大東群島
The Japanese archipelago is over long in a north-to-southwardly direction from the Sea of Okhotsk to the Philippine Sea in the Pacific Ocean. It is narrow, and no point in Japan is more than from the sea. There are 6,852 islands in total. The five main islands are (from north to south) Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu and Okinawa. Three of the four major islands (Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku) are separated by narrow straits of the Seto Inland Sea and form a natural entity. The 6,847 smaller islands are called remote islands. This includes the Bonin Islands, Daitō Islands, Minami-Tori-shima, Okinotorishima, the Ryukyu Islands, the Volcano Islands, Nansei Islands, and the Nanpō Islands, as well as numerous islets, of which 430 are inhabited. The Senkaku Islands are claimed by Japan but disputed by China. This excludes the disputed Northern Territories (Kuril islands) and Liancourt Rocks. In total, as of 2020, Japan's territory is , of which is land and water. Japan has the 6th longest coastline in the world (). It is the largest island country in East Asia and 4th largest island country in the world.