Japan is an archipelago country made up of numerous islands. Of all sizes. Now, your officials did a census of all the islands and suddenly discovered that it was there. 7,000 more than I thought previously. Digital mapping by the Japan Geospatial Information Authority (GSI) recently discovered a total of 14,125 islands on Japanese territory, more than double the number of 6,852 officially reported since the 1987 Japan Coast Guard report.
However, GSI this week announced that the new figure andIt is the result of advances in surveying technology and higher map resolution. used to count, so the total land area owned by Japan does not change.
The same agency added that although there is no international agreement on how to count the islands, it uses the same size criteria as the census 35 years ago. This meant counting All natural land areas with a circumference of at least 100 metersreports CNN.
The new figure does not include artificially reclaimed land.
Territorial disputes over various islands
The islands surrounding Japan have been the focus of many territorial disputes with neighboring countries.
For example, Japan claims south kuril islandsWhat Tokyo calls the Northern Territories is in the hands of the Russians, a dispute that stretches back to the end of World War II when Soviet troops captured them from Japan.
The Japanese country also claims a historic claim on the uninhabited lands. Senkaku Islandsin the East China Sea, which it currently rules, but China has repeatedly disputed this claim.
Meanwhile, Japan and South Korea are locked in a more than 70-year-old dispute over sovereignty over a group of islets known by Seoul as Dokdo. Takeshima Via Tokyo in the Sea of Japan, which Korea calls the East Sea.