Ryukyu Islands, Okinawa Island

The Ryukyu Islands are, depending on definitions, the whole or part of a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan. According to the standardized geographical names of Japan, the Nansei Islands cover the entire island chain: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, Sakishima Islands, the Senkaku Islands, and the Daitō Islands, with Yonaguni the westernmost. According to the standard, the Ryūkyū Shotō consist of the Okinawa, Sakishima and Senkaku Islands. A related term, the Ryukyu Arc, often excludes the outlying islands of Senkakus and Daitōs. The larger are mostly high islands and the smaller mostly coral. The largest is Okinawa Island. ()