The Ryukyu Islands /riˈuːkjuː/ (琉球諸島, Ryūkyū-shotō), known in Japanese as the Nansei Islands (南西諸島, Nansei-shotō, lit. "Southwest Islands") and also known as the Ryukyu Arc (琉球弧, Ryūkyū-ko), are a chain of volcanic Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni the southernmost.