As a branch of Japanese, why is Ryukyu closely related to Fujian dialect?

Because although the academic circles now think that Ryukyu language is a branch of Japanese, the development of Ryukyu language is biased towards Japanese, which actually started from 1879, that is, from Japan's invasion of China. Before 1879, Ryukyu language was more influenced by Minnan culture. At that time, Ryukyu was located in the east of the southeast coast of China, and it was an archipelago, also known as Ryukyu Islands.

Ryukyu is actually located between Chinese mainland and Japan, and the distance between them is very close. In feudal society, Ryukyu was still a subordinate country of China regime, so people in Ryukyu used Chinese characters at that time. Especially in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Ryukyu constantly arranged for domestic students to study in China. At that time, the places where these international students went were mainly Beijing, Nanjing and Fujian.

In addition, because many people in Ryukyu make a living by fishing and relying on the sea, there are many typhoons in summer and autumn, resulting in many ships and fishermen stranded in the coastal areas of southern Fujian because of typhoons, and these people were also rescued by some people in southern Fujian at that time to help them return to China. Therefore, Ryukyu had frequent contacts with southern Fujian at that time. Some people even say that many Minnan people immigrated to Ryukyu to live. Therefore, both the overseas students sent by Ryukyu and the influx of Minnan people from China brought the Minnan culture of China to Ryukyu, so the early Ryukyu language was deeply influenced by Minnan culture.

It was not until 1879 that Japan invaded China and Ryukyu fell that Japanese talents forcibly promoted Japanese and Japanese culture in Ryukyu area. At that time, people in Ryukyu were restricted from speaking and learning Japanese. With the development of time, the pronunciation of Ryukyu language is gradually assimilated by Japanese, forming Okinawa-style Japanese. So that the relationship between Ryukyu and Japanese is closer than that of Minnan.