Japan’s mapping agency says the country has more than 14,000 islands for the first time in 14 years, more than doubling the known number.
Using the latest mapping data, officials from the Japan Geospheric Information Agency say 14,125 islands have been discovered.
Announced by the Japanese Coast Guard in 1987, the widely accepted number to date is 6,852.
A recent survey found that Nagasaki Prefecture in southwestern Japan has the most islands at 1,479, followed by Hokkaido Prefecture in the north with 1,473. Kagoshima Prefecture ranked third with 1,256.
There are 861 in Iwate Prefecture and 691 in Okinawa Prefecture.
The image includes not only man-made islands, but also circular islands of more than 100 meters.
They attributed the increase of more than two years to improvements in survey technology in recent years that have allowed for more accurate monitoring of coastal areas.
After the last survey, he added that Japan’s total land and sea area, as well as the number of remote islands near the national border, remained unchanged.