Katana VentraIP

List of islands of Japan

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.

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]

– the northernmost and second largest main island, third most populous.

Hokkaido

– the largest and most populous island, with the capital Tokyo. Honshu is connected to the other three main islands by bridges and tunnels.

Honshu

– the third largest main island, second most populous and the nearest to the Asian continent.

Kyushu

– the smallest and least populous main island, located between Honshu and Kyushu.

Shikoku

Geography of Japan

Japanese archipelago

List of islands of Japan by area

List of islands

Names of Japan