Japan’s location is very strategic — it is between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula.
Geographic coordinates: 36 00 N, 138 00 E
Area: total: 377,835 sq km
country comparison to the world: 68
land: 374,744 sq km. water: 3,091 sq km
*Includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto)
* Slightly smaller than California
Land boundaries: NONE. Coastline: 29,751 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm; between 3 nm and 12 nm in the international straits – La Perouse or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or Tsushima Strait. Contiguous zone: 24 nm. Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate: varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north
Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m
highest point: Mount Fuji 3,776 m
Natural resources: negligible mineral resources, fish
*With virtually no energy natural resources, Japan is the world’s largest importer of coal and liquefied natural gas as well as the second largest importer of oil.
Land use: arable land: 11.64%
permanent crops: 0.9%
other: 87.46% (2005)
Irrigated land: 25,920 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources: 430 cu km (1999)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
Total: 88.43 cu km/yr (20%/18%/62%) per capita: 690 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards: many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons
