Habomai Islands

Habomai Islands
Disputed islands
Native name:
Habomai Islands from space
Habomai Islands
Geography
LocationPacific Ocean
Coordinates43°30′N 146°8′E / 43.500°N 146.133°E / 43.500; 146.133
ArchipelagoKuril Islands
Total islands10 + several rocks
Area100 km2 (39 sq mi)
Administration
Federal subjectSakhalin Oblast
DistrictYuzhno-Kurilsky
Claimed by
PrefectureHokkaido
SubprefectureNemuro
Demographics
Population0

The Habomai Islands are a group of uninhabited islets (excluding the Russian guards stationed there) in the southernmost Kuril Islands. The islands have been under Soviet/Russian administration since the 1945 invasion of the Kuril Islands by the Soviet Union near the end of World War II. However, together with Iturup (Etorofu), Kunashir (Kunashiri), and Shikotan, the islands are claimed by Japan.