Okinawa, Japan

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Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan. It consists of three main island groups—the Okinawa Islands, the Sakishima Islands, and the Daitō Islands—spread across a maritime zone approximately 1,000 kilometers east to west and 400 kilometers north to south. Despite a modest land area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi), Okinawa's territorial extent over surrounding seas makes its total area nearly half the combined size of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu.
Historically the center of the Ryukyu Kingdom, Okinawa long served as a maritime trading hub and cultural gateway.