The International Association of Ryukyuan and Okinawan Studies (IAROS) is a worldwide network of scholars engaged in the study of the language, the history, the culture, and the natural environment of the Ryukyu Islands (today the Prefecture of Okinawa and parts of the Prefecture of Kagoshima, Japan). IAROS was founded in 2006 at the 5th International Symposium on Okinawan Studies at the University of Venice. The founding comprises scholars from Okinawa and from mainland Japan; from the countries of China and the U.S.A.; and from the continents of Australia and Europe.
Planning Committee (as of June 30, 2008)
Regions: the regional representatives
Okinawa: Hateruma Nagayoshi, Higa Masao
Japanese Mainland: Katsukata (Inafuku) Keiko, Kiyonari Tadao
America: Gregory Smits
Australia: Hugh Clark
Europe: Rosa Caroli
Advisors: Koji Taira, Hokama Shuzen
Organizers: Sumiya Kazuhiko, Josef Kreiner