The Ryukyu Islands /riˈuːkjuː/[1] (琉球諸島 Ryūkyū-shotō),[2] known in Japanese as the Nansei Islands (南西諸島 Nansei-shotō, lit. "Southwest Islands") and also known as the Ryukyu Arc (琉球弧 Ryūkyū-ko), are a chain of volcanic Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni the southernmost.
The islands have a subtropical climate with mild winters and hot summers.
The largest of the islands is Okinawa.
Administratively, the islands are divided into Kagoshima Prefecture in the north and Okinawa Prefecture
in the south, with the divide between the Amami and Okinawa Islands,
with the Daitō Islands part of Okinawa Prefecture. The northern
(Kagoshima) islands are collectively called the Satsunan Islands, while the southern part of the chain (Okinawa Prefecture) are called the Ryukyu Islands in Japanese.
Okinawa Island (沖縄本島 Okinawa-hontō, alternatively 沖縄島 Okinawa-jima; Okinawan: ウチナー Uchinaa; Nakijin: フチナー Fuchinaa) is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu (Nansei) Islands of Japan, and is home to Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture.
The island's population is known as the longest-lived people in the
world; there are 34 centenarians per 100,000 people, which is more than
three times the rate in the United States.[clarification needed][1]
Okinawa is the fifth largest island in Japan (excluding the disputed islands north of Hokkaido).
In the forests of Yanbaru there are a small number of Yanbaru Kuina, a small flightless bird that is near extinction.The Indian mongoose was introduced to the island to prevent the native Habu pit viper from attacking the birds. It did not succeed in eliminating the Habu, but instead preyed on birds.
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