Japan counted its islands again and found that there were 7,000 more than previously thought, double the official number of islands.

Digital mapping by the Japan Geographic Information Agency (GSI) recently revealed that Japan has 14,125 islands, more than double the 6,852 officially listed in a 1987 Japan Coast Guard report.

However, GSI stressed this week that the new figure reflects advances in surveying technology and the details of the maps used for the count, and does not change the total area of ​​land held by Japan.

He added that while there is no international agreement on how to count the islands, he used the same size criterion as in the previous review 35 years ago.

In this case, all natural land areas with a circumference of at least 100 meters were taken into account. The new number does not include artificial ground.

It is a fact that the islands around Japan have been at the center of many territorial disputes.

Japan lays claim to the Russian-held southern Kuril Islands, which Tokyo calls the Northern Territories. This dispute dates back to the end of World War II, when Soviet troops captured them from Japan.

Japan also says it has a historic claim to the uninhabited Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea that it currently administers, but China has repeatedly disputed that claim.

Meanwhile, Japan and South Korea are continuing their more than 70-year sovereignty dispute over a group of islands known as Dokdo in Seoul and Takeshima in Tokyo, in the Sea of ​​Japan, which Korea calls the East Sea.

Source: CNN