The Home Islands, also known as the Japanese archipelago, is the group of islands that forms the country of Japan. The archipelago consists of Hokkaido in the north, Honshu in the center, Shikoku in the south, and Kyushu to the southwest, and it has a total of 6,852 islands (of which 430 are inhabited). The Ryukyu Islands and Kuril Islands are also sometimes counted as parts of the archipelago.
The name "Home Islands" was used by the United States during World War II to describe the archipelago, which was considered to be the Japanese homeland. The term is still used to distinguish the archipelago from Japan's other territories and colonies; the Volcano Islands and Bonin Islands are not a part of the Home Islands.