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Okinawa Prefecture

Okinawa Prefecture
沖縄県
Prefecture
Japanese transcription(s)
 • Japanese 沖縄県
 • Rōmaji Okinawa-ken
Okinawan transcription(s)
 • Okinawan 沖縄県(ウチナーチン)
 • Rōmaji Uchinaa-chin
Flag of Okinawa Prefecture
Flag
Official logo of Okinawa Prefecture
Symbol of Okinawa Prefecture
Location of Okinawa Prefecture
Country Japan
Region Kyushu
Island Okinawa
Capital Naha
Government
 • Governor Takeshi Onaga
Area
 • Total 2,271.30 km2 (876.95 sq mi)
Area rank 44th
Population (October 1, 2013)
 • Total 1,416,587
 • Rank 27th
 • Density 622/km2 (1,610/sq mi)
ISO 3166 code JP-47
Districts 5
Municipalities 41
Flower Deego (Erythrina variegata)
Tree Pinus luchuensis ("ryūkyūmatsu")
Bird Okinawa woodpecker (Sapheopipo noguchii)
Fish Banana fish (Caesio diagramma,"takasago", "gurukun")
Website www.pref.okinawa.jp/english/

Okinawa (沖縄?, Japanese: [òkínáwá]) officially known as Okinawa Prefecture (Japanese: 沖縄県 Hepburn: Okinawa-ken?, Okinawan: ウチナーチン Uchinaa-chin) is the southernmost prefecture of Japan. It comprises hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) long. The Ryukyus extend southwest from Kyushu (the southwesternmost of Japan's four main islands) to Taiwan. The Okinawa Prefecture encompasses the southern two thirds of that chain. Naha, Okinawa's capital, is located in the southern part of Okinawa Island. Currently about half of the 53,000 U.S. troops deployed in Japan as part of the post-WWII security arrangement are based in Okinawa.

The oldest evidence of human existence on the Ryukyu islands is from the Stone Age and was discovered in Naha and Yaese. Some human bone fragments from the Paleolithic era were unearthed, but there is no clear evidence of Paleolithic remains. Japanese Jōmon influences are dominant on the Okinawa Islands, although clay vessels on the Sakishima Islands have a commonality with those in Taiwan.


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Wikipedia

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