The Kantō dialect (関東方言 kantō hōgen, 関東弁 kantō-ben) is a group of the Japanese dialects spoken in the Kantō region apart from the Izu Islands. The Kanto dialect is including the Tokyo dialect which is the basis of the modern standard Japanese. Along with the Tohoku dialect, it has been characterized by a suffix -be or -ppe; Kanto speakers were called Kantō bei by Kansai speakers in the Edo period. The eastern Kantō dialect has more features common to the Tōhoku dialect. After the Pacific War, the southern Kanto regions such as Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba prefectures developed as satellite cities of Tokyo, and today traditional dialects in these areas are almost replaced by standard Japanese.