home islands
Americanplural noun
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the Japanese archipelago (excluding Sakhalin), especially as distinguished from Japan’s former colonies and its other territories.
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History/Historical. the progressively limited areas over which the Japanese emperor retained sovereignty during the end of World War II.
Etymology
Origin of home islands
First recorded in 1800–10, in reference to the British Isles
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Chagossians thought they had a chance to return home with the U.K.’s deal to hand over their home islands and lease the Diego Garcia military base.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
The defensive perimeters of Japan’s home islands were constantly redrawn over 1942 and 1943.
From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022
The displaced residents have fought for years in the courts for the right to return to their home islands, which the U.K. calls the British Indian Ocean Territory.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 14, 2022
A Navy demolitions expert, Draper Kauffman, would have been among the first to land on the beaches of Kyushu had an invasion of Japan’s home islands been deemed necessary.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 11, 2020
When it was realized that Senate opposition to the Four Power Pact had been courted through the inadvertent guaranty of the home islands of Japan, the agreement was hastily modified to meet the Senate's views.
From Behind the Mirrors The Psychology of Disintegration at Washington by Gilbert, Clinton W. (Clinton Wallace)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
