In 1867, the Japanese shogunate ended and power was returned to the Emperor Meiji. The new government had a policy to incorporate the Ryūkyū Kingdom into the Japanese Empire. The Ryūkyū Kingdom was reorganized. At first, in 1872, the Ryūkyū Kingdom was renamed Ryūkyū Domain, meaning that it was directly controlled by Japan instead of Satsuma Province. In 1879, it was reorganized as Okinawa Prefecture. The Ryūkyū Kingdom was ended at that time. Okinawa became a Japanese colony.