List of islands of Japan explained
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 Australia, Indonesia, and Madagascar.[3] Japan is also the second-most-populous island country in the world, only behind Indonesia.
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
See main article: Japanese archipelago.
Main islands
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
- Dream Island (Yume No Shima)
- Odaiba (artificial island)
- Sarushima (natural)
Other Japanese islands
- Minami Torishima (Marcus Island)
- Enoshima
- Okino Torishima (Parece Vela)
Islands around Kyushu
Most of these are located in the East China Sea.
Islands around Shikoku
The northern half is administratively part of Kagoshima Prefecture and Kyushu.
The North-Eastern Group:
The North-Western Group:
The Shichi-tō:
Ryukyu Islands (Ryūkyū-shotō)
The Southern Half, Okinawa Prefecture
The Central Group or Ryukyu proper:
Also known as the Further Isles:
- Kasaoka Islands
- Takashima Island (Okayama) 高島 (岡山県笠岡市)
- Shiraishi Island
- Kitagi Island, 北木島
- Obishi Island, 大飛島
- Kobi Island, 小飛島
- Manabeshima, 真鍋島
- Mushima Island (Okayama), 六島 (岡山県)
- Shiwaku Islands
- Awaji[9]
- Etajima
- Kurahashi-jima
- Inujima
- Itsukushima (popularly known as "Miyajima")
- Shōdoshima
- Naoshima Islands
- Suō-Ōshima, Yamaguchi
- Himeshima, Ōita
- Aoshima, Ehime
- Hashira Island
- Okamura Island
- Ōshima (Ehime)
- Mukaishima Island, Hiroshima
- Ōmishima Island, Ehime
- Ōkunoshima (often called "Rabbit Island")
Islands in lakes
Other artificial islands
- Chūbu Centrair International Airport
- Dejima[8]
- New Kitakyushu Airport
- , off Hakodate (artificial)
- (artificial)
- Wakaejima (artificial)
- Island City, Fukuoka (artificial)
Claims but does not control
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]
Others
Former
Largest islands of Japan
See 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.
See also
Notes and References
- News: Japan has more than 14,000 islands, digital mapping reveals . https://web.archive.org/web/20230221010537/https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14840218 . Hirotaka . Kojo. February 15, 2023 . February 21, 2023. The Asahi Shimbun.
- News: Japan sees its number of islands double after recount . https://web.archive.org/web/20230301154105/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/16/japan-sees-its-number-of-islands-double-after-recount . Justin. McCurry . February 16, 2023 . March 1, 2023. The Guardian.
- Web site: Island Countries Of The World . WorldAtlas.com . 2019-08-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171207094959/http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/which-are-the-island-countries-of-the-world.html . 2017-12-07.
- News: 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。. https://web.archive.org/web/20230302180055/https://www.gsi.go.jp/kihonjohochousa/pressrelease20230228.html . February 28, 2023 . March 2, 2023. Geospatial Information Authority of Japan.
- Web site: 離島とは(島の基礎知識) (what is a remote island?) . . MLIT (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) . 22 August 2015 . 9 August 2019 . ja . website . MILT classification 6,852 islands(main islands: 5 islands, remote islands: 6,847 islands) . https://web.archive.org/web/20071113053915/http://www.mlit.go.jp/crd/chirit/ritoutoha.html . 2007-11-13.
- Imperial Japanese Commission to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. (1903). Japan in the Beginning of the 20th century (Haruki Yamawaki, editor), p. 2.
- [Louis-Frédéric|Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric]
- [Richard Ponsonby-Fane|Ponsonby-Fane, Richard]
- Ponsonby-Fane, p. 331.
- Nussbaum, "Izu Shotō" at p. 412.
- 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.
- Nussbaum, p. 412; Ponsonby-Fane, p. 332.
- Nussbaum, "Ōshima" at p. 761.
- Nussbaum, "Torishima" at p. 987.
- Nussbaum, "Ogasawara Guntō" at p. 737.
- Nussbaum, "Hashima" at p. 294.
- Io-Torishima. 282020. 2022-03-16.
- Imperial Japanese Commission, p. 3.
- Web site: 2021-07-17 . North Korea blasts Japan over claim to Dokdo . 2024-09-08 . koreatimes . en.
