During World War II, in an effort to build consciousness in people as subjects of the Japanese Empire, not only the Ryukyuan group, but also Korean, Palauan and various other languages were referred to as dialects of Japanese.
Durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial, nun esforzo por facer conciencia na xente como suxeitos do Imperio do Xapón, non só o grupo ryukyuano, senón tamén o coreano, o palauano e outras linguas foron chamadas "dialectos" do xaponés.