Okinawa Prefecture

Okinawa is a redirect to this article. Further meanings are listed under Okinawa (disambiguation) .

Okinawa-ken 沖 縄 県
Basic data
Administrative headquarters :	Naha
Region :	Kyushu
Main island :	Okinawa
Area :	2,275.47  km²
Water content:	0.5  %
Residents :	1,454,184 (October 1, 2019)
Population density :	639 inhabitants per km²
Counties :	5
Municipalities :	41
ISO 3166-2 :	JP-47
Governor :	Denny Tamaki
Website:	www.pref.okinawa.jp
Symbols
Prefecture flag :
Prefecture tree :	Pinus luchuensis
Prefecture flower :	Indian coral tree
Vogel prefecture :	Okinawa woodpecker
Fish prefecture :	Two-striped fusilier
Prefecture song :	Okinawa-kenmin no uta ("Song of the Citizens of Okinawa")
Remembrance Day of Return to Japan:	May 15

The Okinawa Prefecture ( Jap. 沖縄県 , Okinawa-ken , Okinawaisch Uchina ) is Japan's southernmost prefecture . It includes the island groups Okinawa , Miyako and Yaeyama belonging to the Ryūkyū Islands . Okinawa Prefecture is therefore to be distinguished from the island group of the same name and its main island Okinawa Hontō . The latter was formerly the center of the Kingdom of Ryūkyū and is located a little over 500 kilometers southwest of the Japanese main island Kyūshū . Yonaguni Island at the southwestern end of Okinawa Prefecture is only 125 kilometers from Taiwan .

geography

The islands belonging to Okinawa Prefecture are located in the subtropics between 24 ° and 28 ° N and between 123 ° and 131 ° 20 'E.

In particular, Okinawa Prefecture includes:

• Three large archipelagos (from north to south):
  • the Okinawa archipelago : Naha , the capital of the prefecture , is on Okinawa Hontō , the main island of the archipelago .
  • the Miyako archipelago (old German name of the island: Typinsan)
  • the Yaeyama archipelago , from whose westernmost island, Yonaguni , you can see Taiwan in good weather .
    (The Miyako and Yaeyama archipelagos are also collectively referred to as the Sakishima archipelago .)
• Islands that do not belong to any of the three larger archipelagos:
  • the island of Iōtorishima, about 110 kilometers north of the Okinawa archipelago .
  • the three islands of the Daitō ( 大 東 諸島 , -shotō ) group of islands about 350 kilometers east-southeast of the Okinawa group of islands . Sometimes this archipelago is also included in the Okinawa archipelago despite a relatively large distance.
  • the approximately 400 km west-southwest lying uninhabited archipelago of Senkaku .

There are 363 islands or 160 islands of at least 1 hectare in the prefecture, 49 of which are inhabited. See Okinawa Prefecture Island List for a listing .

The highest mountain is the 526 m high Omoto-dake on Ishigaki-jima .

history

→ Main article : History of the Ryūkyū Islands

On Okinawa and the surrounding archipelagos, languages ​​and cultures were able to develop, as Okinawa belonged to the Kingdom of Ryūkyū ( 琉球 , Ryūkyū ), which lasted until 1879.

However, the Ryūkyū languages spoken in Okinawa , also known as Uchinaguchi , are only used by older residents. Most young residents prefer the Japanese language , although an Okinawan dialect remains. This is particularly evident in vocabulary that is only used locally. Nevertheless, attempts are being made through popular music (such as the Okinawian band Begin ) as well as radio and television broadcasts in the Ryūkyū language to encourage young people to learn and use it actively.

The Battle of Okinawa in 1945 was one of the last major battles in World War II , killing an estimated 120,000 people. As a result of the Second World War, the island was occupied by the USA .

During the occupation, attempts were made to form a "State of Okinawa" or the "Republic of the Ryukyus" that was independent of Japan. Even joining as a US state, like Hawaii, was considered before the Korean War . Japan got the island back on May 15, 1972, but more than 20% of the island's territory remained US military territory.

The G8 Economic Summit 2000 took place on the island of Okinawa from July 21 to 23 under the Japanese presidency. Okinawan motifs were used to reissue 2000 yen bills at that time.

See also : Okinawa Prefecture Popular Consultation 2019

politics

The main building of the Prefectural Administration in Naha

Lower House constituencies map

Since its return to Japanese sovereignty in 1972, Okinawa's political landscape has been shaped by the US military presence and the debate over the US-Japanese security treaty. For a long time, the left parties worked together in a united front in national elections: the Communist Party of Japan (KPJ), the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the "Socialist Mass Party Okinawa" ( Okinawa Shakai Taishūtō , Shadaitō for short ), which under the US A military government emerged and continues to exist as a regional party , and the Democratic Party recently nominated candidates together in the upper house election in 2007 and in some cases in the lower house election in 2009 before the Democrats took over the central government and, after breaking their election promise to reduce the military presence, entered into violent opposition by the left parties Faced Okinawa.

Former LP Lower House MP Denny Tamaki has been Governor of Okinawa since October 2018 . In the early gubernatorial election on September 30, 2018, he opposed the Pentagon's planned restructuring of the bases within Okinawa with support from the national center-left opposition with around 55% of the votes against the former mayor of, who was supported by the national governing parties Ginowan, Atsushi Sakima, and two other candidates through. The turnout fell slightly compared to the 2014 election to 63.2%, but could have been affected by Typhoon No. 24 (international Typhoon Trami). Predecessor Takeshi Onaga , also from the camp of the base opponents, had died in office.

The Okinawa prefectural parliament has 48 regular members and is one of six prefectural parliaments that are not elected by unified regional elections. In the last elections in June 2020 , the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was able to gain seats and, with 17 of the 48 seats, remained clearly the strongest single party; But the "prefectural government parties" - since the governor is directly elected, he does not necessarily have to rely on a fixed majority in parliament - defended with 25 seats (KPJ 7, SDP 4, Shadaitō 2, KDP 1, the governor supporting Independent 11) a majority. The turnout fell to 46.96% and was thus below 50% for the first time in the prefecture parliament elections.

In the national parliament, Okinawa is represented by four members of the lower house and two in the upper house , after the elections in 2016 , 2017 and 2019 currently (as of August 2019):

• in the lower house
  • for the constituency of Okinawa 1 with in particular the city of Naha the communist Seiken Akamine ,
  • for constituency 2 with the cities of Urasoe and Ginowan, the social democrat Kantoku Teruya ,
  • for constituency 3 in the north with the cities of Nago, Okinawa and Uruma Tomohiro Yara ( DVP ), who won the by-election for Tamaki's seat as a liberal in April 2019,
  • for constituency 4 with the south of Okinawa Hontō and the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands, the liberal democrat Kōsaburō Nishime , who prevailed in 2017 against the incumbent incumbent Toshinobu Nakazato ,
• in the upper house
  • by 2025 Tetsumi Takara from the Shadaitō or the left united front All Okinawa (with Shadaitō, KDP , DVP, KPJ, SDP and several factions from national, prefecture and local parliaments)
  • Yōichi Iha , former Prefectural MP and Mayor of Ginowan, until 2022 ; Takara and Iha together form the upper house fraction Okinawa no Kaze .

Culture

Okinawa is known as the birthplace of the martial arts Karatedō (hist. Tōde, okin. Tōdī) and Kobudō .

Also comes Eisa , a kind of drummers and dance group from Okinawa. Almost every island has its own Eisa troop and its own arrangements. The actors are pupils, students and young adults between 15 and a maximum of 25 years. Both boys and girls enjoy this traditional and extremely popular spectacle.

longevity

The Japanese island of Okinawa is considered the region with the highest life expectancy in the world. It is also known as the "island of the centenarians". Okinawa is one of three places in the world with the highest number of centenarians per population. Average life expectancy, at 86 years for women and 78 years for men, is higher than in the rest of Japan, which already holds a leading position in global statistics. A scientific study by Ryūkyū University confirms that the elderly are in an above-average state of health. The risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, strokes, cancer and diabetes is significantly lower for people who live the traditional way of life than in western industrialized nations. In the age group between 20 and 60, on the other hand, the statistics show the opposite effect: Here, people are thicker and sicker than in the rest of Japan, which the researchers attribute to, among other things, the introduction of American-influenced eating and living habits.

In a new survey in 2013, Okinawa had to relinquish the first position in the age statistics, which is based mainly on the longevity of women, to Nagano Prefecture and fell to third place.

American military

Military bases on Okinawa Hontō

Since the end of World War II there have been several US military bases on Okinawa, including Kadena Air Base and Camp Foster , with a total of 26,000 US soldiers (as of 2018). Okinawa is therefore also known as the "unsinkable aircraft carrier" of the USA. Almost all of the 14,460 marines stationed in Japan are in Okinawa.

Giving up Okinawa completely as a base, as many locals demand, is hardly an option for the USA for geo-strategic considerations. The proximity to Taiwan is particularly relevant here should the Taiwan Relations Act come into effect . The US Navy is currently planning to build a submarine base. However, the selected stretch of coast is in a nature reserve, which is a port of call for the endangered marine mammal Dugong and other threatened species.

Trivia

Departure boards in airports in the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China (Taiwan) as well as monitors in the aircraft of corresponding airlines still show 琉球 ( Ryūkyū , Pinyin : Líuqíu), not 沖 縄 (Okinawa).

Administrative division

The main island of Okinawa Hontō

Road signs in Okinawa Prefecture

In the table below, the five districts ( 群 Gun ) are shown in italics, below each (indented) the eleven small towns ( 町 Chō ) and the 19 villages ( 村 Son ) therein. The first three digits of the code (1st column) also show a relationship between the rural district and the small town; the code here always ends with the number zero. At the beginning of the table are the eleven independent cities ( 市 Shi ).

code	Surname		Area (in km²)	population	Population density (inh / km²)
	Rōmaji	Kanji	October 1, 2017 1	October 1, 2019 2	October 1, 2015 3
47201	Naha- shi	那覇 市	39.98	317,606	319,435	7989.87
47205	Ginowan- shi	宜 野 湾 市	19.80	98.093	96.243	4860.76
47207	Ishigaki- shi	石 垣 市	229.15	48.132	47,564	207.57
47208	Urasoe- shi	浦 添 市	19.48	115.158	114,232	5864.07
47209	Nago- shi	名 護 市	210.90	62,725	61,674	292.43
47210	Itoman- shi	糸 満 市	46.63	60,546	58,547	1255.57
47211	Okinawa- shi	沖 縄 市	49.72	141,462	139.279	2801.27
47212	Tomigusuku -shi	豊 見 城市	19.19	63,700	61.119	3184.94
47213	Uruma- shi	う る ま 市	87.02	121.294	118,898	1366.33
47214	Miyakojima- shi	宮 古 島 市	204.20	52.176	51.186	250.67
47215	Nanjo- shi	南 城市	49.94	43,539	42,016	841.33
47300	Kunigami-gun	国 頭 郡	577.26	63,651	64,496	111.73
47301	Kunigami-son	国 頭村	194.80	4617	4908	25.20
47302	Ōgimi-son	大 宜 味 村	63.55	2915	3060	48.15
47303	Higashi-son	東村	81.88	1613	1720	21.01
47306	Nakijin-son	今 帰 仁 村	39.93	9262	9531	238.69
47308	Motobu-cho	本部 町	54.35	13,140	13,536	249.05
47311	Onna-son	恩納 村	50.83	10,940	10,652	209.56
47313	Ginoza-son	宜 野 座 村	31.30	5785	5597	178.82
47314	Kin-cho	金 武 町	37.84	11,270	11,232	296.83
47315	Ie-son	伊 江村	22.78	4109	4260	187.01
47320	Nakagami-gun	中 頭 郡	107.31	154,326	151.607	1412.79
47324	Yomitan- son	読 谷 村	35.28	39,628	39.504	1119.73
47325	Kadena-cho	嘉 手 納 町	15.12	13,471	13,685	905.09
47326	Chatan-cho	北 谷 町	13.93	28,270	28,308	2032.16
47327	Kitanakagusuku-son	北 中 城 村	11.54	16,674	16,148	1399.31
47328	Nakagusuku-son	中 城 村	15.53	21,542	19,454	1252.67
47329	Nishihara-cho	西 原 町	15.90	34,741	34,508	2170.31
47340	Shimajiri gun	島 尻 郡	234.88	104,474	100,235	426.75
47348	Yonabaru-cho	与 那 原 町	5.18	19,494	18,410	3554.05
47350	Haebaru-cho	南風 原 町	10.76	39,835	37.502	3485.32
47353	Tokashiki-son	渡 嘉 敷 村	19.23	754	730	37.96
47354	Zamami- son	座 間 味 村	16.74	889	870	51.97
47355	Aguni-son	粟 国 村	7.65	709	759	99.22
47356	Tonaki-son	渡 名 喜 村	3.87	401	430	111.11
47357	Minamidaito-son	南大 東村	30.52	1305	1329	43.55
47358	Kitadaito-son	北大 東村	13.09	621	629	48.05
47359	Iheya-son	伊 平 屋村	21.82	1187	1238	56.74
47360	Izena-son	伊 是 名 村	15.42	1391	1517	98.38
47361	Kumejima-cho	久 米 島 町	63.65	7317	7755	121.84
47362	Yaese-cho	八 重 瀬 町	26.96	30,571	29,066	1078.12
47370	Miyako-gun	宮 古 郡	22.00	1113	1194	54.27
47375	Tarama-son	多 良 間 村	22.00	1113	1194	54.27
47380	Yaeyama -gun	八 重 山 郡	363.36	6189	5841	16.07
47381	Taketomi- chō	竹 富 町	334.39	4117	3998	11.96
47382	Yonaguni-cho	与 那 国 町	28.96	2072	1843	63.64
Okinawa Prefecture		沖 縄 県	2280.98	1,454,184	1,433,566	628.49

Naha, is the seat of the prefecture administration and at the same time a Chūkakushi ("core city").

swell

---

¹ Area data from 2017
² Estimated population
³ Results of the 2015 census

Biggest places

Existing and former cities (-shi)

Census year	Residents
2015	2010	2005	2000
Naha	319,435	315,954	312,393	301.032
Okinawa	139.279	130.249	126,400	119,686
Uruma	118,898	116,979	113,535	-
Urasoe	114,232	110.351	106.049	102.734
Ginowan	96.243	91,928	89,769	86,744
Nago	61,674	60.231	59,463	56,606
Tomigusuku	61.119	57,261	52,516	-
Itoman	58,547	57,320	55,816	54,974
Miyakojima	51.186	52,039	53,493	-
Ishigaki	47,564	46,922	45.183	43,302
Nanjō	42,016	39,758	-	-
Ishikawa	-	-	-	21,992
Gushikawa	-	-	-	61,061
Hirara	-	-	-	33,701

On April 1, 2002, Tomigusuku-son Village was promoted to a county-level city (-shi).
On April 1, 2005, the new city of Uruma was formed from the cities of Ishikawa and Gushikawa and two other communities .
On October 1, 2005, the new city of Miyakojima was formed from the city of Hirara and four other parishes .
On October 1, 2006, four parishes merged to form the new city of Nanjo .

Population development in the prefecture

Census population

Census year	Total population	male population	female population	Gender ratio men to 1000 women	Area in km 2	Population density per km 2
1920	571,572	274,829	296,743	926	2387.28	239.4
1925	557,622	267.933	289,689	925	2387.28	233.6
1930	577.509	272,797	304.712	895	2386.29	242.0
1935	592.494	281.266	311.228	904	2386.24	248.3
1940	574,579	270,680	303,899	891	2386.24	240.8
1950	914.937	429,432	485.505	885	3625.27	252.4
1955	801.065	381,939	419.126	911	2388.22	335.4
1960	883.122	422.843	460.279	919	2388.22	369.8
1965	934.176	447,693	486.483	920	2388.22	391.2
1970	945.111	451.393	493.718	914	2239.22	422.1
1975	1,042,572	510.754	531.818	960	2245.87	464.2
1980	1,106,559	543,692	562,867	966	2249.91	491.8
1985	1,179,097	581.102	597.995	972	2254.17	523.1
1990	1,222,398	598,669	623.729	960	2264.00	539.9
1995	1,273,440	624.737	648.703	963	2266.04	562.0
2000	1,318,220	647,877	670.343	967	2271.30	580.4
2005	1,361,594	668.502	693.092	965	2274.59	598.6
2010	1,392,818	683.328	709,490	963	2276.15	611.9
2015	1,433,566	704.619	728.947	967	2281.12	628.5

See also

• Nansei Islands
• List of Okinawa Governors

Web links

Commons : Okinawa Prefecture  - Collection of Images

• About Okinawa - Okinawa Tourist Information
• Info about Okinawa - German language website about Okinawa
• Wonder Okinawa - Official Digital Archive (English, Japanese; requires AdobeFlash )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ [1]
2. ↑ Japan Statistical Yearbook 2012 , Table 1-1: Islands, Area and Length of Coastline of National Land , Online ( Memento from March 28, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) ( MS Excel ; 29 kB)
3. ↑ 第 1 指定 離島 ・ 島 し ょ ・ 人口 . (PDF) In: 離島 関係 資料 (平 成 24 年 １ 月) . 沖 縄 県 企 画 部 地域 ・ 離島 課 ("Land and Islands Unit, Planning Department, Okinawa Prefecture"), January 2012, p. 5 , accessed on 11. December 2012 (Japanese). 
4. ↑ 於 茂 登岳 . In: デ ジ タ ル 大 辞 泉 at kotobank.jp. Retrieved December 13, 2012 (Japanese). 
5. ↑ 沖 縄 知事 に 玉 城 氏 初 当選 政 権 支援 の 佐 喜 真 氏 を 破 る . In: Asahi Shimbun Digital. September 30, 2018, Retrieved October 5, 2018 (Japanese). 
6. ↑ 沖 縄 知事 選 、 玉 城 氏 が 初 当選… 基地 移 設 に 影響 か . In: Yomiuri Online . September 30, 2018, Retrieved October 5, 2018 (Japanese). 
7. ↑ In blow to LDP, opponent of US base relocation plan Denny Tamaki wins Okinawa gubernatorial race. In: The Japan Times . September 30, 2018, accessed October 5, 2018 . 
8. ↑ 平 成 30 年 沖 縄 県 知事 選 挙 及 び 沖 縄 県 議会 議員 補 欠 選 挙 . Okinawa Prefectural Election Oversight Commission, October 3, 2018, accessed October 5, 2018 (Japanese). 
9. ↑ 沖 縄 県 議 選 . In: NHK SenkyoWeb. June 7, 2020, accessed June 11, 2020 (Japanese). 
10. ↑ 沖 縄 県 議 選 辺 野 古 移 設 中止 訴 え る 知事 与 党 が 過半数 維持 投票 率 過去 最低 . In: Mainichi Shimbun . June 8, 2020, accessed June 11, 2020 (Japanese). 
11. ↑ 沖 縄 県 議 選 、 知事 派 が 過半数 維持 辺 野 古 対 立 続 く . In: Nihon Keizai Shimbun . June 8, 2020, accessed June 11, 2020 (Japanese). 
12. ↑ Election pages of the Okinawa Prefectural Administration for the 2020 general election: 令 和 ２ 年 沖 縄 県 議会 議員 一般 選 挙 Reiwa 2-nen Okinawa kengikai giin ippan seityo
13. ^ Bloc against US base transfer keeps majority in Okinawa election. In: The Japan Times . June 7, 2020, accessed June 11, 2020 . 
14. ↑ Prof. Suzuki et al .: "Okinawa Centenarian Study", details under Okinawa Centenarian Study ( Memento from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
15. ↑ Kwan Weng Kin: Okinawa: No longer the land of longevity ( February 12, 2015 memento in the Internet Archive ) , The Straits Times Asia Report, March 2, 2013.
16. ↑ syd / AP: Japan: 70,000 people demonstrate against the US base in Okinawa. In: Spiegel Online . August 11, 2018, accessed April 12, 2020 . 
17. ↑ Kokudo Chiriin (GSI - Geospatial Information Authority of Japan), 平 成 29 年 全国 都 道 府 県 市区 町 村 別 面積 調 (Nationwide survey of all prefectures and municipalities 2017) , p. 101: 47 Okinawa-ken (Japanese), accessed on 26 December 2018
18. ↑ 沖 縄 県 推 計 人口 デ ー タ 一 覧 （Excel 形式） . 沖 縄 県 , October 1, 2019, accessed October 31, 2019 (Japanese). 
19. ↑ e-stat (English), accessed on December 26, 2018
20. ↑ e-Stat database , accessed on December 16, 2018 (English)

Coordinates: 26 ° 11 '  N , 127 ° 33'  E