Izu-shoto

Izu-shotō (The Izu Islands) are a group of volcanic islands stretching south and east from the Izu Peninsula of Honshū, Japan. Administratively, they form two towns and six villages; all part of Tokyo. The largest is Izu Ōshima, usually called simply Ōshima. Although traditionally referred to as the "Izu Seven" (Izu Shichitō), there are in fact more than a dozen islands and islets. Nine among them are currently inhabited.

The total administrated area of the islands is 301.39 square km and is home to 24,960 people. The four southernmost islands are not administrated under any town or village in Hachijō Subprefecture, but are unincorporated areas. All the islands lie within the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Fishing by professionals and sports people is year-round, with the majority of boats docked on the Izu Peninsula. Torishima is now uninhabited but is an important bird refuge.

Izu Ōshima and Hachijōjima each form towns. The remaining seven islands form six villages, with Niijima and Shikinejima forming one village. Three subprefectures are formed above the municipalities as branch offices of the metropolitan government. Deserted islands between Aogashima and Ogasawara Islands, namely Bayonaise Rocks (Beyonēzu Retsugan), Smith Island (Sumisu-tō), Torishima, and Lot's Wife (Sōfu-iwa) do not belong to any municipality, because both Hachijō Town and Aogashima Village claim administrative rights. They are directly controlled by Hachijō Subprefecture instead.

During the Edo period, Nii-jima, Miyake-jima, and Hachijō-jima served as places of exile for criminals. The subtropical Ogasawara Islands, which are also administratively part of Tokyo, lie further to the south. They form a far-flung archipelago of over 30 islands some 1,000 km due south of Tokyo.