Volcano Islands or central mountain) on Iwo Jima; and two settlements on Kita Iwo Jima: Ishino-mura ("Ishino village"; Ishino is a surname) and Nishi-mura ("West village"). The municipal administration office was located in Higashi until 1940, when the municipality was integrated into the administration of Ogasawara, Tokyo. Iwo Jima was the site of the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II, and the island group came under the United States administration. The Volcano Islands were returned to Japanese administration in 1968. Volcano Islands The or are a group of three Japanese islands south of the Bonin Islands that belong to the
Sangihe Islands main islands of the group are, north to south, Sangir Besar (or Sangir Island), Siau (or Siao), Tahulandang, and Biaro. The largest island is Sangir Besar and contains an active volcano, Mount Awu (). Tahuna is the chief town and port, also hosting the islands' sole airport, Naha Airport. The area came under Dutch control in 1677, and became part of Indonesia when it declared independence from the Netherlands in 1945. The Sangir language is spoken in the islands; this Austronesian language is also spoken in some islands in the Philippines, and on the extreme northern tip of Sulawesi. The