Japan is an island nation in East Asia comprised of a large stratovolcanic archipelago extending along the Pacific coast of Asia. Measured from the geographic coordinate system, Japan is 36° north of the equator and 138° east of the Prime Meridian. The country is north-northeast of China and Taiwan (separated by the East China Sea) and slightly east of Korea (separated by the Sea of Japan¹). The country is south of Siberia in Russia. An island nation is a country that is wholly confined to an island or islands. ... East Asia can be defined in either cultural or geographic terms. ... View of Mount Rainier, a stratovolcano. ... An archipelago is a landform which consists of a chain or cluster of islands. ... The Pacific Ocean (from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, peaceful sea, bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan) is the worlds largest body of water. ... A satellite composite image of Asia Asia is the central and eastern part of the continent of Eurasia, defined by subtracting the European peninsula from Eurasia. ... The equator is an imaginary line drawn around a planet, halfway between the poles. ... The Prime Meridian, Greenwich The Prime Meridian is the meridian (line of longitude) passing through the Royal Greenwich Observatory, Greenwich, England; it is the meridian at which longitude is 0 degrees. ... The East China Sea, showing surrounding countries. ... Korea (한국) is a formerly unified country, situated on the Korean Peninsula in northern East Asia, bordering on China to the west and Russia to the north. ... The Sea of Japan or Japan Sea in most countries and the United Nations and in academic fields, known as the East Sea in South Korea, the East Sea of Korea in North Korea, and the Japan Sea in China, is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, bound... Siberia Siberia (Russian: Сиби́рь, common English transliterations: Sibir, Sibir; possibly from the Mongolian for the calm land) is a vast region of Russia and northern Kazakhstan constituting almost all of northern Asia. ...

The main islands, sometimes called the "Home Islands", (from north to south) are Hokkaido, Honshu (the "mainland"), Shikoku and Kyushu. There are also about 3,000 smaller islands, including Okinawa, and islets, some inhabited and others uninhabited. In total, Japan's territory is 377,835 km², of which 374,744 km² is land and 3,091 km² water. This makes Japan's total area slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Montana. Japan is bigger than Germany, and the U.K. It is 1.7 times the size of North and South Korea combined, 10 times the size of Taiwan and 350 times the size of Hong Kong. Hokkaidō (Japanese: 北海道, literal meaning: North Sea Route, Ainu: Mosir), formerly known as Ezo, is the second largest island of Japan. ... todo mal de [ [ Shikoku ] ] a través del [ [ mar interior ] ], y noreste de [ [ Kyushu ] ] a través del [ [ estrecho de Kanmon ] ]. Es la séptima isla más grande, y la segunda isla populosa en el mundo después de [ [ Java (isla)|Java ] ] (véase [ [ lista de las islas de la población ] ]). < style=float del div... This article is about the geomorphological/geopolitical term; Mainland is also a brand from Fonterra. ... Shikoku (四国, four lands, often incorrectly translated as provinces) is the smallest and least populous of the four main islands of Japan. ... Kyushu region, Japan Kyūshū (九州) is the third largest island of Japan and most southerly and westerly of the four main islands. ... This article is about the prefecture. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... A U.S. state is any one of the 50 states (four of which officially favor the term commonwealth) which, together with the District of Columbia, form the United States of America. ... State nickname: Treasure State Other U.S. States Capital Helena Largest city Billings Governor Brian Schweitzer Official languages English Area 381,156 km² (4th)  - Land 377,295 km²  - Water 3,862 km² (1%) Population (2000)  - Population 926,865 (44th)  - Density 2. ... The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and a member of the European Union. ... Korea (한국) is a formerly unified country, situated on the Korean Peninsula in northern East Asia, bordering on China to the west and Russia to the north. ...

Japan belongs to the temperate zone with distinct four seasons, but its climate varies from cool temperate in the north to subtropical in the south. The climate is also affected by the seasonal winds that blow from the continent to the ocean in winters and vice versa in summers.

About 73 percent of the Japan is mountainous, with a mountain range running through each of the main islands. Japan's highest mountain is Mt. Fuji, with an elevation of 3776m (12,388 feet). Since so little flat area exists, many hills and mountainsides are cultivated all the way to the top. As Japan is situated in a volcanic zone along the Pacific deeps, frequent low-intensity earth tremors and occasional volcanic activity are felt throughout the islands. Destructive earthquakes occur several times a century. Hot springs are numerous and have been developed as resorts. Mount Cook, a mountain in New Zealand A mountain is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain in a limited area. ... The most general definition of mountain range is a group of mountains bordered by lowlands. ... Mount Fuji (富士山 Fuji-san, IPA: [ɸuʝisaɴ]) is the highest mountain on the island of Honshu and indeed in all of Japan. ... Elevation has several related meanings: Geography The elevation of a geographic location is its height above mean sea level (or possibly some other fixed point). ... Global earthquake epicenters, 1963–1998 An earthquake is a trembling or a shaking movement of the Earths surface. ... Green Dragon Spring at Norris Geyser A hot spring is a place where warm or hot groundwater issues from the ground on a regular basis for at least a predictable part of the year, and is significantly above the ambient ground temperature (which is usually around 55~57 F or...

Late June and early July are a rainy season except Hokkaido as a seasonal rain front or baiu zensen (梅雨前線) stays above Japan. In summer and early autumn, typhoons, grown from tropical depressions generated near the equator, attack Japan with furious rainstorms. Hurricane Ivan viewed from the International Space Station, September 2004. ...

Its varied geographical features divide Japan into six principal climatic zones.

• Hokkaidō (北海道): Belonging to the cool temperate zone, Hokkaido has long, cold winters and cool summers. Precipitation is not great.

• Nihonkai (日本海) or Sea of Japan: The northwest seasonal wind in winter gives heavy snowfalls. In summer it is less hot than in the Pacific area but sometimes experiences extreme high temperatures due to the Foehn wind phenomenon.

• Chūō-kōchi (中央高地) or Central highland: A typical inland climate gives large temperature differences between summers and winters and between days and nights. Precipitation is not large throughout the year.

• Setonaikai (瀬戸内海) or Inland Sea: The mountains in the Chūgoku and Shikoku regions block the seasonal winds and bring mild climate and many fine days throughout the year.

• Taiheiyō (太平洋) or Pacific Ocean: Winters are cold, with little snowfall, and summers are hot and humid due to the southeast seasonal wind.

• Nansei-shotō (南西諸島) or Southwest Islands: This zone has a subtropical climate with warm winters and hot summers. Precipitation is very high, and is especially affected by the rainy season and typhoons.

As an island nation, Japan has a long coastline. A few prefectures are landlocked: Gunma, Tochigi, Saitama, Nagano, Yamanashi, Gifu, Shiga, and Nara. The others all have coasts on the Pacific Ocean, Sea of Japan, Seto Inland Sea or have a body of salt water connected to them. Two prefectures—Hokkaido and Okinawa—are composed of islands. A foehn wind occurs when a deep layer of prevailing wind is forced over a mountain range. ... The Inland Sea and its major straits with the bay of Osaka (dashed) Formally named the Seto Inland Sea (瀬戸内海 Seto Naikai), the Inland Sea is the body of water separating Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, three of the main islands of Japan. ...

Location: Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula. Map of Japan, originally converted directly from CIA World Factbook GIF. File links The following pages link to this file: Japan Geography of Japan User:Neuromancien Categories: CIA World Factbook images ... The Sea of Japan or Japan Sea in most countries and the United Nations and in academic fields, known as the East Sea in South Korea, the East Sea of Korea in North Korea, and the Japan Sea in China, is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, bound... The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. ...

Geographic coordinates: 36 00 N, 138 00 E

Map references: Asia A satellite composite image of Asia Asia is the central and eastern part of the continent of Eurasia, defined by subtracting the European peninsula from Eurasia. ...

Area:
total: 377,835 km²
land: 374,744 km²
water: 3,091 km²
note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-guntō 小笠原群島), Daitō-shotō(大東諸島), Minami Torishima(南鳥島), Okino-tori-shima(沖ノ鳥島), Ryūkyū Islands (Ryūkyū-shotō 琉球諸島), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-rettō 火山列島) The Ogasawara Islands (小笠原諸島) are an Japan. ... Minami Torishima (南鳥島) or Marcus Island is a small isolated island in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, located at 24°18′ N 153°58′ E. It is only 1. ... The Ryukyu Islands (琉球列島 Ryūkyū-rettō), also known as the Nansei-shoto (南西諸島 Nansei-shotō, which translates literally as the Southwest Islands), are an island chain stretching southwestward from the island of Kyushu in Japan. ... The Ogasawara Islands (小笠原諸島) are an archipelago of over 30 subtropical islands some 1000 km directly south of central Tokyo, Japan. ...

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Montana State nickname: Treasure State Other U.S. States Capital Helena Largest city Billings Governor Brian Schweitzer Official languages English Area 381,156 km² (4th)  - Land 377,295 km²  - Water 3,862 km² (1%) Population (2000)  - Population 926,865 (44th)  - Density 2. ...

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 29,751 km

Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles
territorial sea: 12 nautical miles; between 3 nautical miles and 12 nautical miles in the international straits - La Perouse or Sōya Strait (宗谷海峡), Tsugaru (津軽), Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or Tsushima Strait (対馬海峡) A nautical mile is a unit of distance, or length, as physical scientists like to call it. ... La Pérouse Strait (Japanese: Soya Strait) is a strait dividing the southern part of the Russian island of Sakhalin from the northern part of the Japanese island of Hokkaido, and connecting the Sea of Japan on the west with the Sea of Okhotsk on the east. ... La Pérouse Strait (Japanese: Soya Strait) is a strait dividing the southern part of the Russian island of Sakhalin from the northern part of the Japanese island of Hokkaido, and connecting the Sea of Japan on the west with the Sea of Okhotsk on the east. ... Location of Tsushima Straits about the Tsushima Islands and West (Korea Strait) The Tsushima Strait (対馬海峡, also known as the Tsu Shima Strait or Tsu-Shima Strait) is the eastern channel of the Korea Strait between Kyushu, the westernmost and largest of the four main islands of Japan, or Iki...

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

Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Hachirō-gata (八郎潟) -4 m
highest point: Fujisan (富士山) 3,776 m Mount Fuji (富士山 Fuji-san, IPA: [ɸuʝisaɴ]) is the highest mountain on the island of Honshu and indeed in all of Japan. ...

Natural resources: negligible mineral resources, fish Minerals are natural compounds formed through geological processes. ...

Land use:
arable land: 11%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 2%
forests and woodland: 67%
other: 19% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 27,820 km² (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis ; typhoons (Tropical cyclone) A volcano is a geological landform (usually a mountain) where magma (rock of the earths interior made molten or liquid by high pressure and temperature) erupts through the surface of the planet. ... Tremor is the rhythmic, oscillating shaking movement of the whole body or just a certain part of it, caused by problems of the neurons responsible from muscle action. ... The tsunami that struck Malé in the Maldives on December 26, 2004. ... Hurricane Ivan viewed from the International Space Station, September 2004. ...

Environment - current issues: air pollution from car emissions in urban area suspected for causing Asthma; over-enrichment of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality for aquatic life; quota for fisheries imposed on Japanese fishing fleets; over-fish farming causing degrading water quality for aquatic life; Biodiversity threatened by foreign animals, fish, insects, and plants A small variety of cars, the most popular kind of automobile. ... Biodiversity or biological diversity is the diversity of and in living nature. ...

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Regions

Main article: Regions of Japan The regions of Japan are not official administrative units, but have been traditionally used as the regional division of Japan in a number of contexts: for example, maps and geography textbooks divide Japan into the eight regions, weather reports usually give the weather by region, and many businesses and institutions...

Japan is informally divided into eight regions. Each contains several prefectures, except the Hokkaido region, which covers only Hokkaido Prefecture. A map of the Regions of Japan File links The following pages link to this file: Geography of Japan Regions of Japan Iwakura, Aichi Ginowan, Okinawa Urawa-ku, Saitama Sumiyoshi Park Tokoro District, Hokkaido Akan, Hokkaido Shibecha, Hokkaido Teshikaga, Hokkaido ... Map of the prefectures of Japan in ISO 3166-2:JP order. ... The term prefecture has been used to denote a self-governing body or area since the time of Constantine I, who divided the Roman Empire into 4 districts (each divided into dioceses). ...

The region is not an official administrative unit, but has been traditionally used as the regional division of Japan in a number of contexts: for example, maps and geography textbooks divide Japan into the eight regions, weather reports usually give the weather by region, and many businesses and institutions use their home region as part of their name (Kinki Nippon Railway, Chugoku Bank, Tohoku University, etc.). While Japan has eight High Courts, their jurisdictions do not correspond to the eight regions.

See also

• Japanese addressing system
• List of national parks of Japan
• List of islands of Japan
• Rivers of Japan

The Japanese addressing system is used to identify a specific location in Japan. ... List of national parks of Japan National Parks Hokkaido (North) Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park Shiretoko National Park Daisetsuzan National Park Akan National Park Shikotsu-Toya National Park Tohoku (Northeast) Towada-Hachimantai National Park Rikuchu Coast National Park Bandai-Asahi National Park Kanto (East) Nikko National Park Chichibu-Tama National... The four main islands of Japan are: Hokkaido Honshu Kyushu Shikoku Okinawa is the fifth largest island except the disputed northern territories, and is the smallest island which has a prefectural capital. ... Media:Example. ...

Notes

1. See also dispute over the name of the Sea of Japan for alternatate names. A Map of Quan-Tong or Lea-Tonge Province and the Kindom of Kau-li or Corea, T. Kitchin, London, 1753, reprinted 1780; it shows the Sea of Korea. London 1815. ...