Okinawa Island

Okinawa Island
Native name:
沖縄本島
Okinawa Island in 2015
Map of the island
Okinawa Island is located in Ryukyu Islands
Okinawa Island
Okinawa Island
Okinawa Island is located in Asia
Okinawa Island
Okinawa Island
Geography
LocationPacific Ocean
Coordinates26°28′46″N 127°55′40″E / 26.47944°N 127.92778°E / 26.47944; 127.92778
ArchipelagoRyukyu Islands
Area1,199[1] km2 (463 sq mi)
as of 1 October 2018[2]
Area rank299th
Length106.6 km (66.24 mi)
Width11.3 km (7.02 mi)
Highest elevation503 m (1650 ft)
Highest pointMount Yonaha
Administration
PrefectureOkinawa Prefecture
Demographics
Population1,466,870[3] (2022)
Pop. density1,014.93/km2 (2628.66/sq mi)
Ethnic groupsRyukyuan, Japanese

Okinawa Island (沖縄島, Okinawa-jima, Okinawan: 沖縄/うちなー, Uchinaa[4] Kunigami: ふちなー, Fuchináa), officially Okinawa Main Island (沖縄本島, Okinawa-hontō),[5] is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu (Nansei) Islands of Japan in the Kyushu region. It is the smallest and least populated of the five main islands of Japan.[6] The island is approximately 106 kilometres (66 mi) long, an average 11 kilometres (7 mi) wide,[7] and has an area of 1,206.98 square kilometers (466.02 sq mi). It is roughly 640 kilometres (350 nmi; 400 mi) south of the main island of Kyushu and the rest of Japan. It is 500 km (270 nmi; 310 mi) northeast of Taiwan. The total population of Okinawa Island is 1,384,762.[3] The greater Naha area has roughly 800,000 residents, while the city itself has about 320,000 people. Naha is the seat of Okinawa Prefecture on the southwestern part of Okinawa Island. Okinawa has a humid subtropical climate.

Okinawa has been a critical strategic location for the United States Armed Forces since the Battle of Okinawa and the end of World War II. The island was formally controlled by the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands until 1972, with around 26,000 U.S. military personnel stationed on Okinawa today, comprising about half of the total complement of the United States Forces Japan, spread among 31 areas, across 13 bases and 48 training sites. United States military installations cover approximately 25% of the island.

  1. ^ "Okinawa | Facts, History, & Points of Interest". Archived from the original on 4 April 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Statistical reports on the land area by prefectures and municipalities in Japan as of 2018" (PDF) (in Japanese). Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. 1 October 2018. p. 103. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 March 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference okinawa-population was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ 語彙詳細―首里・那覇方言 Archived 19 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Okinawa Center of Language Study. Retrieved on 2 December 2014.
  5. ^ "Okinawa Main Island". Visit Okinawa Japan | Official Okinawa Travel Guide.
  6. ^ "離島とは(島の基礎知識) (what is a remote island?)". MLIT (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) (in Japanese). Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. 22 August 2015. Archived from the original (website) on 13 November 2007. Retrieved 9 August 2019. MILT classification 6,852 islands(main islands: 5 islands, remote islands: 6,847 islands)
  7. ^ "Okinawa Island | island, Japan". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2017.