9-

!apan (nlhon or nlppon offlclally Lhe SLaLe of !apan nlpponkoku or nlhonkoku) ls an lsland
naLlon ln LasL Asla LocaLed ln Lhe aclflc Ccean lL lles Lo Lhe easL of Lhe Sea of !apan eoples
8epubllc of Chlna norLh korea SouLh korea and 8ussla sLreLchlng from Lhe Sea of CkhoLsk ln Lhe
norLh Lo Lhe LasL Chlna Sea and 1alwan ln Lhe souLh 1he characLers LhaL make up !apans name
mean sunorlgln whlch ls why !apan ls someLlmes referred Lo as Lhe Land of Lhe 8lslng Sun
!apan ls an archlpelago of 6832 lslands 1he four largesL lslands are Ponshu Pokkald kyushu and
Shlkoku LogeLher accounLlng for nlneLyseven percenL of !apans land area !apan has Lhe worlds
LenLhlargesL populaLlon wlLh over 127 mllllon people 1he CreaLer 1okyo Area whlch lncludes Lhe
de facLo caplLal clLy of 1okyo and several surroundlng prefecLures ls Lhe largesL meLropollLan area ln
Lhe world wlLh over 30 mllllon resldenLs
Archaeologlcal research lndlcaLes LhaL people llved ln !apan as early as Lhe upper aleollLhlc perlod
1he flrsL wrlLLen menLlon of !apan ls ln Chlnese hlsLory LexLs from Lhe 1sL cenLury Au lnfluence from
oLher naLlons followed by long perlods of lsolaLlon has characLerlzed !apans hlsLory ln Lhe laLe 19Lh
and early 20Lh cenLurles vlcLory ln Lhe llrsL Slno!apanese War Lhe 8usso!apanese War and World
War l allowed !apan Lo expand lLs emplre durlng a perlod of lncreaslng mlllLarlsm 1he Second Slno
!apanese War of 1937 expanded lnLo parL of World War ll whlch broughL Lo an end ln 1943 by Lhe
aLomlc bomblngs of Plroshlma and nagasakl Slnce adopLlng lLs revlsed consLlLuLlon ln 1947 !apan
has malnLalned a unlLary consLlLuLlonal monarchy wlLh an emperor and an elecLed parllamenL called
Lhe uleL
A ma[or economlc power !apan has Lhe worlds LhlrdlargesL economy by nomlnal Cu and by
purchaslng power parlLy lL ls also Lhe worlds fourLh largesL exporLer and fourLh largesL lmporLer
AlLhough !apan has offlclally renounced lLs rlghL Lo declare war lL malnLalns a modern mlllLary force
ln selfdefense and peacekeeplng roles AfLer Slngapore !apan has Lhe lowesL homlclde (lncludlng
aLLempLed homlclde) raLe ln Lhe world Accordlng Lo boLh un and WPC esLlmaLes !apan has Lhe
longesL llfe expecLancy of any counLry ln Lhe world Accordlng Lo Lhe un lL has Lhe Lhlrd lowesL
lnfanL morLallLy raLe
Geographyofapan
!apan ls an lsland naLlon ln LasL Asla comprlslng a sLraLovolcanlc archlpelago exLendlng along Lhe
aclflc coasL of Asla Measured from Lhe geographlc coordlnaLe sysLem !apan ls 36 norLh of Lhe
equaLor and 138 easL of Lhe rlme Merldlan 1he counLry ls souLheasL of Lhe 8usslan lar LasL
separaLed by Lhe Sea of CkhoLsk sllghLly easL of korea separaLed by Lhe Sea of !apan and easL
norLheasL of Chlna and 1alwan separaLed by Lhe LasL Chlna Sea 1he closesL nelghborlng counLry Lo
!apan ls Lhe 8usslan lederaLlon
1he ma[or lslands someLlmes called Lhe Pome lslands are (from norLh Lo souLh) Pokkald
Ponshu (Lhe malnland) Shlkoku and kyushu 1here are also 2436 lslands lncludlng Cklnawa and
lsleLs some lnhablLed and oLhers unlnhablLed ln LoLal as of 2006 !apans LerrlLory ls 3779231 km2
(1439169 sq ml) of whlch 374834 km2 (144724 sq ml) ls land and 3091 km2 (1193 sq ml) waLer
1hls makes !apans LoLal area sllghLly smaller Lhan Lhe uS sLaLe of MonLana sllghLly blgger Lhan
Cermany
an
onaon LasLern Asla lsland chaln beLween Lhe norLh aclflc Ccean and Lhe Sea of !apan easL of
Lhe korean enlnsula
Mapreferenne Asla
rea
totol 377833 km
looJ 374744 km
otet 3091 km
ootes lncludes Lhe 8onln lslands ualL lslands MlnamlLorlshlma CklnoLorlshlma
Lhe 8yukyu lslands and Lhe volcano lslands Cwnershlp of Lhe LlancourL
8ocks (!apanese1okesblmo koreanuokJo) ls ln dlspuLe
reanomparae sllghLly smaller Lhan Callfornla uSA
andoundare none
oane 34731 km (21393 ml)
Marmenam
excloslve ecooomlc zooe 200 nml (3704 km 2302 ml)
tettltotlol seo 12 nml (222 km 138 ml) beLween 3 and 12 nml (36 and 222 km 33 and
138 ml) ln Lhe lnLernaLlonal sLralLsLa erouse or Sya SLralL 1sugaru SLralL Csuml and
LasLern and WesLern Channels of Lhe korea or 1sushlma SLralL
mae varles from Lroplcal ln souLh Lo cool LemperaLe ln norLh
1erran mosLly rugged and mounLalnous
-aurareourne negllglble coal oll lron resources flsh and mlneral resources
andue
otoble looJ 11
etmooeot ctos 1
etmooeot ostotes 2
otests ooJ ooJlooJ 17
otbet 19 (1993 esL)
rrgaedand 27820 km (1993 esL) 73 of !apan ls mounLalns

mae
!apan belongs Lo Lhe LemperaLe zone wlLh four dlsLlncL seasons buL lLs cllmaLe varles from cool
LemperaLe ln Lhe norLh Lo subLroplcal ln Lhe souLh 1he cllmaLe ls also affecLed by Lhe seasonal wlnds
LhaL blow from Lhe conLlnenL Lo Lhe ocean ln wlnLers and vlce versa ln summers
!apan ls generally a ralny counLry wlLh hlgh humldlLy 8ecause of lLs wlde range of laLlLude !apan has
a varleLy of cllmaLes wlLh a range ofLen compared Lo LhaL of Lhe easL coasL of norLh Amerlca from
nova ScoLla Lo Lhe uS sLaLe of Ceorgla 1okyo ls aL abouL 33 degrees norLh laLlLude comparable Lo
LhaL of 1ehran ALhens or Las vegas 1he generally humld LemperaLe cllmaLe exhlblLs marked
seasonal varlaLlon celebraLed ln arL and llLeraLure as well as reglonal varlaLlons ranglng from cool ln
Pokkald Lo subLroplcal ln kyushu CllmaLe also varles wlLh alLlLude and wlLh locaLlon on Lhe aclflc
Ccean or on Lhe Sea of !apan norLhern !apan has warm summers buL long cold wlnLers wlLh heavy
snow CenLral !apan has hoL humld summers and shorL wlnLers and souLhwesLern !apan has long
hoL humld summers and mlld wlnLers
1wo prlmary facLors lnfluence !apans cllmaLe a locaLlon near Lhe Aslan conLlnenL and Lhe exlsLence
of ma[or oceanlc currenLs 1he cllmaLe from !une Lo SepLember ls marked by hoL weL weaLher
broughL by Lroplcal alrflows from Lhe aclflc Ccean and SouLheasL Asla 1hese alrflows are full of
molsLure and deposlL subsLanLlal amounLs of raln when Lhey reach land 1here ls a marked ralny
season beglnnlng ln early !une and conLlnulng for abouL a monLh lL ls followed by hoL sLlcky
weaLher llve or slx Lyphoons pass over or near !apan every year from early AugusL Lo early
SepLember someLlmes resulLlng ln slgnlflcanL damage Annual preclplLaLlon whlch averages
beLween 1000 and 2000 mm (394 and 787 ln) ls concenLraLed ln Lhe perlod beLween !une and
SepLember ln facL 70 Lo 80 percenL of Lhe annual preclplLaLlon falls durlng Lhls perlod ln wlnLer a
hlghpressure area develops over Slberla and a lowpressure area develops over Lhe norLhern aclflc
Ccean 1he resulL ls a flow of cold alr easLward across !apan LhaL brlngs freezlng LemperaLures and
heavy snowfalls Lo Lhe cenLral mounLaln ranges faclng Lhe Sea of !apan buL clear skles Lo areas
fronLlng on Lhe aclflc
1wo ma[or ocean currenLs affecL Lhls cllmaLlc paLLern Lhe warm kuroshlo CurrenL (8lack CurrenL
also known as Lhe !apan CurrenL) and Lhe cold Cyashlo CurrenL (arenL CurrenL also known as Lhe
CkhoLsk CurrenL) 1he kuroshlo CurrenL flows norLhward on Lhe aclflc slde of !apan and warms
areas as far norLh as 1okyo a small branch Lhe 1sushlma CurrenL flows up Lhe Sea of !apan slde
1he Cyashlo CurrenL whlch abounds ln plankLon beneflclal Lo coldwaLer flsh flows souLhward along
Lhe norLhern aclflc coollng ad[acenL coasLal areas 1he meeLlng polnL of Lhese currenLs aL 36 norLh
laLlLude ls a bounLlful flshlng ground
LaLe !une and early !uly are a ralny seasonexcepL ln Pokkaldas a seasonal raln fronL or balu
zensen (]") sLays above !apan ln summer and early auLumn Lyphoons grown from Lroplcal
depresslons generaLed near Lhe equaLor aLLack !apan wlLh furlous ralnsLorms
lLs varled geographlcal feaLures dlvlde !apan lnLo slx prlnclpal cllmaLlc zones
Pokkald (j, Pokkald") 8elonglng Lo Lhe cool LemperaLe zone Pokkald has long cold
wlnLers and cool summers reclplLaLlon ls noL greaL
Sea of !apan (, nlhonkal") 1he norLhwesL seasonal wlnd ln wlnLer glves heavy snowfalls ln
summer lL ls less hoL Lhan ln Lhe aclflc area buL someLlmes experlences exLreme hlgh LemperaLures
due Lo Lhe foehn wlnd phenomenon
CenLral Plghland (| Chukchl") A Lyplcal lnland cllmaLe glves large LemperaLure
dlfferences beLween summers and wlnLers and beLween days and nlghLs reclplLaLlon ls noL large
LhroughouL Lhe year
SeLo lnland Sea (,l, SeLonalkal") 1he mounLalns ln Lhe Chugoku and Shlkoku reglons block
Lhe seasonal wlnds and brlng mlld cllmaLe and many flne days LhroughouL Lhe year
aclflc Ccean (; 1alhely") WlnLers are cold wlLh llLLle snowfall and summers are hoL and
humld due Lo Lhe souLheasL seasonal wlnd
SouLhwesL lslands ( nanselshoL") 1hls zone has a subLroplcal cllmaLe wlLh warm wlnLers
and hoL summers reclplLaLlon ls very hlgh and ls especlally affecLed by Lhe ralny season and
Lyphoons
1he warmesL wlnLer LemperaLures are found ln Lhe nanpo and 8onln lslands whlch en[oy a Lroplcal
cllmaLe due Lo Lhe comblnaLlon of laLlLude dlsLance from Lhe Aslan malnland and warmlng effecL of
wlnds from Lhe kuroshlo as well as Lhe volcano lslands (aL Lhe laLlLude of Lhe souLhernmosL
8yukyus 24 n)
As an lsland naLlon !apan has a long coasLllne A few prefecLures are landlocked Cunma 1ochlgl
SalLama nagano ?amanashl Clfu Shlga and nara As ML lu[l provldes raln shadow effecLs ln
?amanashl lL has Lhe leasL ralnfall ln !apan whlch sLlll exceeds 1000 mm annually 1he oLhers all
have coasLs on Lhe aclflc Ccean Sea of !apan SeLo lnland Sea or have a body of salL waLer
connecLed Lo Lhem 1wo prefecLuresPokkald and Cklnawaare composed enLlrely of lslands
1he hoLLesL LemperaLure ever measured ln !apan 409 C (1036 l) occurred ln 1a[lml Clfu on
AugusL 16 2007
Geoogyofapan
1he lslands of !apan are prlmarlly Lhe resulL of several large oceanlc movemenLs occurrlng over
hundreds of mllllons of years from Lhe mldSllurlan Lo Lhe lelsLocene as a resulL of Lhe subducLlon
of Lhe hlllpplne Sea laLe beneaLh Lhe conLlnenLal Amurlan laLe and Cklnawa laLe Lo Lhe souLh
and subducLlon of Lhe aclflc laLe under Lhe CkhoLsk laLe Lo Lhe norLh
!apan was orlglnally aLLached Lo Lhe easLern coasL of Lhe Luraslan conLlnenL 1he subducLlng plaLes
belng deeper Lhan Lhe Luraslan plaLe pulled !apan easLward openlng Lhe Sea of !apan around 13
mllllon years ago 1he SLralL of 1arLary and Lhe korea SLralL opened much laLer
!apan ls slLuaLed ln a volcanlc zone on Lhe aclflc 8lng of llre lrequenL low lnLenslLy earLh Lremors
and occaslonal volcanlc acLlvlLy are felL LhroughouL Lhe lslands uesLrucLlve earLhquakes ofLen
resulLlng ln Lsunamls occur several Llmes a cenLury 1he mosL recenL ma[or quakes lnclude Lhe 2011
1hoku earLhquake and Lsunaml Lhe 2004 ChueLsu earLhquake and Lhe CreaL Panshln LarLhquake
of 1993 PoL sprlngs are numerous and have been developed as resorLs
egonnapan
MosL !apanese people do noL excluslvely ldenLlfy Lhemselves as adherenLs of a slngle rellglon
raLher Lhey lncorporaLe elemenLs of varlous rellglons ln a syncreLlc fashlon known as ShlnbuLsu
shug ( amalgamaLlon of kaml and buddhas") ShlnbuLsu Shug offlclally ended wlLh Lhe
ShlnLo and 8uddhlsm SeparaLlon Crder of 1886 buL conLlnues ln pracLlce ShlnLo and !apanese
8uddhlsm are Lherefore besL undersLood noL as Lwo compleLely separaLe and compeLlng falLhs buL
raLher as a slngle raLher complex rellglous sysLem
!apan granLs full rellglous freedom allowlng mlnorlLy rellglons such as ChrlsLlanlLy lslam Plndulsm
and Slkhlsm Lo be pracLlced llgures LhaL sLaLe 84 Lo 96 of !apanese adhere Lo ShlnLo and
8uddhlsm are noL based on selfldenLlflcaLlon buL come prlmarlly from blrLh records followlng a
longsLandlng pracLlce of offlclally assoclaLlng a famlly llne wlLh a local 8uddhlsL Lemple or ShlnLo
shrlne AbouL 70 percenL of !apanese profess no rellglous membershlp accordlng Lo !ohnsLone
(1993323) 84 of Lhe !apanese clalm no personal rellglon ln census quesLlonnalres less Lhan 13
percenL reporLed any formal rellglous afflllaLlon by 2000 And accordlng Lo uemeraLh (2001138)
64 do noL belleve ln Cod and 33 do noL belleve ln 8uddha Accordlng Lo LllsabeLh 8umlller
Ldwln 8elschauer and Marlus !ansen some 70 Lo 80 percenL of Lhe !apanese regularly Lell pollsLers
Lhey do noL conslder Lhemselves bellevers ln any rellglon Accordlng Lo !ames kllllan beLween 64
and 80 of !apanese descrlbe Lhemselves as aLhelsLs agnosLlcs or nonbellevers !apanese sLreeLs
are decoraLed on 1anabaLa Cbon and ChrlsLmas
MlnorlLy rellglons
1 8ahl lalLh
2 ChrlsLlanlLy
3 lslam
4 Plndulsm
3 !udalsm
6 8yukyuan rellglon