Goto Islands

Group of islands belonging to Japan, and forming the westernmost group in the Korea Strait, west of Kyushu island; area 638 sq km/246 sq mi. Five main islands and several smaller islets make up the group, the capital of which is Fukue. The largest of the islands is about 40 km/25 mi long. The islands, which have fisheries, form part of Saikai National Park.

The Goto Islands were once a stopping-place for priests and scholars en route to and from China and were also used as a base for pirates. The remoteness of the islands enabled Christianity to survive here under the persecutions of the Edo period (1600–1868)