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Japan

 
     
    • 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: 
        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; 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