List of islands of Japan

Last updated

Japanese islands outlined Japan-Archipelago-Outlined-Islands-Map.png
Japanese islands outlined

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 Indonesia, Madagascar, and Papua New Guinea. [3] Japan is also the second-most-populous island country in the world, only behind Indonesia.

Contents

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

Main islands

The four main islands of Japan are: [5] [6]

Hokkaido prefecture

Islands of Honshu in the Sea of Japan

Islands in Tokyo Bay

Islands in Osaka Bay

Islands in Ise Bay

Islands in Mutsu Bay

Nanpō Islands (Nanpō Shotō)

Izu Islands Map of Izu Islands.png
Izu Islands
Ogasawara Islands Ogasawara islands.png
Ogasawara Islands

Other Japanese islands

Islands around Kyushu

Most of these are located in the East China Sea.

Islands around Shikoku

Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shotō)

Ryukyu Islands Location of the Ryukyu Islands.JPG
Ryukyu Islands

Satsunan Islands

The northern half is administratively part of Kagoshima Prefecture and Kyushu.

Ōsumi Islands

The North-Eastern Group:

The North-Western Group:

Tokara Islands

The Shichi-tō:

Amami Islands

Ryukyu Islands (Ryūkyū-shotō)

The Southern Half, Okinawa Prefecture

Okinawa Islands

The Central Group or Ryukyu proper:

Sakishima Islands

Also known as the Further Isles:

Seto Inland Sea islands

Seto Inland Sea Seto-Inland-Sea-Photo.jpg
Seto Inland Sea

Islands in lakes

Other artificial islands

Claims but does not control

Kuril islands and the Northern Territories Demis-kurils-russian names.png
Kuril islands and the Northern Territories

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]

  • Iturup - Etorofu (択捉島, Etorofu-tō)
  • Kunashir - Kunashiri (国後島, Kunashiri-tō)
  • Shikotan - Shikotan (色丹島, Shikotan-tō)
  • Habomai Islands - Habomai (歯舞群島, Habomai-guntō)

Others

Former

Largest islands of Japan

These are the 50 largest islands of Japan. It excludes the disputed Kuril islands known as the northern territories.

RankIsland nameArea
(km2)
Area
(sq mi)
Island group
1 Honshu 227,96088,020
2 Hokkaido 83,424.3132,210.31
3 Kyushu 36,78214,202
4 Shikoku 18,8007,300
5 Okinawa Island 1,207466 Ryukyu Islands
6 Sado Island 855.26330.22
7 Amami Ōshima 712.35275.04 Amami Islands
8 Tsushima Island 708.7273.6
9 Awaji Island 592.17228.64Seto Inland Sea islands
10 Shimoshima Island, Amakusa 574.01221.63
11 Yakushima 504.88194.94 Ōsumi Islands
12 Tanegashima 444.99171.81 Ōsumi Islands
13 Fukue Island 326.43126.04 Gotō Islands
14 Iriomote Island 289.27111.69
15 Tokunoshima 247.895.7 Amami Islands
16 Dōgojima 241.5893.27 Oki Islands
17 Kamishima Island, Amakusa 225.3287.00 Amakusa islands
18 Ishigaki Island 222.585.9
19 Rishiri Island 18371
20 Nakadōri Island 168.3465.00 Gotō Islands
21 Hirado Island 163.4263.10
22 Miyako-jima 158.8761.34
23 Shōdoshima 153.3059.19
24 Okushiri Island 142.9755.20
25 Iki Island 138.4653.46
26 Suō-Ōshima 128.3149.54
27 Okinoerabujima 93.6336.15 Amami Islands
28 Etajima 91.3235.26
29 Izu Ōshima 91.0635.16 Izu Islands
30 Nagashima Island, Kagoshima 90.6234.99
31 Rebun Island 8031
32 Kakeromajima 77.3929.88 Amami Islands
33 Kurahashi-jima 69.4626.82
34 Shimokoshiki-jima 66.1225.53
35 Ōmishima Island, Ehime 66.1225.53
36 Hachijō-jima 62.5224.14
37 Kume Island 59.1122.82 Okinawa Islands
38 Kikaijima 56.9321.98 Amami Islands
39 Nishinoshima 55.9821.61
40 Miyake-jima 55.4421.41
41 Notojima 46.7818.06
42 Kamikoshiki-jima 45.0817.41
43 Ōshima (Ehime) 41.8716.17
44 Ōsakikamijima 38.2714.78
45 Kuchinoerabu-jima 38.0414.69
46 Hisaka 37.2314.37
47 Innoshima 35.0313.53
48 Nakanoshima (in Kagoshima) 34.4713.31 Tokara Islands
49 Hario Island 33.1612.80
50 Nakanoshima (in Shimane) 32.2112.44 Oki Islands

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of Japan</span>

Japan is an archipelagic country comprising a stratovolcanic archipelago over 3,000 km (1,900 mi) along the Pacific coast of East Asia. It consists of 14,125 islands. The five main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku, and Okinawa. The other 14,120 islands are classified as "remote islands" by the Japanese government. The Ryukyu Islands and Nanpō Islands are south and east of the main islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iwo Jima</span> One of the Japanese Volcano Islands

Iwo Jima, now officially romanized Iōtō, is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands, which lie south of the Bonin Islands and together with them make up the Ogasawara Archipelago. Together with the Izu Islands, they make up Japan's Nanpō Islands. Although 1,200 km (750 mi) south of Tokyo on Honshu, Iwo Jima is administered as part of the Ogasawara Subprefecture of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volcano Islands</span> Group of Japanese-governed islands in Micronesia

The Volcano Islands or Iwo Islands are a group of three Japanese-governed islands in Micronesia. They lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and belong to the municipality of Ogasawara, Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. The islands are all active volcanoes lying atop the Izu–Bonin–Mariana Arc that stretches south to the Marianas. They have an area of 32.55 square kilometres (12.57 sq mi), and a population of 380. The island of Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands lies about 1,240 kilometres southeast of Miyazaki.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ogasawara, Tokyo</span> Village in the Ogasawara Islands, Japan

Ogasawara is a village in Ogasawara Subprefecture, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan, that governs the Bonin Islands, Volcano Islands, and three remote islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japanese archipelago</span> Archipelago off the coast of Northeast Asia

The Japanese archipelago is an archipelago of 14,125 islands that form the country of Japan. It extends over 3,000 km (1,900 mi) from the Sea of Okhotsk in the northeast to the East China and Philippine seas in the southwest along the Pacific coast of the Eurasian continent, and consists of three island arcs from north to south: the Northeastern Japan Arc, the Southwestern Japan Arc, and the Ryukyu Island Arc. The Daitō Islands, the Izu–Bonin–Mariana Arc, the Kuril Islands, and the Nanpō Islands neighbor the archipelago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Izu Islands</span> Island group in southeastern Japan

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nii-jima</span> Volcanic island in Japan that is one of the Izu islands

Nii-jima (新島) is a volcanic Japanese island administered by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. It is one of the Izu Seven Islands group of the seven northern islands of the Izu archipelago, and is located approximately 163 kilometres (101 mi) south of Tōkyō and 36 kilometres (22 mi) south of Shimoda Shizuoka Prefecture. The island is the larger inhabited component of the village of Niijima Village, Ōshima Subprefecture of Tokyo Metropolis, which also contains the neighboring island of Shikine-jima and the smaller, uninhabited Jinai-tō. Nii-jima is also within the boundaries of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kōzu-shima</span> Volcanic island in the Philippine Sea

Kōzu-shima (神津島) is a volcanic Japanese island in the Philippine Sea. The island is administered by Tōkyō and is located approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) northwest of the Miyake-jima and 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) southwest of the Nii-jima. It is one of the Izu Seven Islands group of the seven northern islands of the Izu archipelago. Kōzushima is administratively part of Kōzushima Village under Ōshima Subprefecture of Tokyo Metropolis. As of 2017, the island's population was 1,952. Kōzushima is also within the boundaries of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miyake-jima</span> Volcanic island in the Izu island archipelago

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Torishima, Tori-shima or Tori Shima, is a Japanese toponym or personal surname. Most versions of the name have the meaning Bird Island, with some exceptions.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Satsunan Islands</span> Group of islands that forms the northern part of the Ryukyu Islands

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The Geiyo Islands are a group of islands in the Seto Inland Sea, under the administration of Hiroshima Prefecture and Ehime Prefecture. Some of the largest islands in archipelago are connected by the Nishiseto Expressway bridge system connecting Honshu and Shikoku.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Izu Archipelago dialects</span> Japanese dialects of the Izu Islands, Japan

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References

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  2. McCurry, Justin (February 16, 2023). "Japan sees its number of islands double after recount". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 1, 2023.
  3. "Island Countries Of The World". WorldAtlas.com. Archived from the original on 2017-12-07. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  4. "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。". Geospatial Information Authority of Japan . February 28, 2023. Archived from the original on March 2, 2023.
  5. "離島とは(島の基礎知識) (what is a remote island?)". MLIT (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) (in Japanese). Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. 22 August 2015. Archived from the original (website) on 2007-11-13. Retrieved 9 August 2019. MILT classification 6,852 islands(main islands: 5 islands, remote islands: 6,847 islands)
  6. Imperial Japanese Commission to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. (1903). Japan in the Beginning of the 20th century (Haruki Yamawaki, editor), p. 2.
  7. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Rishiri-tō" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 791.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1962). Sovereign and Subject, p. 332.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Ponsonby-Fane, p. 331.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Nussbaum, "Izu Shotō" at p. 412.
  11. 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.
  12. Nussbaum, p. 412; Ponsonby-Fane, p. 332.
  13. Nussbaum, "Ōshima" at p. 761.
  14. Nussbaum, "Torishima" at p. 987.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Nussbaum, "Ogasawara Guntō" at p. 737.
  16. Nussbaum, "Hashima" at p. 294.
  17. "Io-Torishima". Global Volcanism Program . Smithsonian Institution . Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  18. Imperial Japanese Commission, p. 3.