Japan Discovered 7,000 New Islands In Its Territory

OAN Deven Berryhill
UPDATED AT 2:30 PM PT Thursday, March 2, 2023

After a recent digital mapping exercise conducted by Japan’s Coast Guard, the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan discovered an additional 7,000 islands.

6852 islands were originally counted. This was the last time it happened in 1987. The number of islands in Japan now stands at 14,125. According to the GSI, the increase in island counts was due to technological advances in counting islands. The new counting system used the same 100-meter measurement criteria as 35 years back.

The 14,125 count included many islands in Japan. This included claims by other countries. Japan claims the Russian-held, disputed south Kuril Islands. This includes the uninhabited Senkaku Islands of East China Sea and a group known as Dokdo, which are both close to South Korea.

Kyodo News Japan reports the island count was started after a member of the Liberal Democratic Party stated to the Japanese Parliament that 2021, “an accurate understanding the number of islands” is an administrative matter of national importance.