Geography

Geography
Japan consists of several thousands of islands of which Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku are the four largest. Japan's closest neighbors are Korea, Russia and China. The Sea of Japan separates the Asian continent from the Japanese archipelago. [] [|http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107666.htm] [|l]

The total land space of the Japanese islands is about 142,000 square miles. It is a very small country when compared with the vast Asian mainland, or with the United States, where it is smaller than the single, although large, state of California. It seems even smaller when you realize how little of its land is useful for agriculture or housing. Japan is made up of thousands of islands. []

Much of Japan consists of mountains and hills, covered in trees. Several of Japan's mountains are active volcanoes. Rivers are generally steep and swift, and few are suitable for navigation except in their lower reaches. Most rivers are fewer than 300 kilometers in length, but their rapid flow from the mountains provides a valuable, renewable resource: hydroelectric power generation. Japan's hydroelectric power potential has been exploited almost to capacity. Seasonal variations in flow have led to extensive development of flood control measures. Most of the rivers are very short. The longest, the Shinano, which winds through Nagano Prefecture to Niigata Prefecture and flows into the Sea of Japan, is only 367 kilometers long. The largest freshwater lake is Lake Biwa, northeast of Kyoto.The Japanese landscape is rugged, with more than four-fifths of the land surface consisting of mountains. There are many active and dormant volcanoes, including Mount Fuji  (Fuji-san), which, at an elevation of 12,388 feet (3,776 metres), is Japan'shighest mountain. Abundant precipitation and the generally mild temperatures throughout most of the country have produced a lush vegetation cover and, despite the mountainous terrain and generally poor soils, have made it possible to raise a variety of crops. Japan has a large and, to a great extent, ethnically homogeneous population, which is heavily concentrated in the low-lying areas along the Pacific coast of Honshu.  []

The Climate of Japan varies like in the south it feels like tropical, but in the north it feels cold and breezy. There are a lot of earthquake that occur in Japan. Japan has lots of earthquakes because it Japan lies on an unstable part of the crust. When the crust moves it causes an earthquake. About 1000 earthquakes occur each year. Earthquakes also cause tsunamis. A tsunami is a huge wave, kind of a tidal wave. Typhoons are also a big factor in Japan. Since Japan is an island a lot of typhoons and hurricanes occur. They both occur in the summer. The heavy rains and winds usually destroy the crops. Massive rains occur in Japan occur a lot of times. The rain usually causes huge year totals. Some places have 40 inches of rain per year. The rainy season is fall. Monsoons also affect Japan’s climate. Monsoons are seasonal winds that come from the Sea of Japan. In winter many monsoons bring cold weather. They also occur in summer it brings warm, moist air, and that is why the southern islands are hot. []

The population of Japan is about 125,000,000, including approximately two million foreign residents. More than half of the non Japanese population is of Korean descent. Japan has some of the most densely populated areas in the world. Much of Japan's 125 million people live in crowded cities along the coast. Japan, with the world's second largest gross national product (GNP) and seventh largest population, played an increasingly important part in world affairs. As the government embarked on a policy of internationalization, individual Japanese creatively combined elements from their own history with foreign influences and new inventions as they adapted to the postindustrial world. [|h][|ttp://school.eb.com/all/eb/article-9106451?query=Japan%27s%20ancient%20geography&ct=n][|ull]