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===========

Japan Geography 1996

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 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, Shikotan, 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:

meadows and pastures:

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; Japan's appetite for fish and tropical timber is contributing to the depletion of these resources in Asia and elsewhere

natural hazards:

many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; 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 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea

Note:

strategic location in northeast Asia

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