Ryukyuan diaspora

Ryukyuan diaspora
琉球人

Total population
1.9+ million[1][2]
Regions with significant populations
United States	580,000[3]
Japan (excl. Ryukyu Islands)	480,000[2]note
Brazil	260,000[4]note
Peru	150,000[4]note
Taiwan	110,000[4]note
Argentina	90,000[4]note
Canada	80,000[4]note
Mexico	70,000[4]note
Chile	60,000[4]note
Philippines	40,000[4]note
Malaysia	12,500[4]note
Ecuador	-[4]note
Languages
Ryukyuan languages, Japanese, English, Tagalog, Chinese, and others
Religion
Ryukyuan religion, Buddhism, Shinto, Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Japanese diaspora
^ note: Ryukyuans living in Japan outside of the Ryukyu Islands are considered part of an internal diaspora. ^ note: The exact number of Ryukyuans living in other countries is unknown. They are usually counted as Japanese or Asian in censuses.

The Ryukyuan diaspora are the Ryukyuan emigrants from the Ryukyu Islands, especially Okinawa Island, and their descendants that reside in a foreign country. The first recorded emigration of Ryukyuans was in the 15th century when they established an exclave in Fuzhou in Ming Dynasty (China). Later, there was a large wave of emigration to Hawaii at the start of the 20th century, followed by a wave to various Pacific islands in the 1920s and multiple migrations to the Americas throughout the 20th century. Ryukyuans became Japanese citizens when Japan annexed the Ryukyu Kingdom in 1879; therefore Ryukyuan immigrants are often labeled as part of the Japanese diaspora. Regardless, some of the Ryukyuan diaspora view themselves as a distinct group from the Japanese (Yamato).

After Japan (Meiji era) legalized emigration from Okinawa Prefecture, thousands of Ryukyuans started to settle in other countries, incl. the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Chile.^{[citation needed]}

The first group of Okinawan emigrants arrived to the United States on January 8, 1900 under the leadership of Kyuzo Toyama, who is often referred to as “the father of Okinawan emigration”.^[5] Today, or as of late 2023, there are more than 100,000 Hawaiʻi residents of Ryukyuan ancestry, totaling around 7% of the state's population.^[5]

Brazil received its first migrants from Japan at the port of São Paulo on June 18, 1908. Half of these migrants were from Okinawa Prefecture, despite Okinawa having between 1% and 2% of Japan's total population.^[6]

As of 2022, about 580,000 Ryukyuans live in the United States, followed by about 480,000 in Japan, about 260,000 in Brazil, about 90,000 in Argentina, about 70,000 in Mexico and about 60,000 in Chile.^{[citation needed]}

• Ryukyuan people
• Ainu people

• Ethnic Studies Oral History Project and United Okinawan Association of Hawaii. Uchinanchu: A History of Okinawans in Hawaii. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1981.
• Kerr, George. Okinawa: History of an Island People. Tokyo: Charles Tuttle Company, 2000.
• Nakasone, Ronald Y. (2002). Okinawan Diaspora. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-2530-0.
• Rabson, Steve. The Okinawan Disapora in Japan: Crossing the Borders Within. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2012.
• Suzuki, Taku. Embodying Belonging: Racializing Okinawan Diaspora in Bolivia and Japan. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2010.
• https://www.statista.com/statistics/1080646/japan-number-japanese-residents-malaysia/
• https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/malaysia/data.html