsuma clan, who controlled the region that is now Kagoshima Prefecture, invaded the Ryūkyū Kingdom. Following this invasion, the Ryūkyū Kingdom was forced to enter into a tribute-trade relationship with Japan in addition to their previous tribute-trade relationship with China. Satsuma maintained the pretense of Ryūkyūan sovereignty in order to access the China trade that had been severely restricted by this time. Though Satsuma maintained strong influence over the Ryūkyū Kingdom, the Ryūkyū Kingdom maintained a large degree of political independence. In 1879, following the Meiji Restoration, the Ryūkyū Kingdom was forcefully incorporated into Japan as a colony known as Okinawa Prefecture.

Following the end of World War II and the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, for 27 years Okinawa was under United States administration. During this time the US military established numerous bases on Okinawa Honto and elsewhere.

More on [ Okinawa Prefecture ]

The Japan Times: News & Business

ATM-based frauds dip below 1,000
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:10:00 -0500
Money-transfer scams involving automated teller machines fell below 1,000 in August for the first time in 17 months, a National Police Agency survey said Saturday. Frauds in the month plunged 40 percent from July to 780, the NPA said, adding that an all-out campaign it began in July to crack down on such fraud is working. Read the full story
Austria's fear and loathing still democratic
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:11:00 -0500
NEW YORK — Two far-right parties, the Austrian Freedom Party and the Movement for Austria's Future, won 29 percent of the vote in the latest Austrian general election — double their total in the 2006 election. Both parties share the same attitudes toward immigrants, especially Muslims, and the European Union: a mixture of fear and loathing. Since the two parties' leaders, Heinz-Christian Strache and Joerg Haider, despise each other, there is little chance of a far-right coalition taking power. Nonetheless, the result is disturbing. Read the full story
Miura hangs himself upon return to L.A.
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:12:00 -0500
LOS ANGELES — Japanese businessman Kazuyoshi Miura, who was brought to Los Angeles on Friday to face a conspiracy charge in the mysterious shooting of his wife there in 1981, has committed suicide, his supporters said Saturday. Miura hanged himself while in detention at around 10 p.m. local time after arriving in Los Angeles early in the morning from Saipan via Honolulu, they said, adding that they were told by his family. Read the full story
Itochu discovers costly in-house trading scam
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:13:00 -0500
A former Itochu Corp. employee conducted dubious transactions in which it paid more than ¥50 billion to a Mongolian supplier for heavy machines that were later unknowingly shipped to another Mongolian company, the major trading house said. Itochu said it also suspects similar transactions took place involving another firm that cost it more than ¥40 billion in payments. Read the full story
Urgent and exceptional action
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:14:00 -0500
An action plan agreed Friday in Washington by finance ministers and central bank governors of the Group of Seven major economies states that they will "take decisive action and use all available tools to support systemically important financial institutions and prevent their failure." The plan calls for injecting public capital into financial institutions — a necessary move to assuage financial turmoil. But it remains to be seen how soon the plan will have an effect. In an attempt to quell market unease, the U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the central banks of Canada, Sweden and Switzerland lowered their benchmark interest rates by 0.5 percentage... Read the full story
G7 agrees on plan; U.S. to invest in banks
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:15:00 -0500
WASHINGTON (AP) Finance officials from the world's top economic powers endorsed a plan Friday to stem the worst financial crisis in more than a half-century. The officials from the Group of Seven countries issued the five-point plan aimed at reversing a credit crisis that has unhinged Wall Street and markets around the globe. They pledged to take "decisive action and use all available tools." Read the full story

Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion

Sports › Nishikori beaten in Stockholm Open semifinal
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 06:53:00 +0100
Kei Nishikori failed to advance to the Stockholm Open final after a 6-1, 6-0 defeat at the hands of Robin Soderling of Sweden on Saturday.…
Politics › U.S. removes N Korea from terrorism list, despite Japan's objections
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 06:33:00 +0100
The United States on Saturday crossed North Korea off its list of nations sponsoring terrorism in an effort to move forward the stalled six-party negotiations…
Technology › NTT Communications to combine over 100 reward cards into cell phone
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 06:30:00 +0100
NTT Communications Corp has developed a system for integrating the reward cards of more than 100 retailers into a single mobile phone. The system, named…
World › Bush, allies seek to calm jittery investors
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 06:29:00 +0100
President George W Bush and foreign financial officials displayed joint resolve Saturday to combat the unfolding financial crisis, hoping to calm investors whose panic has…
Crime › LAPD says Miura hanged himself with shirt in cell at detention house
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 06:03:00 +0100
Japanese businessman Kazuyoshi Miura, who was being detained in Los Angeles on a murder conspiracy charge over the killing of his wife in southern California…
Entertainment / Arts › Sexpot Aya Sugimoto dishes it out on sex, tango and cowardly Japanese men
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 05:55:00 +0100
Aya Sugimoto’s name is synonymous with all things sensual. Since her ground-shaking 2003 divorce, in which she famously (and very publicly) left a “sexless” marriage,…

Subscribe to Japan RSS feed