The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) decided to recalculate the islands that make up the country. It turned out that there are 7000 more of them than in official sources.
Experts counted 14,125 islands – they took into account all land areas with a circumference of at least 100 meters. But in a document published by the Japanese Coast Guard in 1987, this figure is half as much – 6,852.
GSI says this reflects advances in geodetic technology and map detail, as the area of the country hasn’t changed since the discovery of the islands.