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your continued donations keep wikipedia running okinawa prefecture from wikipedia the free encyclopedia redirected from okinawa jump to navigation search okinawa prefecture okinawan uchinā japanese 沖縄県 okinawa ken capital naha region ryūkyū archipelago island okinawa governor hirokazu nakaima area rank 2 271 30 km² 44 th water 0 5 population october 1 2000 population 1 318 218 32 nd density 580 km² districts 5 municipalities 41 iso 3166 2 jp 47 website www pref okinawa jp english prefectural symbols flower deigo erythrina variegata tree pinus luchuensis ryūkyūmatsu bird okinawa woodpecker sapheopipo noguchii symbol of okinawa prefecture template ■ discussion ■ parameter ■ wikiproject japan okinawa redirects here for other uses see okinawa disambiguation okinawa prefecture 沖縄県 okinawa ken okinawan uchinā is one of japan s southern prefectures and consists of hundreds of the ryukyu islands in a chain over 1 000 km long which extends southwest from kyūshū the southwesternmost of japan s main four islands to taiwan okinawa s capital naha is located in the southern part of the largest and most populous island okinawa island which is approximately half way between kyūshū and taiwan the disputed senkaku islands chinese diaoyu islands are also administered as part of okinawa prefecture at present contents hide 1 history 2 geography 2 1 major islands 2 2 cities 2 3 towns and villages 2 4 mergers 3 demography 4 climate and nature 5 language and culture 5 1 language 5 2 religion 5 3 cultural influences 5 4 other cultural characteristics 5 5 karate 5 6 architecture 6 u s military controversy 6 1 alleged former us nuclear arms base 6 2 mcas futenma relocation 6 3 proposed solutions 7 education 8 sports 9 transportation 9 1 air transportation 9 2 highways 9 3 rail 9 4 ports 10 united states military installations 11 see also 12 references 13 external links 13 1 news 13 2 geography and maps 13 3 photographs 13 4 culture 13 5 night life and entertainment 13 6 history 13 7 misc 13 8 peace edit history see also history of ryukyu islands see also ryūkyū kingdom the oldest evidence of human existence in the ryukyu islands was discovered in naha and yaese 1 some human bone fragments from the paleolithic era were unearthed but there is no clear evidence of paleolith remains japanese jōmon influences are dominant in the okinawa islands although clay vessels in the sakishima islands have a commonality with those in taiwan the first mention of the word ryukyu was written in the book of sui this ryukyu might refer to taiwan not the ryukyu islands okinawa was the japanese word depicting the islands first seen in the biography of jianzhen written in 779 agricultural societies begun in the 8th century slowly developed until the 12th century since the islands are located in the center of the east china sea relatively close to japan china and south east asia the ryūkyū kingdom became a prosperous trading nation also during this period many gusukus similar to castles were constructed the ryūkyū kingdom had a tributary relationship with the chinese empire beginning in the 15th century in 1609 the satsuma clan which controlled the region that is now kagoshima prefecture invaded the ryūkyū kingdom following the invasion the ryūkyū kingdom surrendered to the satsuma and was forced to form a tributary relationship with satsuma and the tokugawa shogunate in addition to its previous relationship with china ryukyuan sovereignty was maintained since complete annexation would create a problem with china the satsuma clan earned considerable profits from trades with china during a period in which foreign trade was heavily restricted by the shogunate though satsuma maintained strong influence over the islands the ryūkyū kingdom maintained considerable degree of domestic political freedom for over two hundred years four years after the 1868 meiji restoration the japanese government through military incursions officially annexed the kingdom and renamed it ryukyu han at the time the qing dynasty of china asserted sovereignty over the islands of the ryūkyū kingdom since the ryūkyū kingdom was a tributary nation of china the okinawa han became a prefecture of japan in 1879 while all other hans had became prefectures of japan in 1872 following the battle of okinawa and the end of world war ii in 1945 okinawa was under the united states administration for 27 years during the trusteeship rule the usaf established numerous military bases on the ryukyu islands in 1972 the u s government returned the islands to japanese administration under the treaty of mutual cooperation and security the united states forces japan usfj have maintained a large military presence 27000 personnel including 15000 marines contingents from the navy army and air force and their 22 000 family members are stationed in okinawa 2 18 of the main island was occupied by us military bases and 75 of all usfj bases are located in okinawa prefecture 3 85 of the okinawans oppose the large presence of the usfj and demand the consolidation reduction and removal of us military bases from okinawa 4 repeated accidents and crimes committed by u s servicemen have reduced local citizens support for the u s military bases the japanese and the us government consider the mutual security treaty and the usfj absolutely necessary and neglected the awkward situation in okinawa for decades the rape of a 12 year old girl by u s servicemen in 1995 triggered large protests in okinawa as a result both the u s and japanese governments agreed to the relocation of the marine corps air station futenma and other minor bases however at present the closure of the bases has been indefinitely postponed these disagreements also contribute to the relatively recent anti japanese sentiment and subsequently ryukyu independence movement edit geography edit major islands the islands of okinawa prefecture the set of islands belonging to the prefecture is called ryūkyū shotō 琉球諸島 okinawa s inhabited islands are typically divided into three geographical archipelagos from northeast to southwest okinawa islands ie jima kume okinawa honto tokashiki miyako islands miyako jima yaeyama islands iriomote ishigaki yonaguni edit cities map of okinawa prefecture okinawa prefecture includes eleven cities ginowan ishigaki itoman miyakojima nago naha capital nanjo okinawa city formerly koza tomigusuku urasoe uruma edit towns and villages these are the towns and villages in each district kunigami district ginoza higashi ie kin kunigami motobu nakijin onna ōgimi miyako district tarama nakagami district chatan kadena kitanakagusuku nakagusuku nishihara yomitan shimajiri district aguni haebaru iheya izena kitadaitou kumejima minamidaito tokashiki tonaki yaese yonabaru zamami yaeyama district taketomi yonaguni edit mergers main article list of mergers in okinawa prefecture edit demography okinawa prefecture age pyramid as of 1 october 2003 per 1000 s of people age people 0 4 84 5 9 85 10 14 87 15 19 94 20 24 91 25 29 97 30 34 99 35 39 87 40 44 91 45 49 96 50 54 100 55 59 64 60 64 65 65 69 66 70 74 53 75 79 37 80 55 okinawa prefecture age pyramid divided by sex as of 1 october 2003 per 1000 s of people males age females 43 0 4 41 44 5 9 41 45 10 14 42 48 15 19 46 46 20 24 45 49 25 29 48 49 30 34 50 43 35 39 44 46 40 44 45 49 45 49 47 52 50 54 48 32 55 59 32 32 60 64 33 32 65 69 34 24 70 74 29 14 75 79 23 17 80 38 source japan statistics bureau 総務省 統計局 edit climate and nature gusuku ruins shuri castle naha the island is largely composed of coral rock and rainwater filtering through that coral has given the island many caves which played an important role in the battle of okinawa gyokusendo an extensive limestone cave in the southern part of okinawa s main island is a popular tourist attraction okinawa is said to have the most beautiful beaches in all of japan and normally enjoys temperatures above 20 degrees celsius for most of the year okinawa and the many islands that make up the prefecture boast some of the most abundant coral reefs found in the world rare blue corals are found off of ishigaki and miyako islands as are numerous species throughout the chain many coral reefs are found in this region of japan and wildlife is abundant sea turtles return yearly to the southern islands of okinawa to lay their eggs the summer months carry warnings to swimmers regarding poisonous jellyfish and other dangerous sea creatures okinawa is a major producer of sugar cane pineapple papaya and other tropical fruit and the southeast botanical gardens represent tropical plant species edit language and culture this article needs additional citations for verification please help improve this article by adding reliable references unsourced material may be challenged and removed november 2006 see also okinawan cuisine shisa on a traditional tile roof awamori pots having historically been a separate nation okinawan language and culture differ considerably from that of mainland japan edit language main article okinawan language there remain numerous ryukyuan languages which are more or less incomprehensible to japanese speakers these languages are in decline as the mainland japanese is being used by the younger generation many linguists at least those outside japan consider ryukyuan languages as different languages from japanese while they are generally perceived as dialects by mainland japanese and okinawans themselves standard japanese is almost always used in formal situations in informal situations de facto everyday language among okinawans under age 60 is okinawa accented mainland japanese called ウチナーヤマトグチ uchinā yamatoguchi okinawan japanese which is often misunderstood as okinawan language proper ウチナーグチ uchināguchi okinawan language uchināguchi still is used in traditional cultural activities such as folk music or folk dance there is a radio news program in the language as well 1 edit religion okinawa also has its own religious beliefs generally characterized by ancestor worship and the respecting of relationships between the living the dead and the gods and spirits of the natural world edit cultural influences okinawan culture bears traces of its various trading partners one can find chinese thai and austronesian influences in the island s customs perhaps okinawa s most famous cultural export is karate probably a product of the close ties with and influence of china on okinawan culture karate is thought to be a synthesis of chinese kung fu with traditional okinawan martial arts a ban on weapons in okinawa for two long periods after the invasion and forced annexation by japan during the meiji restoration period also very likely contributed to its development another traditional okinawan product that owes its existence to okinawa s trading history is awamori an okinawan distilled spirit made from indica rice imported from thailand edit other cultural characteristics the people of okinawa maintain a strong tradition of pottery textiles and glass making other prominent examples of okinawan culture include the sanshin a three stringed okinawan instrument closely related to the chinese sanxian and ancestor of the japanese shamisen somewhat similar to a banjo its body is often bound with snakeskin from pythons imported from elsewhere in asia rather than from okinawa s poisonous habu which are too small for this purpose okinawan culture also features the eisa dance a traditional drumming dance a traditional craft the fabric named bingata is made in workshops on the main island and elsewhere edit karate main article karate karate originated on okinawa there are several styles and even more sub styles among them shorin ryu uechi ryu goju ryu isshin ryu shito ryu motobu ryu shorinji ryu ryuei ryu and pangai noon edit architecture a traditional okinawan house okinawa has many remains of a unique type of castle or fortress called gusuku these are believed to be the predecessors of japan s castles whereas most homes in japan are made with wood and allow free flow of air to combat humidity typical modern homes in okinawa are made from concrete with barred windows protection from flying plant matter to deal with regular typhoons roofs are also designed with strong winds in mind with each tile cemented on and not merely layered as seen with many homes elsewhere in japan many roofs also display a statue resembling a lion or dragon called a shisa which is said to protect the home from danger roofs are typically red in color and are inspired by chinese design edit u s military controversy see also united states forces japan us military bases in okinawa because the islands are close to china and taiwan the united states has large military bases on the island the area of 14 us bases are 233 square kilometres 90 sq mi occupying 18 of the main island okinawa accounts for less than one percent of japan s land but hosts about two thirds of the 40 000 american forces in the country 3 two major bases marine corps air station futenma and kadena air base are located near residential areas one third 9 852 acres of the land used by the u s military is the marine corps northern training area in the north of the island 85 of okinawans oppose the presence of the u s military 4 due to noise pollution from military drills aircraft accidents environmental degradation 5 and crimes committed by u s military personnel 6 the okinawan prefectural government and local municipalities have made various withdrawal demands of the us military since the end of wwii 7 but any fundamental solution was never performed by both of the japanese and u s governments it has been claimed that some us soldiers raped okinawan women during the battle of okinawa in 1945 while the number of okinawan women raped by us troops is not known historian peter schrijvers states that an okinawan historian who has estimated that the number may have exceeded 10 000 and that this is consistant with the incidence of reported rapes during the first 10 days of the occupation of japan 8 in 1998 the remains of 3 executed presumed rapists from the occupation forces were discovered in a cave 2 in 1955 isaac j hart was accused but not convicted of the rape and murder of six year old yumiko this is known as the yumiko incident forty years later on september 4 1995 two u s marines and a sailor abducted and raped a 12 year old girl at the time of the incident japanese police could not arrest the men known to be involved because they had to remain with the united states military until charged in a court see u s japan status of forces agreement anti military base emotions erupted in some of the largest protests in recent history 9 eventually through political pressure the soldiers were tried and convicted in early 1996 as a result of this incident the status of forces agreement which was criticized for being too protective of u s servicemen involved in crimes underwent revision a movement to reduce the size of us military presence on okinawa gained popularity in november of 1995 a group called okinawan women act against military violence was organized to raise awareness of crimes alleged to have been committed by u s military personnel on the island sentiments against the united states military presence in okinawa were inflamed further by the michael brown okinawa assault incident in which a marine corps major charged with attempted rape and later convicted of the reduced charge of attempted indecent assault was not turned over to the japanese authorities at their request 10 okinawa authorities pressed for a modification of the status of forces agreement in an effort to remove the military s unilateral right to determine whether it would turn over a servicemember charged with a serious crime 11 tensions increased even more following allegations of an assault committed by an american servicemen against a minor 12 a restriction was imposed to all u s military and status of forces agreement eligible personnel at bases in okinawa and iwakuni in february 2008 it has since been lifted 13 in april 2008 the u s military charged a marine with raping a 14 year old girl in okinawa pressing ahead with a case that spurred protests against the u s presence on the island u s military charges against staff sgt tyrone l hadnott include rape of a child under 16 abusive sexual conduct making a false official statement adultery and kidnapping through inveigling or trickery hadnott was later cleared of the charge of rape and kidnapping and convicted on the assault charge with a prison sentence of three years 14 edit alleged former us nuclear arms base the japanese government strictly restrained the introduction of nuclear arms into japanese territory by the non nuclear policy three non nuclear principles prior to the reversion of okinawa to japanese administration in 1972 it is reported that 1200 nuclear weapons were deployed to us bases in okinawa 15 most of the weapons were stored in ammunition bunkers at kadena air base there are wide range speculations that not all the weapons were removed from okinawa 16 edwin o reischauer former us ambassador to japan in an interview with the mainichi shimbun in 1981 said that us naval ships armed with nukes stopped at japanese ports on a routine duty and this was approved by the japanese government in the bulletin of atomic scientists in early 2000 3 4 robert s norris william m arkin and william burr wrote that the united states has placed nuclear arms on okinawa this is disputed by the american government edit mcas futenma relocation the governments of the united states and japan agreed on october 26 2005 to move the marine corps air station futenma base from its location in the densely populated city of ginowan to the more northerly and remote camp schwab under the plan thousands of marines will relocate the move is partly an attempt to relieve tensions between the people of okinawa and the marine corps protests from environmental groups and residents over the construction of part of a runway at camp schwab and from businessmen and politicians around futenma and henoko have occurred 5 the legality of the proposed heliport relocation has been questioned as being a violation of international law including the world heritage convention the convention on biological diversity and the convention for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in an article titled boundary intersections of unesco heritage conventions using custom and cultural landscapes to save okinawa’s dugong habitat from u s heliport construction the article even questions whether the current use of camp schwab for amphibious training violates these three conventions edit proposed solutions as recently as 2003 the us was considering moving most of the 20 000 marines on okinawa to new bases that would be established in australia increasing the presence of us troops in singapore and malaysia and seeking agreements to base navy ships in vietnamese waters and ground troops in the philippines under plans on the table all but about 5 000 of the marines would move possibly to australia as of 2006 some 8 000 us marines were being removed from the island and being relocated to guam 17 edit education the public schools in okinawa are overseen by the okinawa prefectural board of education the agency directly operates several public high schools 6 the us department of defense dependents schools dodds operates 13 schools total in okinawa seven of these schools are located on kadena air base edit sports football f c ryūkyū naha basketball ryukyu kings naha in addition various baseball teams hold training during the winter in the prefecture as it is the warmest prefecture of japan with no snow and higher temperatures than other prefectures softbank hawks yokohama baystars chunichi dragons yakult swallows edit transportation edit air transportation aguni airport hateruma airport iejima airport ishigaki airport kerama airport kita daito airport kumejima airport minami daito airport miyako airport naha airport shimojijima airport tarama airport yonaguni airport edit highways okinawa expressway naha airport expressway route 58 route 329 route 330 route 331 route 332 route 390 route 449 route 505 route 506 route 507 edit rail see also rail transportation in okinawa okinawa monorail edit ports the major ports of okinawa include naha port 7 port of unten 8 port of kinwan 9 nakagusukuwan port 10 hirara port 11 port of ishigaki 12 edit united states military installations kadena air base marine corps base camp smedley d butler marine corps air station futenma camp courtney camp foster camp hansen camp kinser camp mctureous camp schwab camp gonsalves northern training area jungle warfare training center naha military port naval facility white beach camp lester torii station camp shields edit see also history of ryukyu islands okinawa island okinawan language okinawan family name people from okinawa prefecture ryukyu independence movement kariyushi club the former ryukyu independent party ryukyu islands ryukyu okinawan samurai ryukyuan people ryukyuan religion edit references 山下町第１洞穴出土の旧石器について japanese 南島考古22 沖縄県の基地の現状 japanese okinawa prefectural government a b 沖縄に所在する在日米軍施設・区域 japanese japan ministry of defense a b 語り継ぎたい「沖縄戦」 japanese okinawa times may 13 2007 impact on the lives of the okinawan people incidents accidents and environmental issues okinawa prefectural government 沖縄・米兵による女性への性犯罪 rapes and murders by the u s military personnel 1945 2000 japanese 基地・軍隊を許さない行動する女たちの会 military base affairs division okinawa prefecture schrijvers peter 2002 the gi war against japan new york city new york university press p 212 isbn 0814798160 u s servicemen convicted in okinawa rape cnn march 7 1996 kyodo news december 11 2002 okinawa assembly demands major s handover in rape case the japan times retrieved on 2007 06 12 allen david chiyomi sumida january 16 2003 japanese lawmaker seeks s korean help in bid for sofa changes stars and stripes retrieved on 2007 06 12 us marine on okinawa accused of raping girl 14 gardian february 11 2008 u s limits okinawa troops to bases over rape case reuters february 19 2008 us marine guilty of japan assault bbc may 16 2008 完全撤去の保証を与えよ japanese okinawa times october 22 1999 疑惑が晴れるのはいつか japanese okinawa times may 16 1999 defenselink news article eight thousand u s marines to move from okinawa to guam edit external links wikimedia commons has media related to okinawa prefecture map okinawa prefecture mahae plus okinawa travel information edit news okinawa s virtual ginza news information and unique insight on okinawa and its culture updated frequently okinawa 1988 1991 blog reporting news about okinawa okinawa plants okinawa animals okinawa marine life okinawa ghost edit geography and maps google maps edit photographs okinawa hdr photography wonder okinawa edit culture ryukyu cultural archives okinawa prefecture official home page the okinawa centenarian study okinawa web radio brazil edit night life and entertainment parties international edit history edit misc internships japanese language school in okinawa the contemporary okinawa website history culture news book reviews historical documents links opinions okinawa geocaching site for geocaching treasure hunt with gps in okinawa edit peace okinawa prefectural peace memorial museum okinawa peace network of los angeles useful information on the u s military base controversy okinawa prefecture cities ginowan ishigaki itoman miyakojima nago naha capital nanjō okinawa tomigusuku urasoe uruma districts kunigami miyako nakagami shimajiri yaeyama edit hide v d e regions and administrative divisions of japan regions hokkaidō tōhoku kantō chūbu hokuriku kōshin etsu shin etsu tōkai kansai chūgoku san in san yō shikoku kyūshū ryūkyū prefectures aichi akita aomori chiba ehime fukui fukuoka fukushima gifu gunma hiroshima hokkaidō hyōgo ibaraki ishikawa iwate kagawa kagoshima kanagawa kōchi kumamoto kyoto mie miyagi miyazaki nagano nagasaki nara niigata ōita okayama okinawa osaka saga saitama shiga shimane shizuoka tochigi tokushima tokyo tottori toyama wakayama yamagata yamaguchi yamanashi designated cities special wards of tokyo chiba fukuoka hamamatsu hiroshima kawasaki kitakyushu kobe kyoto nagoya niigata osaka saitama sakai sapporo sendai shizuoka yokohama coordinates 26°30′n 128°0′e 26 5 128 retrieved from http en wikipedia org wiki okinawa_prefecture categories okinawa prefecture kyūshū region ryukyu islands former regions and territories of the united states prefectures of japan hidden categories articles needing additional references from november 2006 articles with specifically marked weasel worded phrases views article discussion edit this page history personal tools log in create account navigation main page contents featured content current events random article search interaction about wikipedia community portal recent changes contact wikipedia donate to wikipedia help toolbox 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