Where in the World is Japan

Known as an island nation or shimaguni, the Japanese archipelago is made up of four main islands, Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, as well as 14,121 smaller islands, of which 430 are inhabited. With a total land area of 142,000 square miles contained within 18,487 miles of coastline, Japan’s land mass is slightly smaller than the American state of California and slightly larger than the nation of Italy, and while much of the Shimaguni of Japan is covered by heavily forested mountains, crisscrossed by short yet swift-running rivers, a scant fifteen percent of her land is suitable for agriculture, which produces crops of soybeans, wheat, barley and some 7.5 million tons of rice annually.

Shaky Ground

Plagued by persistent earthquakes—on average of one noticeable tremor every three days, Japan is also home to approximately ten percent of the world’s most active volcanoes, including the now dormant symbol of a nation, Mt. Fuji, which last erupted in 1707. Coastal cities occasionally receive tidal waves caused by undersea earthquakes, while typhoons occasionally strike the island nation as they move north out of the South Pacific. Most of Japan experiences seasonal weather much like the eastern United States, driven by the warm Kuroshio and Tsushima currents, while the cold Kurile current coming southward toward Hokkaido improves fishing in the southern part of the nation. Along the northwestern coast of Japan, residents experience frequent heavy snow in the winter months, where people often have to tunnel under the snow to move from house to house.

Industrious Population

Comprising a population of 126 million lives, despite its limited topographical footprint, Japan boasts the third largest economy in the world, topped only by the United States and China. Blessed with a bounty of natural resources, including coal, iron ore, zinc, lead, copper, sulfur, gold and silver, Japan also mines lesser quantities of tungsten, chromite and manganese, as well as large deposits of limestone. Supported by a broad range of industries, including automotive, robotics, shipbuilding and tourism, Japan maintains a Gross Domestic Product of nearly five trillion USD, commanding a Per Capita GDP of slightly more than $52,000, making the Shimaguni of Japan, the land of the rising sun among the many nations of the world.