Editing Japanese archipelago (section)

==Terminology==
The term "[[Mainland Japan]]" is used to distinguish the large islands of the Japanese archipelago from the remote, smaller islands; it refers to the main islands of [[Hokkaido]], [[Honshu]], [[Kyushu]], and [[Shikoku]].<ref name="main-islands-japan">{{cite web |script-title=ja:離島とは(島の基礎知識) |trans-title=what is a remote island? |publisher=[[Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism]] |url=http://www.mlit.go.jp/crd/chirit/ritoutoha.html |website=MLIT (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) |date=22 August 2015 |access-date= 9 August 2019 |language=ja |format=website |quote=MILT classification 6,852 islands(main islands: 5 islands, remote islands: 6,847 islands) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113053915/http://www.mlit.go.jp/crd/chirit/ritoutoha.html |archive-date=2007-11-13}}</ref> From 1943 until the end of the [[Pacific War]], [[Karafuto Prefecture]] (south [[Sakhalin]]) was designated part of the mainland. Geographically speaking the term "mainland" is somewhat inaccurate, as this refers to an expanse of territory that is attached to a continental landmass.

The term "home islands" was used at the end of World War II to define the area where Japanese sovereignty and constitutional rule of its [[Emperor of Japan|emperor]] would be restricted.{{citation needed|date=June 2013}} The term is also commonly used today to distinguish the archipelago from Japan's colonies and other territories.<ref>Milton W. Meyer, ''Japan: A Concise History'', fourth ed. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2012, {{ISBN|9780742541184}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=d11lJ2JKN4wC&dq=Japan+archipelago+Home+Islands&pg=PA2 p. 2] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230226040610/https://books.google.com/books?id=d11lJ2JKN4wC&pg=PA2&dq=Japan+archipelago+Home+Islands&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Wa_IUZGgFKSviALPqoG4DA&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Japan%20archipelago%20Home%20Islands&f=false |date=2023-02-26 }}.</ref>