Okinawa (island)
| Native name: 沖縄 | |
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 Okinawa Island
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| Geography | |
| Location | Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 26°28′46″N 127°55′40″E / 26.47944°N 127.92778°ECoordinates: 26°28′46″N 127°55′40″E / 26.47944°N 127.92778°E |
| Archipelago | Ryukyu Islands |
| Area | 1,206.98 km2 (466.02 sq mi) as of 1 October 2016 |
| Highest elevation | 503 m (1,650 ft) |
| Highest point | Mount Yonaha |
| Administration | |
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Japan
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| Prefecture |
 Okinawa Prefecture
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| Largest settlement | Naha (pop. 315,954) |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 1,301,462 (Dec. 2014) |
| Pop. density | 1,083.6 /km2 (2,806.5 /sq mi) |
Okinawa Island (沖縄本島 Okinawa-hontō, alternatively 沖縄島 Okinawa-jima; Okinawan: 沖縄/うちなー Uchinaa or 地下/じじ jiji;Kunigami: ふちなー Fuchináa) is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu (Nansei) Islands of Japan. The island is approximately 70 miles long and an average 7 miles wide, and has an area of 1,206.98 square kilometers (466.02 sq mi). It is roughly 640 kilometres (400 mi) south of the rest of Japan, roughly the same distance off the coast of China, and 500 km (300 mi) north of Taiwan. The Greater Naha area, home to the prefectural seat of Okinawa Prefecture on the southwestern part of Okinawa Island, has roughly 800,000 of the island's 1.3 million residents, while the city itself is home to about 320,000.
Okinawa has been a critical strategic location for the United States Armed Forces since the end of World War II. The island hosts around 26,000 US military personnel, about half of the total complement of the United States Forces Japan, spread among 32 bases and 48 training sites. US bases in Okinawa played critical roles in the Korean War, Vietnam War, War in Afghanistan and Iraq War. The presence of the US military in Okinawa has caused political controversy both on the island and elsewhere in Japan.
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Wikipedia