Japan

Japan (Japanese: ??, Nihon or Nippon) is a country on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean. Known as the "Land of the Rising Sun", Japan lies to the east of the Asian continent, and is composed of over 3,000 islands. The largest and main islands are, from north to south, Hokkaid?, Honsh? (the largest island), Shikoku, and Ky?sh?. The Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa, are southwest of the main islands.

Geography of Japan

Main article: Geography of Japan

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Japan, a country of islands, extends along the eastern or Pacific coast of Asia. The main islands (sometimes referred to as the Home Islands), running from north to south, are Hokkaido, Honshu (or the mainland), Shikoku, and Kyushu. Naha on Okinawa, in the Ryukyu archipelago, is over 600 km to the southwest of Kyushu. In addition, about 3,000 smaller islands may be counted in the full extent of the archipelago that comprises greater Japan.

Related Topics:
Island - Pacific - Asia - Hokkaido - Honshu - Shikoku - Kyushu - Naha - Okinawa - Ryukyu - Archipelago

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• Area: 377,835 km² (including 3,091 km² of territorial water)
• Major islands: Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku
• Coastline: 29,751 km
• Highest peak: Mount Fuji: 3776 m (12,385 ft)
• Lowest elevation: Hachinohe Mine (-130 m (-426 ft)

Japan is the 18th most densely-populated country in the world (see List of countries by population density). However, about 73% of the country is mountainous, and unsuitable for agricultural, industrial, or residential use, due to the generally steep elevations, climate, and risk of landslides caused by earthquakes and heavy rain. This has resulted in an extremely high population density in the habitable zones that are mainly located in coastal areas.

Related Topics:
List of countries by population density - Mountain

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Japan is situated in a volcanic zone on the Pacific Ring of Fire, at the juncture of the Philippine Plate, Pacific Plate, Eurasian Plate, and North American Plate. Frequent low-intensity earth tremors and occasional volcanic activity are felt throughout the islands. Destructive earthquakes, often resulting in tsunamis, occur several times each century. The most recent major quakes include the 2004 Chuetsu Earthquake and the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995. Hot springs are numerous, and have been developed as resorts.

Related Topics:
Volcanic - Pacific Ring of Fire - Philippine Plate - Pacific Plate - Eurasian Plate - North American Plate - Earthquake - Tsunami - 2004 Chuetsu Earthquake - Great Hanshin Earthquake - Hot springs

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Climate

Japan is a temperate region with, more or less, four seasons (some believe the rainy season should be a fifth season), but because of its great length from north to south, its climate varies from region to region: the far north is very cold in the winter, while the far south is subtropical. The climate is also affected by the seasonal winds, blown from the continent to the ocean in winters and vice versa in summers. The waters of the Kuroshio Current also warm the Pacific side of Japan, sustaining the coral reefs of Japan, the northernmost coral reefs in the world. Unfortunately, due to pollution, these reefs are now dying.

Related Topics:
Climate - Winter - Subtropical - Summer - Kuroshio Current - Coral reefs

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Late June and early July are a rainy season (except in Hokkaido), as a seasonal rain front stays above Japan. In the late summer and early autumn, typhoons develop from tropical depressions generated near the equator, and track from the southwest to the northeast, often bringing heavy rain.

Related Topics:
June - July - Rainy season - Autumn - Typhoon - Tropical depression - Equator

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Japan's varied geographical features divide it into six principal climatic zones.

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• Hokkaido: Hokkaido has a temperate climate with long, cold winters and cool summers. Precipitation is not heavy, but the islands usually develop deep snow banks in the winter.
• Sea of Japan: The northwest wind in the wintertime brings heavy snowfall. In the summer, the region is cooler than the Pacific area, though it sometimes experiences extremely hot temperatures, due to the Foehn wind phenomenon.
• Central Highlands (Chuo-kochi): A typical inland climate, with large temperature differences between summer and winter, and between day and night. Precipitation is light.
• Seto Inland Sea (Seto-naikai): The Mountains of the Chugoku and Shikoku regions block the seasonal winds, bringing mild weather throughout the year.
• Pacific Ocean: Experiences cold winters with little snowfall and hot, humid summers due to the southeast seasonal wind.
• Nansei-shoto (Ryukyu) or Southwest Islands: Has a subtropical climate, with warm winters and hot summers. Precipitation is very heavy, especially during the rainy season. Typhoons are common; in 2004 a record 10 typhoons reached the main islands.

Ecoregions

Main Article: Ecoregions of Japan

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Japan is home to nine forest ecoregions, which reflect the climate and geography of the islands. They range from subtropical moist broadleaf forests in the Ryukyu and Bonin islands, to temperate broadleaf and mixed forests in the mild climate regions of the main islands, to temperate coniferous forests in the cold, winter portions of the northern islands.

Related Topics:
Ecoregion - Subtropical moist broadleaf forests - Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests - Temperate coniferous forests

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Regions

Main article: Regions of Japan

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Japan is commonly divided into regions. Honshu, by far the largest and most populated island, is typically divided into five (or more) regions. The other islands constitute one region each. From north to south, these are

Related Topics:
Regions - Honshu

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• Hokkaido - major cities are Sapporo and Hakodate.
• Honshu:
• Tohoku - northeastern Honshu in which Sendai and Fukushima are large cities.
• Kanto - includes Tokyo, Kawasaki, Yokohama, Yokosuka, and surrounding coastal plain. Also includes Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, Tochigi, and Ibaraki Prefectures.
• Chubu - mountainous middle region dominated by the Japanese Alps. The Sea of Japan side is the Hokuriku region, and the Pacific side is the Tokai region. The main cities of Hokuriku are Niigata and Kanazawa, and the main cities of Tokai are Nagoya (the nation's fourth largest) and Shizuoka.
• Kinki or Kansai region - ancient center of culture and commerce, including Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Nara, and Wakayama and Shiga Prefectures.
• Chugoku - includes the cities Hiroshima and Okayama.
• Shikoku - the smallest of the main four islands, known as a destination for Buddhist pilgrims. The main cities are Matsuyama and Takamatsu.
• Kyushu - southernmost of the four main islands. The main towns include Fukuoka, Kitakyushu and Nagasaki.
• Okinawa - semitropical southern island chain reaching out to Taiwan. The only major city is Naha.

Prefectures

Main article: Prefectures of Japan

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The Local Government Law of Japan divides the country into 47 prefectures, which carry out administrative duties, independently of the central government. From north to south (numbering in ISO 3166-2 order), these are:

Related Topics:
Local Government Law - Prefectures - ISO 3166-2

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• 1.Hokkaido
• 2.Aomori
• 3.Iwate
• 4.Miyagi
• 5.Akita
• 6.Yamagata
• 7.Fukushima
• 8.Ibaraki
• 9.Tochigi
• 10.Gunma
• 11.Saitama
• 12.Chiba

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• 13.Tokyo
• 14.Kanagawa
• 15.Niigata
• 16.Toyama
• 17.Ishikawa
• 18.Fukui
• 19.Yamanashi
• 20.Nagano
• 21.Gifu
• 22.Shizuoka
• 23.Aichi
• 24.Mie

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• 25.Shiga
• 26.Kyoto
• 27.Osaka
• 28.Hyogo
• 29.Nara
• 30.Wakayama
• 31.Tottori
• 32.Shimane
• 33.Okayama
• 34.Hiroshima
• 35.Yamaguchi
• 36.Tokushima

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• 37.Kagawa
• 38.Ehime
• 39.Kochi
• 40.Fukuoka
• 41.Saga
• 42.Nagasaki
• 43.Kumamoto
• 44.Oita
• 45.Miyazaki
• 46.Kagoshima
• 47.Okinawa

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