(KGTV) — A story getting some buzz claims Japan has just discovered 7,000 islands it didn't know it had.
It's actually true.
Digital mapping recently found there are 14,125 islands in the Japanese territory.
That's more than double the 6,852 that had been considered the official number since Japan's Coast Guard did a count back in 1987.
The Japanese government stresses the new figure simply reflects advances in surveying technology.
It does not change the overall amount of land in Japan's possession.
A land area must have a circumference of at least 330 feet for Japan to count it as an island.
