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Geography of Japan

by Vishal Kumar

Japan has a wide geographical variety. It is located on the Pacific Ocean and on the eastern side of China, Korea, and Russia. Japan is an island country that is comprised of more than three thousand islands.


Japan has a wide geographical variety. It is located on the Pacific Ocean and on the eastern side of China, Korea, and Russia. Japan is an island country that is comprised of more than three thousand islands. Among these several islands, there are four main islands that comprise at least 97% of the total land area in Japan.

These four mail islands are, Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku. Among these four islands, Hokkaido is situated in the extreme northern part of Japan, and Kyushu is in the southernmost part of the country. In the geography of Japan moreover, we see that the country is surrounded by many oceans and seas. In the northern part, there is the Sea of Okhotsk. In the southwest part, there is the East China Sea. The east and south part of Japan is bordered by the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan and the Korea Strait border the west part of the Country.

Japan, because of its wide variety of geography has several kinds of land patterns also.

Most of the islands and land areas in Japan are full of steep mountains, plains, natural lakes volcanoes, and hot springs. As most of the land part is covered with land that cannot be cultivated because of the presence of mountains, most of the population of Japan resides in the areas near the coastal lands. Japan is the home to a population that is the tenth largest in the whole world and regarding the density of population Japan stands out to be the thirtieth country in the world.

Japan is situated in the Pacific Ocean in an area known as the ‘Ring of Fire”, where there are several volcanoes. Moreover, the place is also the meeting place of several tectonic plates. As a result, when these plates move, it creates earthquakes in Japan. Sometimes, these earthquakes in the ocean result in huge and fatal tsunamis that severely damages various areas and population in Japan. Japan has many volcanoes also. Its highest mountain peak, known as Mount Fuji, is nothing but a volcano, the last eruption of which took place in the year 1707.

Japan has a number of small and swiftly flowing rivers due to the presence of many mountains making navigation almost impossible. This country has very limited natural resources also. Japan’s climate is also varied like its geography. In several parts and islands of Japan, several climates can be observed.

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