Flag me as off topic if you must, but I am wildly curious to know what prompted this question.

There are giraffes (in captivity) in Japan. The oldest one died last year at the age of 32, as reported in many articles.

I wasn’t able to easily get a total count, though.

Whatever the actual number is Giraffes deserve protection.

You say giraffes should be free to roam the wild… absolutely!

But if it takes sanctuaries and zoos to preserve the species then yes!

I’m with @Jeruba in wondering what prompted this Q.

I googled a little and it appears to me that giraffes are not found wild in Japan, but they are in zoos. I could be wrong, but when I look up fauna in Japan giraffes aren’t mentioned. On the giraffe Wikipedia page only Africa is mentioned.

I have a feeling giraffes are few and far between in Japan. Remember Japan is mini small and islands. I assume the natural flora and fauna there is fairly unique, except for what has been brought in, or what they have exported and has become known in other parts of the world because of it.

I can state authoritatively there are no native giraffes in Japan. There are no wild giraffes there.

Japan has a wide variety of wildlife. Many different animals and birds. No giraffes.

If I remember my reading correctly, all giraffes have just about the same number of spots on their bodies; they vary in size as the animal grows, but every giraffe has close to the exact same number.

Looks like it’s 160 – you can download this PDF if you want certainty, I just glanced at it: https://medwinpublishers.com/IZAB/fecal-cortisol-dynamics-of-captive-giraffes-in-zoos-in-northern-japan.pdf.

There are, apparently, about 1200 giraffes in captivity worldwide. Seems like Japan has a comparatively high number.

@longgone Impressive, thanks for your effort. And, everyone who answered, ditto.

Really, it’s a straightforward question. Everyone wonders this at some point!