Okinawa

Okinawa, largest (454 sq mi/1,176 sq km) of the Ryukyu Islands in the West Pacific, part of Okinawa prefecture, Japan. Naha is the capital. Mountainous and jungle-covered in the south, hilly in the north, it is fertile—sugarcane, sweet potatoes, and rice are grown, and there are good fisheries. Captured by the United States during World War II, Okinawa was formally returned to Japan in 1972.