Japan is quickly transforming its southernmost Ryukyu islands into a heavily fortified defense zone, sparking concern and ...

The dugong, an endangered marine animal species designated as a natural monument by the government of Japan, almost certainly inhabit broad areas of the Ryukyu Island chain in Okinawa Prefecture, ...

The Ryukyu Islands are divided into three major island groups: Okinawa Islands, the Miyako Islands, and the Yaeyama Islands. Photograph by Ippei Naoi, Getty Images As the legend goes, Japan’s Ryukyu ...

Japan's Ryukyu Islands, which includes Okinawa, are the exclusive home to two rare mammals, the Amami rabbit and Ryukyu long-furred rat. These animals are hard to observe, but conservationists wish to ...

This extensive travel book by lecturer and Okinawa expert Robert Walker is billed as "the first comprehensive guide to the entire Ryukyu Island chain." With 25 years experience traveling throughout ...

Recently, the "Ryukyu studies" academic program, the first of its kind in China and initiated by Fujian Normal University, has been officially approved in China and is now formally launched. It is ...

Stone Age humans crossed the sea from Taiwan to the Ryukyu islands of south-west Japan tens of thousands of years ago – and it looks like they did so deliberately, even though the islands are too far ...

China doesn't dispute Japan's sovereignty over Okinawa and other islands in the Ryukyu chain, a senior Chinese military official said, dismissing recent commentary on the matter by state-backed ...

Inside China’s Rare Earth Empire: The Hidden Costs in Myanmar Japan’s defense minister confirmed plans this week to deploy several hundred Self-Defense Force personnel and missiles to another of its ...

Typhoon Soulik is a strong and rather unusual storm as it nears landfall on Japan’s Ryukyu Islands. A typhoon approaching Japan in the latter half of August isn’t unusual on its own, but the size of ...

As the legend goes, Japan’s Ryukyu Islands were created by the goddess Amamikyo, who is believed to have descended from the heavens and into the sea, just off the southern coast of what is now known ...