How big is Japan really?
Japan covers 377,974 km² (146,000 sq mi). On the usual world map (the Mercator projection) it is drawn about 1.6 times bigger than it really is.
See Japan at its true size on the map →True size vs the map
Both drawn at the same scale. The map keeps shapes but swells everything away from the equator.
Japan in numbers
- Japan is the 63rd largest of the 196 countries and territories in Globegami.
- On the map Japan looks bigger than Kenya, but Kenya is really 1.54 times larger.
- Countries of about the same true size: Norway (385,207 km²), Zimbabwe (390,757 km²), Germany (357,588 km²).
- Japan is 1.56 times the size of the United Kingdom.
Why the map gets Japan wrong
Japan lies around 37°N. A Mercator map stretches distances there by about 1.25 times in every direction, so areas come out roughly 1.55 times too big near its middle. Most web maps use this projection because it keeps angles and shapes right for navigation, not because it shows sizes fairly.
In Globegami you can drag a copy of Japan anywhere on Earth: it keeps its true size and grows or shrinks on the map as it moves, and you can fold the map back into a globe.
Compare Japan
Areas: official totals including inland water (UN Statistics Division via Wikidata). Outlines: Natural Earth. How Globegami works