Japan's Forgotten Islands

Japan lies on an island chain off the Pacific coast of Asia, and is one of the most influential countries in the world today. If you look at a map of Japan, you’ll notice that the country is dominated by four large islands. But there’s more to Japan than just these four islands - a lot more. Let’s explore!
Go to ground.news/signoreg to access international perspectives and all sides of breaking news in one place. Check it out for free or subscribe before June 15 through my link and get unlimited access to the Vantage subscription for as little as $5 a month.
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:28 Japan's main islands
3:12 Nanpō islands
5:01 Japanese rule in Taiwan
5:39 Ground News
6:38 Japan's other former territories
9:10 Conclusion
Corrections:
2:10 "Tokyo" (typo)
Sources and links:
Encyclopedia Britannica
“Mainland” Japan: ja.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%85...
Japan's empire: en.wikisource.org/wiki/Govern...
“Seven Islands of Izu”: deirahon.com/sub/KAZ/KA04.html
“Nanpō Islands”: www1.kaiho.mlit.go.jp/kenkyu/...
Ogasawara UNESCO listing: whc.unesco.org/en/list/1362
Micronesians on Ogasawara: www.iwojima.jp/ogasa2.html
List of islands:
Main islands: Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu
Ryukyu islands (including Okinawa)
Nanpō islands:
Izu islands
- Izu Ōshima, To-shima, Nii-jima, Kōzu-shima, Miyake-jima, Mikura-jima, Hachijō-jima, Aogashima, Shikinejima
Ogasawara (Bonin) islands
- Chichijima (Peel Island), Hahajima
Volcano islands
- Iō-tō (Iwo Jima), Kita-Iō-tō (North Iwo Jima), Minami-Iō-tō (South Iwo Jima), Nishinoshima
Minamitorishima
Okinotorishima
Former islands: Taiwan, Sakhalin (Karafuto), South Seas Mandate
Former mainland territories: Korea, Kwantung leased territory, South Manchuria Railway
Disputed islands:
Senkaku (Diaoyu/Tiaoyutai) islands
Liancourt Rocks
Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan, & the Habomai Islands
Image & sound Credits:
EEZ thumbnail derived from Marineregions.org, CC BY
Japan Paleomaps: Yuichi Kameda & Makoto Kato (modified by User:Snek01), CC BY 2.0
Ainu Marriage: munechika tanaka, CC BY 2.0
Ryukyu Merchant Flag: Samhanin, CC BY 3.0
National Diet Building: 663highland, CC BY 2.5
Minami Ioto: Karakara~jawiki, CC BY-SA 3.0
US to Japan: Signore Galilei, derived from above, CC BY-SA 4.0
Nishinoshima: 国土地理院, BY
Okinotorishima: 国土交通省関東地方整備局京浜河川事務所, CC BY 4.0
Republic of Formosa Flag: Jeff Dahl, CC BY-SA 4.0
St. Petersburg Treaty: World Imaging, CC BY-SA 3.0
Soviet Army in Korea: Russian Federation Ministry of Defense, CC BY 4.0
Koto Audio: derived from Torsodog, CC BY 3.0

[@Kden21]

Many of these islands, such as Ogasawara for example, was land registered under the City of San Francisco until the U.S. handed them back to Japan when they were done with their occupation. Funny to think that at one point you could sail across the ocean and technically arrive at the same city you departed from. Also thank you so much for making a video about this!!

[@SignoreGalilei]

That is a funny thought, definitely. And you're welcome!

[@ChomoBidensMules]

It'd be full of homeless junkies if San Francisco still had it.

[@Bighatman]

E

[@martykarr7058]

The REAL reason they gave back Ogasawara is that they didn't want to deal with any more kaiju after the giant octopus took down the Golden Gate Bridge.

[@raguelelnaqum]

Minor addition: the Osagawaras actually were an Andlo-American colony, first peopled by a mixture of European, Non-Japanese East Asian, South Asian, SE Asians, American Peoples of Mixed Heritage, Polynesian & Melanesian peoples before Japan seized the islands in 1875. The population remained there even after the Japanese started peopling the islands with their own, until forcible relocations of these effectively indigenous descendants of those colonists, akin to the relocations of the Indigenous Ryukyu peoples to Honshu occurred just before WW2. The US technically still had a legal claims to the islands that it hadn't pressed until the war, but after the war and the depredations the Japanese did against the Obeikeitomin (Bonin islanders) the US seriously considered permanently keeping the islands to keep Japan in check, and only agreed to return them until the Japanese government compensated the Obeikeitomin & gave them special settlement/residency rights regardless of their citizenship. Which is ironic, given that originally the US had left them to fend them for themselves because the Obeikeitomin were mixed race.

[@SignoreGalilei]

Go to ground.news/signoreg to access international perspectives and all sides of breaking news in one place. Check it out for free or subscribe before June 5 through my link and get unlimited access to the Vantage subscription for as little as $5 a month.

[@titan941234]

Just for some more information. Here are some relatively small to medium size islands not being mentioned, sometimes ignored by foreigners, while still important in some ways. 1. Tsushima Island(対馬島), between Japan and Korea, probably the most famous one, for the naval battle of Tsushima, and the game Ghost of Tsushima. 2. Iki Island(壱岐島), an even smaller island between Tsushima and Kyusyu. 3. Oki Islands(隠岐諸島), small volcanic archipelago, near the west coast of Honshu. It was a popular place for Penal transportation in Japanese history. 4. Awaji Island(淡路島), which is in the middle of Eastern Shikoku and Honshu. Thus, it plays an important role in connecting two major Islands. 5. Sado Island, or Sadogashima (佐渡島), in the northwest of Honshu. Once it had rich gold and silver mine. The five islands above are also important in Japanese mythology. With Honshu, Shikoku and Kyusyu, these are the first group of land being created, although there are other versions. 6. There are many islands near the cost of Kyushu, but one of the most significant (in my personal opinion) is Tanegashima(種子島), located in the south of Kyusyu. It’s renown for the Portuguese (and probably any European) landing on Japanese territory for the first time, in 1543. Now, it acts as a center of Japanese space exploration, with a rocket launch site.

[@boarbot7829]

Thanks-very interesting information.

[@SignoreGalilei]

Thanks for the extra island info!

[@ramairturbine4326]

nice follow up! One thing though: 5. is Sado Island/ Sadogashima it had the world's largest gold mine a few hundred years ago but closed after most of the reserves were mined.

[@serebii666]

Tanegashima(種子島) - ooohh so that's why the Space Center in Pokemon Emerald is on Mossdeep Island!

[@human-gx9pu]

As a Japanese, I can confirm that the person who wrote this comment received a great education!

[@taka1416]

the latest archaeological and anthropological studies showed that before the Ainus, Hokkaido was inhabited by the Joumon.

[@user-vs8ms5cu8t]

Any sources?

[@nm-nt4no]

@@user-vs8ms5cu8t “Jomon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan” in world heritage site is it.

[@TheCrazierz]

And before them another 10 groups.

[@vistalover9607]

This is correct. Ainu are Siberian refuges pushed out by the Nivkh or are Nivkh themselves (can someone confirm?). There’s a chance they are related to the Oroqen but I don’t think so. Ainu technically sort of kind of fall into the Jomon category but saying that is often confusing because then people think Ainu ARE the Jomon when Jomon included the Emishi and all other people that are NOT Ainu. We know this because Ainu were Hunter gatherers and that’s exactly how they survived with the mainland Japanese came, by trading fur. The Emishi had agriculture so if the Emishi and Ainu are related, firstly that is strange since their clothing is not the same but also how did one group get hunter gatherer and another side is mostly agricultural and lost contact? A lot doesn’t make sense if that’s the case. So it’s more logical to think they were pushed by the the Nivkh are or Nivkh themselves. Probably not Nivkh though because Ainu language and Nivkh don’t have much anything in common

[@Sovietonion-1312]

@@vistalover9607 crazy how all 4 of you are wrong, the ainu are genetically closer to the jomon than siberians and it’s far more likely the the ainu are either the descendants of the jomon or had shared descendants with the jomon and were displaced by the incoming yamato people

[@georgiopasca2720]

Nice video!

[@bebebaba3442]

Great video! Subscribed

[@SignoreGalilei]

Thanks!

[@matthewtopping2061]

Who else thought this was going to be Bill Wurtz at first?

[@beautifulflorida]

Very interesting, informative video! Thank you for sharing!

[@AirForceChmtrails]

Excellent! Fascinating! Well done!

[@rithwikp.m]

Great video !

[@SignoreGalilei]

Thanks!

[@Icyy4406]

Why did you add a space before the "!"

[@rithwikp.m]

Because

[@Icyy4406]

@@rithwikp.m good reasoning

[@josephgoebbels1528]

Thank you for making nice video❤

[@druvce]

great video!

[@SignoreGalilei]

Thank you!

[@GhostCountries]

Really interesting video man; this, honestly, is right up my alley in terms of personal interest and (if everything goes well) I might actually have a chance to visit the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands - part of the Nanpo Islands - later this year or sometime early next! 🇯🇵

[@SignoreGalilei]

Hey, thanks! That sounds like it could be an amazing trip - I hope you get the chance to do it!

[@GhostCountries]

@@SignoreGalilei We'll just see if I can survive the 24 hr. ferry ride there! 😅

[@SignoreGalilei]

@@GhostCountries Good luck! I'm taking a multi-day Amtrak journey later this year - but there's no risk of getting seasick at least!

[@GhostCountries]

@@SignoreGalilei Oh, I actually did the same a few years back...or, well, it shouldn't have been a multi-day train ride, but that's what it turned into. 😅 So, good luck on your journey too!

[@SignoreGalilei]

Oh boy, that sounds like a story. And thanks!

[@nenel24_]

Another quality upload! Keep up the great work! 😁😁

[@SignoreGalilei]

Thank you!

[@JacksonMcgarvey2665]

Nice video mate.

[@SignoreGalilei]

Thanks!

[@triobros98]

Queensland flag profile

[@dragon_ninja_2186]

What I find fascinating are the islands along the Izu-Bonin Mariana Arc. If geography evolved differently, Japan could’ve had more bigger islands to the south of Tokyo if the arc was above sea level.

[@SignoreGalilei]

Oh yeah, definitely. There are a lot of great "what if"s when it comes to geography.

[@chiefmonrovia6691]

Ive been working on a video about japan for months now, im finally putting it fully together. Japanese influence over the south china sea and surrounding pacific is all over the place. Sometimes they controlled it all, sometimes they would execute anyone caught building a boat: Truly a nation of extremes (in a good way though, i love Japan)

[@shinsenshogun900]

Depends on how Japan experiences their successes and failures as a nation, in a cyclical epic to keep on gaining comebacks, temptations of radical changes, downfalls, and redemptions

[@SignoreGalilei]

Your last video was a really neat style, I'm excited to see what you do for this one!

[@Simone-sz5dh]

Do you love Japanese war crimes too 🤫

[@babymonkey4601]

What happened in Nanjing 1937-1938???

[@chiefmonrovia6691]

@@babymonkey4601 only bowling. Don't ask what the balls were and definitely don't ask what the pins were

[@volcanerd36]

Hi, Sakurajima is the most active volcano in Japan, followed by Suwanosejima. Aso is usually steaming but doesn't erupt every week. Nishinoshima is often active too. Etc. etc.! Thanks for video!

[@rodazi]

Recent archeological findings have revealed that islands throughout the entire Izu-Bonin-Marianas Arc were prehistorically inhabited by the Chamori (the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands now commonly known as Chamorros) as far north as Hachijojima. The Kuroshio current flowing north of Hachijo is what presumably prevented them from being able to migrate any farther than that.

[@ground_news]

Thank you Signoer Galilei! For anyone interested, check out the link above and let us know if you have any questions.

[@harakovic]

1:42 7:26 Ainu people 2:58 Ryukuan people (2:48 Ryukyuan kingdom) 3:25 Izu Island's people (they speak hacijo) 3:53 Chichijima island 3:55 Hahajima island 6:48 Jeju island 7:15 Sakhalin 7:28 Orok & Nivkh ethnic groups ? 7:35 Kuril Islands

[@pimeja7]

props to u for actually pronouncing japanese words pretty well for a foreigner

[@wbbartlett]

So which of islands these are 'forgotten'? And by whom?

[@NeroPiroman]

Well made definetly

[@SignoreGalilei]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!

[@NeroPiroman]

@@SignoreGalilei if you plan to keep the trend of island videos. Going, then the brittish isles might be a good idea

[@SignoreGalilei]

That might be a good one, thanks!

[@cutterj88]

Loved it!

[@aqueousmoments]

I am a resident of Japan. Your video is excellent and I hope many more will see it. Thank you

[@SignoreGalilei]

You're welcome!

[@cskillet2003]

With the Old Breed is a great first hand account of an American marine who fought on Peleliu and Iwo Jima. It's a great read!

[@Bighatman]

Man this video about my country is so great I decided to watch it again

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

Minamitorishima is not only the easternmost part of Japan's territory, but also the only part of Japanese territory on the Pacific Plate, as it's passed the Japan Trench. The island is off limits to civilians except for Japan Meteorological Agency staff, although reporters, documentary makers, and scientific researchers can sometimes get an entry permit. The first discovery and mention of this island was made by a Spanish Manila galleon captain, Andrés de Arriola, in 1694. It was charted in Spanish maps as Sebastián López, after Spanish Admiral Sebastián López, victorious in the battles of La Naval de Manila in 1646 against the Dutch. Its exact location was left unrecorded until further sightings in the 19th century. Japanese explorer Shinroku Mizutani led a group of 46 colonists from Haha-jima to settle on Marcus Island in 1886. The settlement was named Mizutani after the leader of the expedition. The US claimed it in 1889 as part of the Guano Islands Act, but this was ignored by Japan and were annexed as part of the then Empire of Japan in 1898. The island has been called Minamitorishima ever since. They built the meteorological station in 1935. After WWII, it was under American control in 1952. The island was returned to Japanese control in 1968, but the US still controlled the airstrip and station until 1993.

[@cbx3323]

I am a construction worker and have been to that island on business. Preparing to mine underground resources.

[@mikeneko3076]

2:10 丸の中心は確かに東京ですが、この大きさの丸は関東平野を指すものであり、実際の東京の大きさは2回りほど小さいです。

[@towgod7985]

If you follow the Ryukyu island chain, you end at Formosa /Taiwan. Would that fact make them part of Japan? And less likely part of China?

[@FeeshUnofficial]

Man I can't believe they put in all this effort to make all of these pokemon regions real

[@zaskiaalsakila7248]

Hey 1,22. You missed the biggest country in that area, Russia. Calls the sea outside off Primorsky Kray, Vladivostok, Sea of Japan. So Japan has a "friend" in the naming of sea atleast. Soviet Union and Tsarist Russia also calls the area sea of Japan. I seen a video of USSR Navy. We are out of Vladivostok port, now we are in Sea of Japan. Yaponskoe More, Japanese Sea. The Pacific Fleet is at ready in the Japanese Sea. Ie, Russian Navy ships out of Vladivostok port.

[@samhaine6804]

oh! i literally searched on youtube for 'minor japanese islands' a few days ago looking for a nice documentary and was so disappointed there was nothing there except one video about the bunin islands! thank you! xoxoxoxoxo

[@samhaine6804]

id love a video on the channel islands/ outer hebrides too at some point, unless there are more pressing subjects on your to-do list. subscribed!

[@user-uf5wc1uc8i]

I'm Japanese. Thank you for the wonderful video. There are various territories in dispute, but the video was very good because it was written neutrally from the perspective of a third party. Thank you for explaining the history of the background.

[@NanobanaKinako]

Tokyo's territorial area is so bizarre that they put those island as part of the city.

[@stevend285]

new fun fact to add to my collection, that the US is the closest foreign nation to Tokyo.

[@SignoreGalilei]

Happy to add to your collection!

[@nikolaipdestro]

Okidaito-jima is the almost exact antipode from my city, here in 🇧🇷

[@SignoreGalilei]

Cool!

[@Hohogamercoolkids2015]

how do people forget about the Kuril Islands?

[@catdemon922]

Wait how do you already have 25k subs and getting sponsors? I remember when you had less than 1k. Great job dude

[@SignoreGalilei]

Hey, thanks! It's kind of hard to believe it myself. It's only been a bit more than a year since I first hit a thousand subscribers, but I've had a few runaway successes that have caught people's attention. I'm excited to see where the channel goes in the future.

[@magickymajk]

I looove seeing small niche channels like this getting sponsors

[@Zestieee]

Hiya, just found your channel. I assume your name, "Signore Galilei", is meant to mean "Lord/Mister Galilei". If that's the case, I feel like I should correct you. In Italian, we use the apocope'd form of the word when addressing or citing someone by their name, so it would really be "Signor Galilei", without the final E. If not, well, I'd love to know more about the meaning. "Signore" is also the plural of "Signora" so it could mean "Galilei Ladies". Hope this helps.

[@SignoreGalilei]

Hey, thanks. Another Italian speaking viewer pointed this out to me a while ago, you're correct about what the meaning was originally intended to be. I've been using this username longer than I've been on KZbin, so there wasn't anyone who would have known to correct me when I first made it. Since I heard it was grammatically incorrect I've been thinking of it as two separate statements that someone's calling out, like "Signore! Galilei!". I know that's still kind of silly though.

[@GTA-iu1ok]

Sea of japanと呼び始めたのは日本ではなくスペインかポルトガル人が最初だったはず

[@user-bo7oi9dy7p]

ロシア帝国ね

[@GTA-iu1ok]

@@user-bo7oi9dy7p 日本の政府が出してる動画で言ってますよ

[@pityssauro7374]

Don't get confused, the Portuguese empire arrived in Japan first, not the Spanish

[@GTA-iu1ok]

@@pityssauro7374 どっちも同じような国だからこんがらがって分からなくなる

[@TheStormglass]

It's a simple story: a long time ago, Westerners named it the Sea of Japan for navigation purposes, and today it is officially called the Sea of Japan. (Like the Indian Ocean or Arabian Sea) The people of the Korean Peninsula do not want to call it the "Sea of Japan" due to past grudges, so they are only insisting on it now. In fact, it makes no claims about the Yellow Sea on the opposite Chinese side.

[@user-uu7lk2pl9q]

I know there are many people who don't like Japan.However, as a Japanese, there is a lot of information about mistakes in the comments section and some people pretend to be Japanese that they don't like.Therefore, I would like you to look into it by yourself.

[@TheTolio1]

Ryukyus flags look awesome

[@SignoreGalilei]

Yeah, it's pretty nice

[@EdbertWeisly]

5:39 I'm so proud of you

[@SignoreGalilei]

Thank you!

[@woo1818]

You forgot the great state of Manchukuo in Northwestern Taiwan

[@elephia]

From my Japanese point of view, the pronunciation is excellent!

[@SignoreGalilei]

Thanks! I tried to practice everything a few times before saying it.

[@moistsnail7681]

🎵 How did this happen? 🎶

[@SignoreGalilei]

In the year negative a billion...

[@PunctualRailroad]

8:01 The map of the world as Japanese view, Russia's Sakhalin district has only northern Sakhalin(Karafuto) islands. Southern Sakhalin and Kuril islands (from Shumshu 占守島 to Urup 得撫島) are the territories which countries NOT DETERMINED INTERNATIONALLY (Not Japan nor Russia). Of course so-called "Northern territories 北方領土 Hoppo Ryodo", which means Etorofu-to 択捉島 (Iturup), Kunashiri-to 国後島 (Kunashir), Shikotan-to 色丹島 (Shikotan) and Habomai-Gunto 歯舞群島 (Habomai) are ALL regarded as Japanese territories. If you travel to Hokkaido, please watch the map. Almost maps of Hokkaido draws not only Hokkaido main island but also so-called Northern territories. (Some maps are partially cut off or deleted because of its space.) kzbin.info/www/bejne/qpPOemWCnJ2jl8k

[@SignoreGalilei]

It's always interesting to see how different countries assert their sovereignty in map form. I'll keep that in mind.

[@jameshitselberger5845]

@@SignoreGalileiYu will see a much larger mainland China in Taiwanese government maps...Mongolia, Tana Tuva, and perhaps other regions along the Russian border and the borders of China's southern neighbors are included as part of China. No one should say that the government in Taipei is any less nationalistic than the one in Peking..Peiping as it is spelled on Taiwanese maps.

[@Rolf-son-of-an-electrician]

You forgot to add Manchuria

[@SignoreGalilei]

Well Japan did take it over but it's not exactly an island

[@cprice2011]

2:12 Toyko?

[@SignoreGalilei]

Yeah, I somehow missed that typo. I put a correction in the description.

[@BuzzSargent]

Thank you for putting things in Miles. Makes it easier to visualize the size of the islands for me.

[@SignoreGalilei]

You're welcome! Just over half of the viewers on this channel are from the US, so I've been trying to find the right way to put in both US and metric units without taking up too much time.

[@MichaTheLight]

what is with Okinawa?

[@tsukioka9643]

2:11 toyko lol

[@Mute_Nostril_Agony]

Hokkaido is a Territory not a Prefecture. You also forgot some of the big islands like Sado

[@ender7278]

You didn't mention the Ryukyus or any other islands between Kyushu and Taiwan.

[@SignoreGalilei]

I talked about the Ryukyu islands while discussing Okinawa.

[@Inspadave]

It should be the Sea of Japan, because the Japanese archipelago defines the sea. Even China refers to it as the Japan Sea.

[@SignoreGalilei]

I mean that makes some sense. It's not the only sea with multiple names though (the Persian/Arabian Gulf comes to mind).

[@GTA-iu1ok]

To begin with, it was the Spanish or Portuguese, not the Japanese, who began calling this area the Sea of Japan.

[@meshirua]

这件事确实很可笑，因为在古代日本对于这个“地中海”也有着独特的称呼，在古代日本人将其称之为北海，现代国际地理学将其称为日本海这事情实在是令人觉得很可笑。

[@meshirua]

将其称之为北海是最能够被所有人接受的。

[@GTA-iu1ok]

@@meshirua Could you tell that to the Portuguese or Spanish people who used to sail through the Sea of Japan in the past?

[@Jobe-13]

Pretty awesome. Lately I’ve been imagining if Japan had been a larger island encompassing the main islands and the Nampo/Ryukyu islands.

[@TON618_chan]

fun fact : therse a island called *soviet* witch its half of japanese make that as a countryball (not half maybe)

[@U-qho]

You learn geography off countryball 😂

[@cadendance976]

it is a challenge to find anything about taiwan due to china blocking it

[@dev9100-luv-the-world]

Interesting

[@flyingbirdtat-mg1lh]

People in Hawaii also wantedto be in Japan

[@user-ss4xv1dm7p]

japan bomb hawaii , so it is "historically" japanese islands lol

[@shinsenshogun900]

Return of the Signore! Japan will know and grow larger!

[@SignoreGalilei]

It's always exciting for me when I can get a new video out - glad to see you're excited too!

[@FilAnd01]

This is really more a nitpick than anything else but japan DOES claim all of the kurils, and the southern half of Sakhalin, just not actively. They are currently only contesting the southern 4 Kuril Islands, but they never acknowledged soviet ownership over the Kurils and southern Sakhalin. I think the government position is sort of “the southern kurils were a part of Hokkaido before the war so we should have them back. Russia doesn’t rightly own Sakhalin and the Kurils but we’re not actively contesting them and it’s a matter for another time” The reason Russia got to annex Sakhalin and the Kurils (minus the southern Kurils which are illegally occupied according to international law) is the yalta conference which Japan claims doesn’t apply to them since it was “only a statement of intent” and “Japan didn’t agree to the terms”, and that since the Soviet Union didn’t sign the San Francisco treaty, wherein japan renounced their claims to Sakhalin and the Kurils, the soviets (now Russia) don’t own the land legally.

[@marym7104]

Within 2 days!

[@StephanosBlack]

Forgotten by whom? I certainly remember that these islands exist.

[@theununtrium]

Someone probably

[@StephanosBlack]

@@theununtrium Yeah. I'm just sick of these clickbaity titles that over-exaggerate things.

[@yudiaodao]

島の管理に困った時は日本に渡してください😂

[@CloseYourEyes-ur5ny]

I’m confronting territories

[@hattamimie]

Hokkaido head of japan map

[@djcatz691]

love this editing style cuz it feels like these were made in 2010

[@Coteoki]

The japanese government needs to step up and protect their endangered languages

[@SignoreGalilei]

They're not the only ones, but I think it would be good if they did

[@ColasTeam]

They actively try to erase them lol

[@stargeno]

ryukyuan language is nearly extinct, since its been converted to Japanese-okinawan dialect which is barely related to ryukuan language, this is due to 90% of Okinawan population is Japanese

[@ChomoBidensMules]

​@@ColasTeam not NHK

[@carlisclosetedphgt3666]

My country has 160 plus recognized languages and I want just one as solely official language, its weird seeing my country fellow here on youtube watching video that is spoken at local language but commenting in english. 🙄🚮 I was like are they confused because of too many choices or they thought speaking english makes them looks smarter?

[@andrypatria]

I thought it was bill wurtz video

[@SignoreGalilei]

I've gotten that comment on previous videos, which is why I explicitly called it out this time.

[@ViktorTsoi2004]

Forgot Shandong in WWI

[@magickymajk]

I felt so smart in high school when I was the only one who correctly answered how many islands in total Japan consists of in a Kahoot! :D I wonder how would Japan look today if it never opened up its borders or if they never closed them in the first place

[@SignoreGalilei]

Kahoots are great. It would be interesting to see what Japan would have done had it been more open - could've gone well or poorly for them.

[@champan250]

@@yuyoshida2076 if Japan never closed off that extremely, it probably will go down a similar path as Qing China, since the Japanese elites won't demand a complete revamp on the traditional system.... As a result, it is unlikely Japan will own these outlying islands and Ryukyu will likely remain an independent kingdom

[@yuyoshida7359]

@@champan250 Japan probably would have been colonized by foreign powers, being unable to adjust to Western society, technology and culture. The outer islands would also be subject to similar treatment, including what would have been of the Ryukyu Kingdom. But I don’t think this would ever affect Edo period Japan to annex the Ryukyu Islands, since we’re talking about the changes after 1853, and the European powers of that time had zero interest in national independence of previously annexed countries.

[@champan250]

@@yuyoshida7359 as you said... The colonial power will come in and conquer Ryukyu Kingdom before the less extremely Westernized Meiji govt and Qing China can do anything about it

[@freeculture]

Its explained in a video on yt, about the Samurai that went to the Pope and became Christian. The idea was to ally with one of the western powers (guns) to stop the others, and becoming catholic christian was part of the process. But, the English intervened to seed poison against the Catholics, claiming they were aiming to seize power. This backfired because the then new Shogun ruler (Tokugawa) banned anything foreign since for them it was clear those savages were conspiring against the State with their religion. The most impressive part is that this was erased from Japan's history and they didn't know until the 20th century that indeed a Samurai with a highest diplomatic mission went there by orders of a Daimyo who could have ended seizing power with western weapons from the others and changed history.

[@VishalKhopkar1296]

you forgot senkaku islands... btw Japan is so spread that the southernmost point of Japan is farther south than Karachi in pakistan

[@SignoreGalilei]

That's a pretty cool fact! I mentioned the Senkaku Islands at 6:53.

[@BioluminescentTree]

Ah yes, the great city of Toyko 🤦‍♂️

[@SignoreGalilei]

...whelp. I knew I was gonna miss something.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

I knew about the islands administered by the Tokyo Metropolis, but it's absolutely crazy how the city's jurisdiction is even bigger than we think! And something interesting to point out regarding Chichijima: During WWII, an incident took place there in 1944. Nine American pilots escaped from their planes after being shot down during bombing raids. Eight of them were captured and were all killed, with four being straight up cannibalized (on orders from Lt. Gen Yoshio Tachibana). So the question is, what happened to that ninth pilot? Well, that ninth pilot, who was twenty years old at the time and narrowly escaped...ended up becoming the 41st President of the US, GEORGE H W BUSH! This case was investigated in 1947 in a war crimes trial, and of the 30 Japanese soldiers prosecuted, four officers were found guilty. Vice Admiral Mori Kunizo was also involved (and claimed human liver had health benefits) but was only sentenced to life imprisonment for it until he too got sentenced to death as the result of war crimes in the former Dutch East Indies.

[@SignoreGalilei]

That's a great piece of history. I think I remember seeing that on Rare Earth, if I recall.

[@Fantander1]

8:04 Japan needs more territory; Russia needs more easily accessible seas and less US military bases around.

[@ChomoBidensMules]

Make Sakhalin Karafuto again

[@aleksandr1525]

@@ChomoBidensMules Sakhalin citizen here. Totally agree

[@freeculture]

To be honest, Russia is too big for their own good. And it has vast territories simply neglected, let alone forgotten islands which are only used for political "prestige" and nothing else. The Kremlin is too busy trying stupidly to annex by force even more territory to the largest country on Earth, and failing miserably as they should. Unfortunately at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives...

[@user-wb3wg3we8w]

​@@freeculture I think, Russia is the country with the least efficient use of land per unit area in the world.

[@xxxyyy8779]

Ukrainian trolls 👆👆👆 at their best🤣🤣🤣

[@NON155]

HOW ABOUT ( The Exsplain Of .) U.S.A STATES BORDER MAPS HISTORY WHEN PAST KEEP CHANGING IT...

[@Edyime]

How can you talk about Japan's other islands and not have a fat section about the Okinawa island chain

[@nickelshark8163]

I know, he didn't mention the Yaeyama islands where I live. 😢

[@VinnyNajera-zn7th]

Well we should know how many islands and told him does Japan have the ones you just show what the yellow circle around it not the ones next to it not the ones on the Japanese Nation island.

[@Bighatman]

I am from Japan myself and I found this to be very helpful

[@laptopkiller2861]

you're not though

[@Bighatman]

But I am? You have no proof?

[@shinsenshogun900]

@@Bighatman Name your prefecture and circuit region, sir

[@Gameinger16]

Why the fuck is this person's legitimacy as a citizen of Japan being questioned lol.

[@Bighatman]

@@shinsenshogun900 thing is I don’t live in Japan

[@DIY-jf2cp]

小笠原にアメリカの捕鯨船の乗組員が移り住んだことは、クジラ関連は人種問題以上にポリコレ的にヤバイんで触れられんか。外人が作った幕末のペリーの開国要求関連の動画ではアメリカの捕鯨船への補給関連の部分に全く触れられてないのが多い

[@martijn3015]

When you go there annd accidently call it chinchinjima island

[@robertolin4568]

Somehow I can see bill wurtz in the thumbnail

[@zhaomengyu028]

FREE Ryukyu kimdom

[@PeterNygard69]

7:10 Japan actually did acquire the Liaodong peninsula after the Sino-Japanese war, although they lost it quickly after due to the triple intervention. Just a fun fact

[@SignoreGalilei]

Cool, thanks for sharing!

[@marym7104]

Within 10,200 views!

[@justinganaden7149]

South Sakhalin doesn't sound Japanese to me!

[@lluckylll777]

Tibet Uyghur Inner Mongolia Manchuria doesn’t sound Chinese to me

[@ballsgaming6652]

@@lluckylll777 It’s funny because this comment has nothing to do with this comment which is a Straw Man Fallacy.

[@hoanghai8354]

​@@lluckylll777Scotland doesn't sound English to me

[@SGE62]

@@lluckylll777thats because you speak english mf

[@user-hf6fh2hm4h]

South Sakhalin＝Minami Karafuto(南樺太)

[@bernhardt1557]

For the love of god make the volume higher

[@svihl666]

9:38 / 9:48

[@JackManic1984]

It's pronounced "queue shoe." Kyushu.

[@vistalover9607]

1:51 Well Ainu situation isn’t wonderful but it’s been centuries upon centuries in the works so it’s not the worst. Also Matsumae clan was part Ainu. Lastly, at least Ainu’s in Japan exist. The Ainu in Russia don’t exist at all, despite almost 90% of their homeland being in the now Russian parts of Asia. Japan wants the Chishima islands back (4 southern Kurile islands which were never Russian in history until after WWII) partially as they are inportabt Ainu homes. But yeah doesn’t matter, nobody cares about Ainu. I spoke to a couple Ainu and they are quite practical people. Made me think hard about culture.

[@Inumori_kaede]

🇯🇵我が国 日本国についてすごい知っていますね。🇯🇵 日本の領土名歴史もすごいあっています! あと日本とアジアの領土問題というものがありまして､ 日本🇯🇵と韓国(朝)🇰🇷に挟まれている､竹島 は日本の領土ですが、韓国は自分の領土だ!と主張し､不法に占領しています。😢 日本と中国と台湾の近くにある､尖閣諸島は同じく日本の領地です。ですが中国(中)🇨🇳と台湾(台)🇹🇼はこれは私たちの領地だ! と主張しています。 日本北部にある北方領土は私たち日本🇯🇵の領地ですが､ロシア(露)🇷🇺が不法に占領しています😡 これら4つの領土問題は今でも悩まされています…( ･ᯅ･ )

[@AdvardNigma]

Japan should return to its native harbor (Russia)

[@j.n.-fr5uh]

Toyko

[@user-uh5bx1zg7b]

let me put this clear: DOKDO IS NOT DISPUTED TERRITORY japan is claiming the islands while Korea is simply ignoring japan’s wild claims Korea has a garrison and full control over the islands JAPAN IS DISPUTING OVER THE ISLANDS NOT KOREA note that there are many many Koreans who claim tsushima belongs to Korea so by your logic that would make tsushima a disputed island right?

[@U-qho]

잘했다

[@user-jj6qj3cl2r]

日本は国際司法裁判所での裁判を提案しています 韓国がそれを拒否するのは、竹島を支配する正当な理由がないからです もし理由があるのなら、中立な裁判で決めましょう。そこから逃げないでください。

[@knpark2025]

6:50 The official stance of S. Korean government (and of course the people) of *Dokdo* (a.k.a. Liancourt Rocks) is clear: the island was excluded from Japan's administrative area during the 1945-1951 period with the rest of the Korean Peninsula and its surrounding Islands, and calling it "contested" is a direct objection to the decision made by the GHQ. The only people who think Dokdo is actively "contested" are either Japanese revisionists, or people who are misled by sources made by those revisionists. It's like raising a German contested claim on Memel in the 21th Century, and unlike Memel Dokdo even had nothing to do with Japan except for that period of three dozen years when Japan annexed Korea. It is just ridiculous.

[@BrockSamson18]

China? Don't you mean East Taiwan?

[@SignoreGalilei]

I have been known to get directions confused before but I'm pretty sure the mainland is to the West of Taiwan

[@Kalimaty]

Great job! I'm gonna start making vids on administrative divisions, maybe check them out :)

[@taiyonoboru1192]

縄文時代から説明してるの無いからな......