Bonin and Volcano islands

Japanese islands in the Pacific, north of the Marianas and 1,300 km/800 mi east of the Ryukyu Islands. They were under US control from 1945 to 1968. The Bonin Islands (Japanese Ogasawara-shotō) number 27 (in three groups), the largest being Chichijima: area 104 sq km/40 sq mi, population (1991) 2,430. The Volcano Islands (Japanese Kazan-rettō) number three, including Iwo Jima, scene of some of the fiercest fighting of World War II; total area 28 sq km/11 sq mi. They have no civilian population, but a 200-strong maritime self-defence force and a 100-strong air self-defence force are stationed there.