List_of_islands_of_Japan

List of islands of Japan

List of islands of Japan

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Japan is an island country of 14,125 islands, of which approximately 260 are inhabited.[1][2] Japan is the fourth-largest island country in the world, behind Indonesia, Madagascar, and Papua New Guinea.[3] Japan is also the second-most-populous island country in the world, only behind Indonesia.

Japanese islands outlined

According to a survey conducted by the Japan Coast Guard in 1987, the number of islands in Japan was 6,852. At that time, the survey only counted islands with coastlines of 100 meters or more that were shown on paper maps. On February 28, 2023, the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan announced that the number of islands had been updated to 14,125 through a recount using digital maps. Since there is no international standard for counting islands, only islands with a coastline of 100 meters or more were counted, as in the past. According to the GSI, advances in surveying technology and the detailed representation of topographic features through digital mapping contributed to this announcement.[4][1]

Japanese archipelago

Main article: Japanese archipelago

Main islands

The main islands of Japan

The four main islands of Japan are:[5][6]

  • Hokkaido – the northernmost and second largest main island, third most populous.
  • Honshu – the largest and most populous island, with the capital Tokyo. Honshu is connected to the other three main islands by bridges and tunnels.
  • Kyushu – the third largest main island, second most populous and the nearest to the Asian continent.
  • Shikoku – the smallest and least populous main island, located between Honshu and Kyushu.

Hokkaido prefecture

Islands of Honshu in the Sea of Japan

Islands in Tokyo Bay

Islands in Osaka Bay

Islands in Ise Bay

Islands in Mutsu Bay

Nanpō Islands (Nanpō Shotō)

Izu Islands
Ogasawara Islands

Other Japanese islands

Islands around Kyushu

Most of these are located in the East China Sea.

Islands around Shikoku

Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shotō)

Ryukyu Islands

Satsunan Islands

The northern half is administratively part of Kagoshima Prefecture and Kyushu.

Ōsumi Islands

The North-Eastern Group:

The North-Western Group:

Tokara Islands

The Shichi-tō:

Amami Islands

Ryukyu Islands (Ryūkyū-shotō)

The Southern Half, Okinawa Prefecture

Okinawa Islands

The Central Group or Ryukyu proper:

Sakishima Islands

Also known as the Further Isles:

Seto Inland Sea islands

Seto Inland Sea

Islands in lakes

Other artificial islands

Claims but does not control

Kuril islands and the Northern Territories

The Northern Territories

There are four disputed Kuril Islands that are controlled by Russia and claimed by Japan. These islands are called the Chishima Islands.[18]

  • Iturup - Etorofu (択捉島, Etorofu-tō)
  • Kunashir - Kunashiri (国後島, Kunashiri-tō)
  • Shikotan - Shikotan (色丹島, Shikotan-tō)
  • Habomai Islands - Habomai (歯舞群島, Habomai-guntō)

Others

Former

Largest islands of Japan

Main article: List of islands of Japan by area

These are the 50 largest islands of Japan. It excludes the disputed Kuril islands known as the northern territories.

More information Rank, Island name ...

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Kojo, Hirotaka (February 15, 2023). "Japan has more than 14,000 islands, digital mapping reveals". The Asahi Shimbun. Archived from the original on February 21, 2023.
  2. [2]
    McCurry, Justin (February 16, 2023). "Japan sees its number of islands double after recount". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 1, 2023.
  3. [3]
    "Island Countries Of The World". WorldAtlas.com. Archived from the original on 2017-12-07. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  4. [4]
    "我が国の島を一定の条件のもと数えました。その結果、14,125島となりましたので、お知らせいたします。". Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. February 28, 2023. Archived from the original on March 2, 2023.
  5. [5]
    "離島とは(島の基礎知識) (what is a remote island?)". MLIT (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) (in Japanese). Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. 22 August 2015. Archived from the original (website) on 2007-11-13. Retrieved 9 August 2019. MILT classification 6,852 islands(main islands: 5 islands, remote islands: 6,847 islands)
  6. [6]
    Imperial Japanese Commission to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. (1903). Japan in the Beginning of the 20th century (Haruki Yamawaki, editor), p. 2.
  7. [7]
    Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Rishiri-tō" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 791.
  8. [8]
    Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1962). Sovereign and Subject, p. 332.
  9. [9]
    Ponsonby-Fane, p. 331.
  10. [10]
    Nussbaum, "Izu Shotō" at p. 412.
  11. [11]
    Gotoh, H. et al. (2010). "Infrastructure Maintenance and Disaster Prevention Measures on Isolated Islands: the Case of the Izu Islands near Tokyo" in Island Sustainability (Favro, S., editor), p. 187.
  12. [12]
    Nussbaum, p. 412; Ponsonby-Fane, p. 332.
  13. [13]
    Nussbaum, "Ōshima" at p. 761.
  14. [14]
    Nussbaum, "Torishima" at p. 987.
  15. [15]
    Nussbaum, "Ogasawara Guntō" at p. 737.
  16. [16]
    Nussbaum, "Hashima" at p. 294.
  17. [17]
    "Io-Torishima". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  18. [18]
    Imperial Japanese Commission, p. 3.
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