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
Land use: arable land: 12.13% permanent crops: 1.01% other: 86.86% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
26,790 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic
occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons
Environment - current issues:
air pollution from power plant emissions results in acid rain;
acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality and
threatening aquatic life; Japan is one of the largest consumers of
fish and tropical timber, contributing to the depletion of these
resources in Asia and elsewhere
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living
Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
Geography - note:
strategic location in northeast Asia
People Japan