More territory or dispute? Japan just found 7,000 islands it didn’t know it had

Japan New Islands: With this the total number of islands in Japanese territory stands at 14,125, more than double the figure of 6,852.

Japan found that it has 7,000 more than it previously thought, Digital mapping by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) showed. With this the total number of islands in Japanese territory stands at 14,125, more than double the figure of 6,852 that has been in official use since a 1987 report by Japan’s Coast Guard, CNN reported.

Japan New Islands: Visitors take selfie photos as they look at early-flowering cherry blossoms in full bloom at a park in Tokyo, Japan. (Reuters)

However, the body said that the new figure shows advances in technology and Japan's ability to observe detailed maps- not an overall change in land in Japan's territory. As there is no international agreement on how to count islands, the agency explained that it had used the same size criterion as the previous survey 35 years ago which included counting all naturally occurring land areas with a circumference of at least 100 meters (330 feet).

The new number does not include any artificially reclaimed land, the body informed. Islands surrounding Japan have been at the centre of several territorial disputes. Japan lays claim to the Russian-held southern Kuril islands, which Tokyo calls the Northern Territories.

Japan also says it has a claim to the uninhabited Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea but China has repeatedly challenged that claim.

Japan and South Korea also dispute the sovereignty of a group of islets known as Dokdo by Seoul and Takeshima by Tokyo in the Sea of Japan.