Japan uses Digital mapping technology for islands count

We have heard about Dubai’s artificial island, ‘Palm Jumeirah,’ but do you know that Japan is a nation of many islands rather than a single land mass?

Around 36 years ago, in 1987, The Japan Coast Guard counted the total number of islands in Japan have been 6,852. Its counting method involves studying paper maps and land mass with a perimeter greater than 100 meters.

The Japan Institute of Geospatial Information Authority (GSI) conducts survey and mapping activities and developed an electronic land map in 2022, which uses digital mapping techniques to count the islands this time automatically.

Recently by using this digital mapping tool, research has shown that the total number of islands Japan have is double the prior count. Aerial photographs and other data also rechecked the final count.

The following month, the Japanese government will likely formally announce the new figure of 14,125 islands. The educational textbooks and other materials will be updated with the latest data. 

A Japanese politician said if all the land masses of Japan were counted irrespective of their size, then the total count may be topped 100,000. Also, it is essential to know the exact number of islands as it is connected to the national interest.

In Japan, new islands periodically appear due to the high level of seismic and volcanic activity in and around that country, but such occurrences are rare.

Therefore, it is optional that another island recount should be done for a considerable time.