Japan has discovered 7,000 new islands in its territory. Read to know how the number of islands in the region doubled.
All about the new islands in Japan
Thanks to the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI)’s digital mapping initiative, they discovered a total of 14,125 islands in its territory. Until now, the government was using 6,852 as the official number of islands in Japan. It was based on a 1987 report by the country’s Coast Guard. The GSI stressed that the new figures are a reflection of recent technological advancement. While it added detail to the map, it did not change the total land in Japan’s possession.
Moreover, GSI explained that there is no international agreement on the counting island. But, the same criteria as the previous survey 35 years ago were employed. Hence, it involved counting all land masses that naturally occur within the circumference of 100 meters. It does not include artificially reclaimed lands. However, it is important to note that previously islands with a circumference of under 100 meters were not included. The older tech was also not good at distinguishing between the islets.
Japan and its various territorial disputes:
The islands around Japan have been the center of several territorial dispute issues. Japan lays a claim to the Russian-held southern Kuril islands. Tokyo calls the region its northern territories. This dispute dates back to the end of World War II when soviet troops seized the region. Additionally, Tokyo states it has a historical claim on Senkau Island. While the uninhabited group in the East China sea is administered by Tokyo, Beijing has been repeatedly challenging the claim. Additionally, Japan locked in disputes for over 70 years with South Korea. The two nations are fighting over the sovereignty of a group of islets. Seol calls them Dokdo in the East Sea and Tokyo calls them Takeshima in the Sea of Japan.
