Japan:
Geography

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Other pages in this profile of Japan:
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.


Background	Definition In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For more than two centuries this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Following the Treaty of Kanagawa with the US in 1854, Japan opened its ports and began to intensively modernize and industrialize. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Japan became a regional power that was able to defeat the forces of both China and Russia. It occupied Korea, Formosa (Taiwan), and southern Sakhalin Island. In 1931-32 Japan occupied Manchuria, and in 1937 it launched a full-scale invasion of China. Japan attacked US forces in 1941 - triggering America's entry into World War II - and soon occupied much of East and Southeast Asia. After its defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become an economic power and a staunch ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, elected politicians - with heavy input from bureaucrats and business executives - wield actual decisionmaking power. The economy experienced a major slowdown starting in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented growth, but Japan still remains a major economic power, both in Asia and globally.

Location	Definition Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula
Geographic coordinates	Definition 36 00 N, 138 00 E
Map references	Definition Asia
Area	Definition - World rank and map total: 377,835 sq km land: 374,744 sq km water: 3,091 sq km note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto)
Area - comparative	Definition slightly smaller than California
Land boundaries	Definition 0 km
Coastline	Definition 29,751 km
Maritime claims	Definition territorial sea: 12 nm; between 3 nm and 12 nm in the international straits - La Perouse or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or Tsushima Strait contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate	Definition varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north
Terrain	Definition mostly rugged and mountainous
Elevation extremes	Definition lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m highest point: Mount Fuji 3,776 m
Natural resources	Definition negligible mineral resources, fish
Land use	Definition - World rank and map arable land: 11.64% permanent crops: 0.9% other: 87.46% (2005)
Irrigated land	Definition 25,920 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	Definition 430 cu km (1999)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	Definition total: 88.43 cu km/yr (20%/18%/62%) per capita: 690 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	Definition many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons
Environment - current issues	Definition air pollution from power plant emissions results in acid rain; acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality and threatening aquatic life; Japan is one of the largest consumers of fish and tropical timber, contributing to the depletion of these resources in Asia and elsewhere
Environment - international agreements	Definition party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
Geography - note	Definition strategic location in northeast Asia

Japan: Geography

Japan:
Geography