The Ryukyu Archipelago (Japanese: 琉球列島, "Ryūkyū-rettō") are a collection of 100+ islands located between Kyushu and Taiwan. They are politically split between the Japanese prefectures of Okinawa and Kagoshima.
Kagoshima Prefecture.
The northernmost parts of the Ryukyu Islands are within Kagoshima Prefecture. These islands are referred to as the Satsunan Islands (薩南諸島, "Satsunan-shotō"), meaning “south of Satsuma”, as they were the southernmost territories of the Satsuma Domain.
Okinawa Prefecture.
Islands south of the Satsunan Islands are administered by Okinawa Prefecture. Its predecessor was the Ryukyu Kingdom, an independent nation until 1879.
Japan has de facto control over the disputed Senkaku Islands, claiming them as part of Ishigaki City in Okinawa Prefecture. However, they are not geographically within the Ryukyu Archipelago, being located further westward in the East China Sea.
References.
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