01
Land
17
Location
Japan is a long, narrow chain of islands stretching 3,300 kilometers north to south.
Its northernmost point (in the Russian-occupied Northern Territories) is located at
45˚33' north latitude, and its southernmost point is at 20˚25' north latitude. The four
islands that constitute the main part of Japan lie almost at the latitudinal center of the
Northern Hemisphere. Japan's capital, Tokyo, lies at 35˚41' north latitude and
139˚46' east longitude, almost the same latitude as Tehran, Athens, and Los
Angeles.
Cities with Similar Latitudes
north 45˚33'
north 20˚25'
Rome
Athens
Tokyo
Los Angeles
New York
Beijing
Tehran
Washington D.C.
Deviation from Japan Standard Time
Wellington
Sydney
Seoul
Beijing
Singapore
Source: National Astronomical Observatory,
Rika nenpyo
(Chronological Scientific Tables).
+ 3.0
+ 1.0
0.0
– 1.0
– 1.0
Tehran
Moscow
Nairobi
Cairo
Berlin
– 13.0
– 14.0
– 15.0
– 15.0
– 16.0
Bangkok
– 2.0
Paris
– 17.0
New Delhi
– 3.5
London
– 18.0
Kabul
– 4.5
Buenos Aires
– 5.5
– 6.0
– 6.0
– 7.0
– 8.0
– 8.0
– 9.0
– 12.0
– 19.0
Santiago
New York
Chicago
Mexico City
Denver
Los Angeles
Anchorage
Honolulu
(hours)
Size and Regional Divisions
Japan comprises four major islands
–
Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu
–
and
6,848 adjacent smaller islands. Their combined area as of 2006 is 377,921 square
kilometers
–
slightly more than that of Germany (357,022 square kilometers) or
Malaysia (329,847) and slightly less than that of Morocco (446,550) or Sweden
(449,964). Administratively, the country is divided into 47 prefectures.
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18
1
HOKKAIDO
1 Hokkaido/Sapporo
TOHOKU REGION
2 Aomori/Aomori
3 Akita/Akita
4 Iwate/Morioka
5 Yamagata/Yamagata
6 Miyagi/Sendai
7 Fukushima/Fukushima
KANTO REGION
8 Ibaraki/Mito
9 Tochigi/Utsunomiya
10 Gunma/Maebashi
11 Saitama/Saitama
12 Chiba/Chiba
13 Tokyo/Tokyo
14 Kanagawa/Yokohama
OKINAWA
47 Okinawa/Naha
CHUBU REGION
15 Shizuoka/Shizuoka
16 Yamanashi/Kofu
17 Nagano/Nagano
18 Niigata/Niigata
19 Toyama/Toyama
20 Ishikawa/Kanazawa
21 Fukui/Fukui
22 Gifu/Gifu
23 Aichi/Nagoya
KINKI REGION
24 Mie/Tsu
25 Shiga/Otsu
26 Kyoto/Kyoto
27 Nara/Nara
28 Osaka/Osaka
29 Wakayama/Wakayama
30 Hyogo/Kobe
SHIKOKU REGION
36 Kagawa/Takamatsu
37 Tokushima/Tokushima
38 Kochi/Kochi
39 Ehime/Matsuyama
CHUGOKU REGION
31 Tottori/Tottori
32 Okayama/Okayama
33 Hiroshima/Hiroshima
34 Shimane/Matsue
35 Yamaguchi/Yamaguchi
KYUSHU REGION
40 Fukuoka/Fukuoka
41 Saga/Saga
42 Nagasaki/Nagasaki
43 Kumamoto/Kumamoto
44 Oita/Oita
45 Miyazaki/Miyazaki
46 Kagoshima/Kagoshima
2
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
22
18
19
20
21
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
33
3
47
Names of Prefectures and Prefectural Capitals
19
Current Land Use
Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport,
Tochi hakusho
(White Paper on Land), 2006.
Note: Figures are for 2004.
Agricultural land
481 (12.7%)
Water area
133 (3.5%)
Roads
131 (3.5%)
Dwelling and industrial area
183 (4.8%)
Others
316 (8.4%)
(10,000 ha)
Forests and fields 2,536 (67.1%)
Temperature and Precipitation
Source: Japan Meteorological Agency.
Note: Updates every 10 years. Figures are for 1970–2000.
0
100
200
300
– 5
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Dec.
105
–1.0
Nov.
103
4.6
Oct.
124
11.3
Sept.
138
17.6
Aug.
137
22.0
July
67
20.5
June
51
16.3
May
55
12.1
Apr.
61
6.7
Mar.
80
0.1
Feb.
96
–3.5
Jan.
111
–4.1
Dec.
40
8.4
Nov.
93
13.0
Oct.
163
18.2
Sept.
209
23.5
Aug.
155
27.1
July
162
25.4
June
165
21.8
May
128
18.7
Apr.
130
14.4
Mar.
115
8.9
Feb.
60
6.1
Jan.
49
5.8
0
100
200
300
– 5
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Dec.
38
8.3
Nov.
66
13.2
Oct.
109
18.7
Sept.
175
24.4
Aug.
99
28.4
July
155
27.2
June
201
23.2
May
140
19.4
Apr.
121
14.8
Mar.
100
9.0
Feb.
59
5.9
Jan.
44
5.8
0
100
200
300
– 5
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Dec.
101
18.4
Nov.
124
21.7
Oct.
163
24.9
Sept.
200
27.2
Aug.
247
28.2
July
176
28.5
June
212
26.6
May
234
23.8
Apr.
181
21.3
Mar.
160
18.6
Feb.
125
16.6
Jan.
115
16.6
temperature
precipitation
Sapporo
Tokyo
Osaka
Naha
0
100
200
300
– 5
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
(left-hand scale)(right-hand scale)
(mm)(˚C)(mm)(˚C)
(mm)(˚C)(mm)(˚C)
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National Parks and World Heritage Sites in Japan
Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport; United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Shiretoko (2005)
Kushiro Shitsugen
Daisetsuzan
Shikotsu-Toya
Towada-Hachimantai
Rikuchu Kaigan
Bandai Asahi
Joshinetsu Kogen
Chubu Sangaku
Hakusan
Fuji-Hakone-Izu
Ogasawara
Minami Alps
Ise-Shima
Ashizuri-Uwakai
Aso-Kuju
Kirishima-Yaku
Unzen-Amakusa
Saikai
Sanin Kaigan
Yoshino-Kumano
Iriomote
Daisen-Oki
Setonaikai
Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu
Akan
Chichibu-Tama- Kai
Shrines and Temples of Nikko (1999)
Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara (1998)
Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range (2004)
Yakushima (1993)
Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area (1993)
Himeji-jo (1993)
Hiroshima Peace Memorial (1996)
Itsukushima Shinto Shrine (1996)
Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the
Kingdom of Ryukyu (2000)
Nikko
Shirakami-Sanchi (1993)
National Park
World Heritage Site / Year of Registration
Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (1994)
Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama (1995)
21
Natural Disasters
Several tectonic plates converge beneath the Japanese archipelago, giving rise to
frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The country also sees a fair number of
meteorological disasters, such as typhoons and storms. Some major natural disas-
ters in recent years include the July 1990 eruption of Mt. Unzen in Kyushu that
resulted in 43 dead or missing, the July 1993 earthquake off the southwestern coast
of Hokkaido and the resultant tsunami that left 230 dead or missing, and the January
1995 Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake that killed more than 6,400 people and
destroyed urban infrastructure, including homes, office buildings, roads, railroad
tracks, and port facilities, in and around Kobe. Mt. Usu in southwestern Hokkaido
erupted in March 2000, for the first time since 1977. Mt. Oyama on Miyake Island,
one of the Izu Islands, also resumed volcanic activity in July 2000, and the island’s
residents were forced to take refuge on the mainland in Tokyo.
The year 2004 will be remembered for a series of natural disasters. An all-time
high of 10 typhoons made landfall in Japan, and typhoon No. 23, which hit Japan in
October, left 94 persons dead or missing. Heavy rainfall and flooding in July in
Niigata, Fukushima, and Fukui Prefectures killed 20 people and damaged over
28,000 dwellings. In October a powerful earthquake hit central Niigata Prefecture,
and 67 people were killed, over 4,800 injured, and more than 100,000 residents
evacuated. It also caused the derailment of a Shinkansen bullet train for the first time
in the line’s 40-year history. In March 2005 a big earthquake hit Fukuoka Prefecture,
killing one person and injuring over 1,000 people, and another big earthquake hit
Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture in March 2007, killing one person and injuring
more than 300 people.
Destruction Caused by Natural Disasters
1985
1990
1995
Source: National Police Agency.
a. Swept away, buried, or water-covered.
105
Human casualties
Housing (no. of units)
Farmland
a
(ha)
97
6,449
Dead or
missing
Injured
487
425
43,949
200
Totally
destroyed
447
93,312
542
Partially
destroyed
931
108,654
4,153
Flooded
26,972
3,147
2004
263
7,773
4,112
28,046
42,897
Earthquakes,
volcanoes
1
1,265
138
318
0
Storm surges
0
0
0
0
2
Gales
0
38
0
5
0
38,064
20,066
2005
45
1,543
1,334
4,001
6,570
13,697
2000
15
351
537
3,343
24,357
7,478
21
0
0
Rainstorms
Typhoons
13
27
9
5
2,057
31
213
1,187
3,673
4,511
1,187
12,489
48,908
7,349
Breakdown for 2005
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Major Earthquake Disasters Since the Great Kanto Earthquake
09/01/1923
01/15/1924
03/07/1927
11/26/1930
03/03/1933
09/10/1943
Tottori Eq.
Name of earthquake
Date
Great Kanto Earthquake
Tanzawa Sanroku Eq.
Kita Tango Eq.
Kita Izu Eq.
Off Sanriku Eq.
7.9
7.2
Destroyed
structures
7.3
7.3
7.3
8.1
576,262
7,736
Fatalities
Magnitude
1,298
16,295
2,240
7,479
12/07/1944
Higashi Nankai Eq.
7.9
29,189
12/21/1946
Nankai Eq.
8.0
15,640
06/28/1948
Fukui Eq.
7.1
40,035
03/04/1952
06/16/1964
Off Tokachi Eq.
8.2
906
142,807
1,083
998
1,443
3,769
33
05/23/1960
Tsunami caused by Chile Eq.
8.5
2,830
139
19
2,925
272
3,008
05/16/1968
Off Tokachi Eq.
Niigata Eq.
7.9
7.5
691
2,250
01/14/1978
Izu Oshima Near Sea Eq.
7.0
94
06/12/1978
Off Miyagi Pref. Eq.
7.4
1,383
03/21/1982
Off Urakawa Eq.
7.1
13
05/26/1983
Japan Sea Eq.
7.7
1,584
52
25
28
0
104
26
01/15/1993
Off Kushiro Eq.
7.5
53
07/12/1993
Off Southwest of Hokkaido Eq.
7.8
601
10/04/1994
Off East Hokkaido Eq.
8.2
61
12/28/1994
01/17/1995
Far Off Sanriku Eq.
Great Hanshin Awaji Eq.
a
7.6
72
2
230
0
3
7.3
111,942
6,437
10/06/2000
Western Tottori Pref. Eq.
7.3
435
0
09/26/2003
Off Tokachi Eq.
8.0
116
2
Source: Fire Defense Agency.
Note: Missing persons are included in fatalities.
The magnitude of earthquakes in 1923–24 is cited from the
Chronological Table of Science
(edited by the Tokyo Astronomical Observatory); that of earthquakes in 1927–60 has been recalculated by
the Japan Meteorological Agency.
a. As of May 19, 2006.
b. As of September 22, 2006.
c. As of May 12, 2005.
d. As of April 13, 2007.
05/26/2003
Off Miyagi Eq.
7.1
2
0
10/23/2004
Niigata Chuetsu Eq.
b
6.8
3,175
67
03/20/2005
Off Western Fukuoka Eq.
c
7.0
133
1
08/16/2005
Off Miyagi Eq.
7.2
1
0
03/25/2007
Noto Peninsula Eq.
d
6.9
561
1