Kyushu-Okinawa Summit 2000
Outline of Kyushu-Okinawa Summit Meeting

Okinawa Prefecture is located in the southwestern tip of the Japanese archipelago. It is the southern half of the Nansei Shoto (Southwestern Islands), a 1200 km (746 mile), arched stretch of islands off the eastern coast of the Asian Continent. The Nansei Shoto extends from south of Kyushu Island to as far as Yonaguni Island, located east of Taiwan. Major Asian cities such as Shanghai, Taipei, Hong Kong and Manila as well as Tokyo can be found within a 1500km (938 mile) radius of Naha, the seat of the Okinawa Prefectural Government. Okinawa's proximity to other parts of Asia such as China, Southeast Asia and Oceania makes it the southern gateway to Japan. Okinawa Prefecture consists of 48 inhabited islands, but the main island of Okinawa alone accounts for approximately 53% of the prefecture's total area (2,267 square kilometers/875 square miles). Furthermore, the islands Okinawa, Iriomote, Ishigaki and Miyako together, account for approximately 83% of the total area.
Nago City, the planned site of the Summit's Meeting of Heads of State and Government, is the central city of the northern part of Okinawa Island. It is a waterfront city surrounded on three sides by Nago Bay, the Haneji Inland Sea and the Pacific Ocean.