Geography of Japan

Geography Of Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia comprising a stratovolcanic archipelago extending along the Pacific coast of Asia. Measured from the geographic coordinate system, Japan stretches from 24° to 46° north latitude and from 123° to 146° east longitude. The country is southeast of the Russian Far East, separated by the Sea of Okhotsk; slightly east of Korea, separated by the Sea of Japan; and east-northeast of China and Taiwan, separated by the East China Sea. The closest neighboring country to Japan is the Russian Federation.

The major islands, sometimes called the "Home Islands", are (from north to south) Hokkaidō, Honshū (the "mainland"), Shikoku and Kyūshū. There are also 2,456 islands, including Okinawa, and islets, some inhabited and others uninhabited. In total, as of 2006, Japan's territory is 377,923.1 km2 (145,916.9 sq mi), of which 374,834 km2 (144,724 sq mi) is land and 3,091 km2 (1,193 sq mi) water. This makes Japan's total area slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Montana, and slightly larger than Finland.

Location: Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula.

Map references: Asia

Area:

• total: 377,835 km²
• land: 374,744 km²
• water: 3,091 km²
• notes: Includes the Bonin Islands, Daitō Islands, Minamitorishima, Okinotorishima, the Ryukyu Islands, and the Volcano Islands. Ownership of the Senkaku Islands and Liancourt Rocks (Japanese:Takeshima, Korean:Dokdo) is in dispute.

Area comparative: 11% smaller than California, USA

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 34,751 km (21,593 mi)

Maritime claims:

• exclusive economic zone: 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi)
• territorial sea: 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi); between 3 and 12 nmi (5.6 and 22.2 km; 3.5 and 13.8 mi) in the international straits—La Perouse or Sōya Strait, Tsugaru Strait, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or Tsushima Strait.

Climate: varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north

Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous

Natural resources: small deposits of coal, oil, iron and minerals. Major fishing industry.

Land use:

• arable land: 11%
• permanent crops: 1%
• permanent pastures: 2%
• forests and woodland: 68%
• other: 18% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 27,820 km² (1993 est.) 73% of Japan is mountains.