Okinawa

Okinawa

Okinawa Prefecture (Japanese: 沖縄県, Hepburn: Okinawa-ken) is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan.[2] It has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020[update]) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city, with other major cities including Okinawa, Uruma, and Urasoe.[3] Okinawa Prefecture encompasses two thirds of the Ryukyu Islands, including the Okinawa, Daitō and Sakishima groups, extending 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) southwest from the Satsunan Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture to Taiwan (Hualien and Yilan Counties). Okinawa Prefecture's largest island, Okinawa Island, is the home to a majority of Okinawa's population. Okinawa's indigenous ethnic group is the Ryukyuan people, who also live in the Amami Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture.