Location: Eastern Asia, off the southeast coast of Russia and east of the Korean peninsula

Map references: Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area:
total area: 377,835 sq km
land area: 374,744 sq km
comparative area: slightly smaller than California
note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okinotori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto)

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 29,751 km

Maritime claims:
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm; 3 nm in the international straits - La Perouse or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or Tsushima Strait

International disputes: islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotau, and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; Liancourt Rocks disputed with South Korea; Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands) claimed by China and Taiwan

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

Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous

Natural resources: negligible mineral resources, fish

Land use:
arable land: 13%
permanent crops: 1%
meadows and pastures: 1%
forest and woodland: 67%
other: 18%

Irrigated land: 28,680 sq km (1989)

Environment:
current issues: air pollution from power plant emissions results in acid rain; acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality and threatening aquatic life
natural hazards: many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; subject to tsunamis
international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea

Note: strategic location in northeast Asia

NOTE: The information regarding Japan on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Japan Geography 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Japan Geography 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.