Geographic Profile of

JapanBy: Angelica & Carlie

日本の地理的なプロフィール

Japan in Spatial Terms• Located off East coast of Asia

• Archipelago nation made of 4 main islands– Hokkaido – Honshu– Kyushu– Shikoku

• Similar in size to Montana

• Bordered by – Sea of Japan– Pacific Ocean

Japan’s Physical Systems• Located in the Pacific Ring of Fire• Has 186 volcanoes (60% are active)• Many cities are built on fault lines• Seasons similar to that of North

America– Winters produce heavy snowfall in

west– Winters are dry in the east– Summer is humid in all of Japan

Japan’s Environment and Society

• Many modern transportation systems– Railway lines– Subway systems– Enormous brides and tunnels– Hundred mile per hour trains

• Leading fish producer in the World

Japan's Environment and Society CONT

Kanto Plain– Tokyo, Yokohama, Kawasaki– 120 miles long– Dominant urban and industrial region– Mild, moist climate– Holds 1/3 of Japan’s population– Relies on external trade

Japan’s Places and Regions • 8 main regions

– 47 prefectures• Terrain Regions

– Mountains– Rivers

• Used for hydroelectricity

Japan’s Places and Regions CONT

• The Jakota Triangle– Japan, Korea, and Taiwan– Region of rapid

development and industrialization

• Pacific Rim– Region of land facing the

Pacific– Huge import/export

movement

Japan’s Human Systems• Japan is a developed nation

– Structured workforce (7% agriculture, 24% industry, and 69% service)

– Advanced transportation and communication

– High literacy rate, nutrition and savings

• One of world’s highest physiologic densities– People per unit of land

Japan’s Human Systems CONT

• Culture affects all of Japan– Rich, unique cultural history– Tea houses and Zen gardens– Spiritual beliefs– Due to a non-environmentally

friendly society• Culture may soon be

affected• Many cultural animals are

close to extinction

Japan’s Use of Geography• Discovering their culture

through the past

• Humans impacting the environment

• Continue to use geography in their lives

Resourceshttp://www.divejapan.com/Map_Japan.jpg

http://spice.stanford.edu/docs/129#2 http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107666.html

http://www.volcano.si.edu/volcanoes/region08/08_map.png http://volcanology.geol.ucsb.edu/sakuraji.gif

http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/north_asia/Japtec.jpg http://www.rekihaku.ac.jp/kikaku/index75/hugen_l.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/236/458362603_99bd9d036d.jpg http://www.fys.uio.no/super/images/maglev.jpg

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.farexplore.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/8/TokyoTower/TokyoTowerFuji-s.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.farexplore.com/2007/09/07/tokyo-tower.html&h=420&w=300&sz=38&hl=en&start=14&um=1&tbnid=vyEiNrZ9pK6OxM:&tbnh=125&tbnw=89&prev=/images%3Fq%3DKanto%2BPlain%2Bin%2BJapan%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den

http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=10526&rendTypeId=4 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Regions_and_Prefectures_of_Japan.png/300px-Regions_and_Prefectures_of_Japan.png

http://www.jnto.go.jp/tourism/img/org/79.jpg

http://www.harpercollege.edu/mhealy/geogres/maps/eagif/earegs.gif http://www.pacificrimllc.net/images/pacific-rim-map.jpg

http://www.glocom.org/debates/20030922_dolan_life/images/fig2.jpg http://www.city.nishio.aichi.jp/kaforuda/40iwase/iwase%20bunko%20library/repn.JPG

http://www.japzengardens.org/images/Seattle_Japanese_Garden-smaller.jpg http://image50.webshots.com/550/4/44/41/2512444410038255498uzQbPn_fs.jpg

http://www.visit-hokkaido.jp/en/photo/photo1.files/1107-2.jpg http://www.epcc.pref.osaka.jp/apec/eng/earth/global_warming/image/zu_f07.gif http://www.epcc.pref.osaka.jp/apec/eng/earth/global_warming/image/zu_f07.gif