Ryukyu Islands

The Ryukyu Islands is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyūshū in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin pronunciation Liuqiu. They stretch southwest from the Japanese island of Kyūshū to within 120 kilometers of the island of Taiwan. The largest of the islands is Okinawa Island. The islands are administratively divided into the Satsunan Islands to the north, belonging to Kagoshima Prefecture, and Ryūkyū Shotō to the south, belonging to Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.

The Ryukyu Kingdom was once an independent kingdom occupying the island chain, from Yonaguni Island in the southwest to Amami Ōshima in the north. In 1372, it became a tributary state of the Ming Dynasty of China. In 1609, Shimazu Tadatsune, Lord of Satsuma, invaded the Ryūkyū Kingdom. After that, the kings of the Ryukyus paid tribute to the Japanese shogun as well as the Chinese emperor. In 1879, the Japanese Meiji government announced the annexation of the Ryukyus. China, weakened from internal corruption and colonial occupation, refused the request of the Ryukyuan king to send military protection.

At the end of WWII, The US was granted control over Ryukyu Islands south of 29°N latitude amongst other Pacific islands. US military control over Okinawa began in 1945 with establishment of the Okinawa Advisory Council. This organization eventually became the government of the Ryukyu Islands which existed from 1952 to 1972. Sovereignty was given to Japan in 1972.