Japan’s official island count could more than double thanks to a new recount. “A source familiar with the matter” told Kyodo News that the number will increase from 6,852 to 14,125, although recent adjustments may make the officially announced number slightly different.
The recount took place after a parliamentarian at the 2021 parliamentary session declared that “a proper understanding of the number of islands is an important administrative matter of national interest”. The data will reportedly come from the Japan Geospatial Information Corporation (GSI), an institution founded in 1869 that studies and maps the country.
According to the Japan Statistical Yearbook 2023, the country has 6,852 islands that span a total area of 377,973.74 square kilometers. The island of Honshu is the seventh largest and second most populated island in the world.
However, the data on the number of islands are based on a manual study by the Japan Coast Guard in 1987. This study listed islands with a circumference of 100 meters or more, but it appears to sometimes combine groups of islands as a single island.
It was reported that more than 100,000 islands were identified in the new census of GSI using electronic terrain map and aerial photographs. However, only those who reach the 100 meters standard are included in the count. It also takes into account the UN’s definition of an island: “A naturally formed piece of land surrounded by water that remains above the water at low tide.”
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