The number of official islands in Japan is expected to double from 6,852 to 14,125 after the government conducted the first survey since 1987 of its territorial waters, according to Kyodo News.
Japan, a mountainous nation with a land mass of approximately 146,000 square miles, is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Okhotsk, the Sea of Japan, and the East China Sea.
Yonaguni Island, Japan’s westernmost inhabited island, is pictured on April 13, 2022 in Yonaguni, Japan. (Carl Court/Getty Images)
The new survey, conducted by the Japan Geospatial Information Authority, is not expected to increase the country’s territory, but it will give officials a more accurate picture of its terrain.
SHINZO ABE MURDER: SUSPECT CHARGED IN MURDER IN FTAL SHOOTING OF FORMER JAPAN PRIME MINISTER
The renewed analysis was prompted by a member of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, who told parliament in December 2021 that “an accurate understanding of the number of islands is an important administrative matter that is related to the national interest,” Kyodo reports. News.
While Japan mostly only lists islands that have been there all along but went unnoticed, the formation of new islands on the country’s territory is unprecedented.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In August 2021, the Japan Coast Guard discovered a new C-shaped island with a diameter of about 0.6 miles after an underwater volcano erupted near Iwo Jima, according to the Japan Times.
