Japanese archipelago

[jap-uh-neez ahr-kuh-pel-uh-goh, jap-uh-nees]

noun

1. the nearly 2,000-mile (3,220-kilometer) chain of more than 6,850 islands in the North Pacific Ocean that form the country of Japan and the Russian island of Sakhalin, with the Sea of Japan to the west and the Sea of Okhotsk to the northeast.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Japanese archipelago¹

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

The first edition of the graphic novel, published in 1999, referenced a “massive disaster” in March 2011 and contained lines like: “I dreamed of a great disaster. The waters of the Pacific Ocean south of the Japanese archipelago will rise.”

From Los Angeles Times

In contrast, beginning about 10,000 years ago, hunter-gatherer societies in coastal areas around the world, including the Korean peninsula, the Japanese archipelago, and later Scandinavia, drew on marine resources to support large settlements.

From Science Magazine

As it steps back from decades of pacifism, Tokyo worries that the Philippines is a weak link in an island chain stretching from the Japanese archipelago to Indonesia through which ships must pass going to or from the Pacific Ocean.

From Reuters

They found 142 exotic animal cafes across the Japanese archipelago and made a list of all the species they observed in photos posted on the cafes’ websites and social media accounts, excluding insects.

From New York Times

Described as a journey through the Japanese archipelago, the film stands out for its bold colouring.

From Reuters