Ryukyu Islands

British  

/ rɪˈuːkjuː /

plural noun

1. Japanese name: Nansei-shoto.  a chain of 55 islands in the W Pacific, extending almost 650 km (400 miles) from S Japan to N Taiwan: an ancient kingdom, under Chinese rule from the late 14th century, invaded by Japan in the early 17th century, under full Japanese sovereignty from 1879 to 1945, and US control from 1945 to 1972; now part of Japan again. They are subject to frequent typhoons. Chief town: Naha (on Okinawa). Pop: 1 318 220 (2000). Area: 2196 sq km (849 sq miles)

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Example Sentences

During one analysis, they unearthed specimens of modern large foraminifera from sediment samples of the Sekisei Lagoon, located between Ishigaki Island and Iriomote Island in the southern Ryukyu Islands.

From Science Daily • Sep. 19, 2023

Two U.S. aircraft carriers, the USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan, had been operating around the geopolitically important Ryukyu Islands in the Philippine Sea since Thursday, Global Times cited a Beijing-based think tank as saying.

From Reuters • Jun. 12, 2023

The other choke point is in the Miyako Strait, east of Taiwan in Japan’s Ryukyu Islands.

From Washington Times • Feb. 1, 2023

The Ryukyu Islands once were independent, but in the late 19th century were seized by Imperial Japan.

From Forbes • Nov. 26, 2014

In the North Pacific, humpback whales winter in tropical regions over the shallow coastal shelfs associated with the Hawaiian Islands, Baja California, central Mexico, the Ryukyu Islands, Bonin Islands, and Mariana Islands.

From Humpback Whales in Glacier Bay National Monument, Alaska by Commerce, United States Department of