Natural features of Japan. Geography of Japan. Geography of Japan

Territory- 377.8 thousand km 2

Population- 125.2 million people (1995).

Capital— Tokyo.

Geographical location, general information

Japan- an archipelago country located on four large and almost four thousand small islands, stretching for 3.5 thousand km from northeast to southwest along east coast Asia. Largest islands Honshu, Hokaido, Kyushu and Shikoku. The shores of the archipelago are strongly indented and form many bays and coves. The seas and oceans washing Japan are of exceptional importance for the country as a source of biological, mineral and energy resources.

The economic and geographical position of Japan is determined primarily by the fact that it is located in the center of the Asia-Pacific region, which contributes to the country's active participation in the international geographical division of labor.

For a long period, Japan was isolated from other countries. After the incomplete bourgeois revolution of 1867-1868. it embarked on the path of rapid capitalist development. At the turn of the XIX - XX centuries. became part of the imperialist states.

Japan is a constitutional monarchy country. supreme body state power and the only body of legislative power is Parliament.

Natural conditions and resources of Japan

The geological basis of the archipelago is underwater mountain ranges. About 80% of the territory is occupied by mountains and hills with a highly dissected terrain. medium height 1600 - 1700 m. There are about 200 volcanoes, 90 are active, including highest peak- Fuji volcano (3776 m) Frequent earthquakes and tsunamis also have a significant impact on the economy of Japan.

The country is poor in minerals, but coal, lead and zinc ores, oil, sulfur, and limestone are being mined. The resources of its own deposits are small, so Japan is the largest importer of raw materials.

Despite the small area, the length of the country led to the existence of unique complex natural conditions: the island of Hokkaido and northern Honshu are located in the temperate maritime climate zone, the rest of Honshu, the islands of Shikoku and Yushu are in the humid subtropical climate, and the island of Ryukyu is in tropical climate. Japan is in the zone of active monsoon activity. The average annual rainfall ranges from 2 to 4 thousand mm.

Approximately 2/3 of the territory - mostly mountainous areas covered with forests (more than half of the forests are artificial plantations). Northern Hokaido is dominated by coniferous forests, in central Honshu and southern Hokkaido - mixed, and in the south - subtropical forests.

There are many rivers in Japan, full-flowing, fast, of little use for navigation, but they are a source for hydropower and irrigation.

The abundance of rivers, lakes and groundwater beneficial effect on the development of industry and agriculture.

In the post-war period for Japanese islands aggravated ecological problems. The adoption and implementation of a number of laws on environmental protection reduces the level of pollution in the country.

Population of Japan

Japan is among the top ten countries in the world in terms of population. Japan became the first Asian country to switch from the second to the first type of population reproduction. Now the birth rate is 12%, the death rate is 8%. Life expectancy in the country is the highest in the world (76 years for men and 82 years for women).

The population is distinguished by national homogeneity, about 99% are Japanese. Of the other nationalities, the number of Koreans and Chinese is significant. The most common religions are Shintoism and Buddhism. The population is unevenly distributed over the area. Average density- 330 people per m 2, but coastal areas Pacific Ocean are among the most densely populated in the world.

About 80% of the population lives in cities. 11 cities are millionaires.

Economy of Japan

Rates of growth Japanese economy were among the highest in the second half of the 20th century. The country has largely carried out a qualitative restructuring of the economy. Japan is at the post-industrial stage of development, which is characterized by a highly developed industry, but the leading sector is the non-manufacturing sector (services, finance).

Although Japan is poor natural resources and imports raw materials for most industries, in terms of the output of many industries, it ranks 1-2 in the world. Industry is mainly concentrated within the Pacific industrial belt.

Power industry mainly uses imported raw materials. Oil is the leader in the structure of the resource base, the share of natural gas, hydropower and nuclear power is growing, and the share of coal is declining.

In the electric power industry, 60% of the capacity comes from thermal power plants and 28% from nuclear power plants.

HPPs are located in cascades on mountain rivers. Japan ranks 5th in the world in terms of hydropower generation. In resource-poor Japan, alternative energy sources are being actively developed.

Ferrous metallurgy. In terms of steel production, the country ranks first in the world. The share of Japan in the world market of ferrous metallurgy is 23%.

Major centers, now operating almost entirely on imported raw materials and fuel, are located near Osaka, Tokyo, in Fujiyama.

Non-ferrous metallurgy. Due to the detrimental effect on environment the primary smelting of non-ferrous metals is declining, but plants are located in all major industrial centers.

Engineering. Gives 40% of industrial production. The main sub-sectors among the many developed in Japan are electronics and electrical engineering, the radio industry and transport engineering.

Japan firmly occupies the first place in the world in shipbuilding, specializes in the construction of large-capacity tankers and dry cargo ships. The main centers of shipbuilding and ship repair are located in major ports(Yokogana, Nagosaki, Kobe).

In terms of car production (13 million units per year), Japan also ranks first in the world. The main centers are Toyota, Yokohama, Hiroshima.

The main enterprises of general engineering are located within the Pacific industrial belt - complex machine tool building and industrial robots in the Tokyo region, metal-intensive equipment - in the Osaka region, machine tool building - in the Nagai region.

The share of the country in the world output of the radio-electronic and electrical industry is exceptionally large.

By level of development chemical Industry Japan occupies one of the first places in the world.

Japan also has developed pulp and paper, light and food industries.

Agriculture Japan remains an important industry, contributing about 2% of GNP; The industry employs 6.5% of the population. Agricultural production is focused on food production (the country itself provides 70% of its needs).

13% of the territory is cultivated, in the structure of crop production (which provides 70% of agricultural products), the cultivation of rice and vegetables plays a leading role, horticulture is developed. Animal husbandry (cattle breeding, pig breeding, poultry farming) is intensively developing.

Due to the exceptional location, there is an abundance of fish and seafood in the diet of the Japanese, the country fishes in all areas of the World Ocean, has more than three thousand fishing ports and has the largest fishing fleet (over 400 thousand vessels).

Japan transport

In Japan, all types of transport are developed, with the exception of river and pipeline transport. In terms of cargo transportation, the first place belongs to road transport(60%), the second place - to the sea. Role railway transport declining, while air travel is growing. In connection with very active foreign economic relations, Japan has the largest merchant fleet in the world.

The territorial structure of the economy is characterized by a combination of two different parts: the Pacific belt, which is the socio-economic core of the country, because here are the main industrial areas, ports, highways and developed agriculture, and the peripheral zone, which includes areas where the most developed timber harvesting, animal husbandry, mining, hydropower and tourism. Despite the implementation of the regional policy, the smoothing of territorial disproportions is rather slow.

Foreign economic relations of Japan

Japan actively participates in the MGRT, leading place occupied by foreign trade, the export of capital, production, scientific, technical and other ties are also developed.

The share of Japan in world imports is about 1/10. Mainly raw materials and fuel are imported.

The country's share in world exports is also more than 1/10. Industrial goods account for 98% of exports.

Good afternoon to all who are interested in the characteristics, traditions and culture of the Japanese islands. Today we turn to a very interesting topic. Consider what is the area of Japan in comparison with other countries and how some capitals of the world differ in size. Let's remember a little history. Read, compare, it will be interesting.

Briefly about the islands

The territory of Japan is a set of islands and islets of different sizes located in East Asia. All this wealth is washed by the ocean and seas, is famous for its original culture, excellent cuisine and wonderful traditions.

Going through the details, we notice that total area of the state is 377,972 km² (of which land - 374,744, water - 3,091). Forest area covers 60% of common territory. Huge variety of vegetation, changeable climate, mountainous relief and the presence of volcanoes are perhaps the most significant characteristics of the state.

Sufficient amount of detailed interesting information you can read about the magical nature, unique culinary specialties and traditions on other pages of the blog. written by me fascinating stories about this incredible place.

Compared to Russia

The area of Japan in comparison with Russia, of course, loses a lot, it is 45 times smaller than our country. And Russia, as you know, the largest territorially, is as much as 17,124,442 km². Although the population in both countries is approximately the same. Imagine how densely populated some of the islands are. After all, far from all of them are inhabited, and on those where life is actively in full swing, there is practically nowhere to build housing, there is not enough space.

By the way, Belarus, friendly to us, is almost two times smaller than Japan. But in it the number of inhabitants is much more modest.

Comparable to Europe

And what is the difference between Japan in the size of territories compared to others European countries? When you compare, you understand that some of them are much larger than the state celebrating cherry blossom day. However, there are those whose lands are almost equal to it or much less.

Compare areas different countries It’s easy, taking digital data for 2016 for this. Let's try to do this on the example of several states.

Germany is almost the same size as Japan - about 357,021 km², a difference of about 20 thousand, but on a global scale it is not very significant.

Warm and beautiful Italy also smaller than Country rising sun, it is equal to 301,338 km². Rainy and foggy England is almost three times smaller than Japan, occupying almost 133,396 km². France, on the other hand, more islands who invented land, twice, its area is 643,801 km². Now it is clear why the French have where to plant their huge vineyards and lavender fields, the place quite allows.

The territory of Sweden is slightly larger than the land of the samurai, it is 450,295 km².
As a result, we can say that the birthplace of sake occupies a worthy place in the world in terms of the length of its lands.

Comparison with Asian neighbors

If you try to compare with China, then, no doubt, victory for him. After all, 9,596,961 km² is a significant figure. Of course, there are many Chinese in the world, and such a large number of people should live on a very large territory.

Thailand is also significantly larger than the samurai state, it stretches over 513,120 km². Thailand, with gorgeous nature And fabulous sea, you could add a few more beautiful islands. But Vietnam is a little smaller than its neighbors. As for Malaysia, it is almost the same in size. Compact and interesting.

And the North and South Korea even if they are added together, they will still be smaller than Japan, however, quite a bit. As you can see, among the neighbors, the birthplace of anime looks solid.

Capital Cities

How do they differ in area? different capitals? I would like to compare as well.
Let's start with Tokyo. The huge metropolis occupies 2,187 km². Let's look at the area of Moscow, it is 2,567 km². Not too much a big difference between our capitals, if we take into account that the area of Russia is much larger. Well, if we compare it with St. Petersburg, we will see that the city is half the size of Tokyo.

The size of London differs greatly from both Moscow and Tokyo, it occupies 1,580 km². The capital of Italy took more space than all the above cities, 2,864,348 km².

All these megacities cannot be small, they are capitals and must correspond to their status.

What changes occurred with the size of the territory?

If you do not remember the historical data, then I refresh your memory. In the distant 1910-1945, the territory of Japan was larger than the whole of Korea. Korea was a Japanese colony almost until the end of the well-known bloody war. But closer to the end of hostilities, the empire had to abandon it and return independence to Korea.

After the end of the Second World War, the area of the islands again slightly corrected, or rather, decreased. Japan was deprived of part of its territory.

It must also be said that in 1879 the country increased slightly due to its annexation. Which later became the current Japanese province of Okinawa.

Which is located on 4 large islands: Kyushu, Honshu, Shikoku, Hokkaido, as well as the islands of the Ryukyu archipelago and more than a thousand small islands. In the north it is washed, in the east - and, in the west - by the Korea Strait and. In the north it borders on Russia (,), in the south - with, in the west and north-west - with and.

Administrative division Japan. It is subdivided into 9 regions, 44 prefectures, a metropolitan area and 2 urban prefectures.

Japanese form of government. .

Head of State of Japan. The emperor is a symbol of the unity of the nation, he does not have real power.

Higher Legislature Japan. Bicameral Parliament (House of Representatives, elected for 4 years, and House of Councilors, whose term of office is 6 years).

Supreme executive body of Japan. Cabinet of Ministers.

Major cities in Japan. Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Kobe, Fukuoko, Kawasaki, Kitakushu.

Official language of Japan. Japanese.

Religion in Japan. Shinto and Christianity.

Ethnic composition of Japan. 99% - Japanese, 0.5% - Koreans, 0.5% - Chinese and Ainu (remnants of the indigenous population).

Currency of Japan. Yen = 100 senami.

Territory - 372 thousand square meters. km.

Population - 127 million people. (2000).

The capital is Tokyo.

Geographical position, general information

Japan is an archipelago country located on four large and almost four thousand small islands, stretching out in an arc of 3.5 thousand km. from northeast to southwest along the east coast of Asia. The largest islands are Honshu, Hokaido, Kyushu and Shikoku. The shores of the archipelago are strongly indented and form many bays and coves. The seas and oceans washing Japan are of exceptional importance for the country as a source of biological, mineral and energy resources.

On the territory of present-day Japan, the oldest human traces found date back to the Paleolithic period. In the 3rd - 4th centuries BC, proto-Japanese tribes came from southeastern China. In the 5th century BC, the Japanese adopted hieroglyphic writing, in the 6th century they adopted Buddhism.

During the feudal period, Japan was isolated from other countries. After the incomplete bourgeois revolution of 1867-1868, it embarked on the path of rapid capitalist development. At the turn of the XIX - XX centuries, it became one of the imperialist powers. In the 20th century, Japan entered and participated in three major wars (Russian-Japanese and two world wars). After the end of World War II, the armed forces were disbanded and reforms were carried out. In 1947, the emperor lost his power (according to the constitution), now Japan is a constitutional monarchy. The highest body of state power and the only body of legislative power is the Parliament.

Natural conditions and resources

The geological basis of the archipelago is underwater mountain ranges. About 80% of the territory is occupied by mountains and hills with a highly dissected relief of an average height of 1600 - 1700 m. There are about 200 volcanoes, 90 are active, including the highest peak - the Fudei volcano (3,776 m). Frequent earthquakes and tsunamis.

Despite the small area, the meridional extent of the country led to the existence of a unique set of natural conditions on its territory: the island of Hokkaido and the north of Honshu are located in the temperate maritime climate zone, the rest of Honshu, the islands of Shikoku and Yushu are in the humid subtropical climate, and the island of Ryukyu is in tropical climate. Japan is in the zone of active monsoon activity. The average annual rainfall ranges from 2 - 4 thousand mm.

The soils of Japan are mainly slightly podzolic and peaty, as well as brown forest and red soils. Approximately 2/3 of the territory, mainly mountainous areas, is covered with forests (more than half of the forests are artificial plantations). Coniferous forests predominate in northern Hokkaido, mixed forests in central Honshu and southern Hokkaido, and subtropical monsoon forests in the south.

There are many rivers in Japan, full-flowing, fast and rapids, of little use for navigation, but which are a source for hydropower and irrigation.

Abundance of rivers. lakes and groundwater have a beneficial effect on the development of industry and agriculture.

In the post-war period, environmental problems intensified on the Japanese islands. The adoption and implementation of a number of laws on environmental protection reduces the level of environmental pollution.

Population

Japan is among the top ten countries in the world in terms of population. Japan became the first Asian country to switch from the second to the first type of population reproduction. Now the birth rate is 12 ppm, the death rate is 8 ppm. Life expectancy in the country is the highest in the world (76 years for men and 82 years for women).

The population is distinguished by national homogeneity, about 99% are Japanese. Of the other nationalities, the number of Koreans and Chinese is significant. The most common religions are Shintoism and Buddhism. The population is unevenly distributed over the area. Average density - 330 people. per 1 sq. m. but the coastal regions of the Pacific Ocean are among the most densely populated in the world.

About 80% of the population lives in cities. 11 cities are millionaires. The largest urban agglomerations of Keihin, Hanshin and Chuke merge into the Tokyo metropolis (Takaido) with a population of more than 60 million people.

economy

The growth rate of the Japanese economy was one of the highest in the second half of the 20th century. The country has largely carried out a qualitative restructuring of the economy. Japan is at the post-industrial stage of development, which is characterized by a highly developed industry, but the most growing area is the non-manufacturing sector (services, finance,).

Although Japan is poor in natural resources and imports raw materials for most industries, it ranks 1-2 in the world in the output of many industries. Industry is mainly concentrated within the Pacific industrial belt.

Power industry. Mainly uses imported raw materials. Oil is the leader in the structure of the resource base, the share of natural gas, hydropower and nuclear power is growing, and the share of coal is declining.

In the electric power industry, 60% of the capacity comes from thermal power plants and 28% from nuclear power plants, including Fukushima, the most powerful in the world.

HPPs are located in cascades on mountain rivers. In terms of hydroelectric power generation, Japan ranks fifth in the world. In resource-poor Japan, alternative energy sources are being actively developed.

Ferrous metallurgy. In terms of steel production, the country ranks first in the world. The share of Japan in the world market of ferrous metallurgy is 23%.

The largest centers, now operating almost entirely on imported raw materials and fuel, are located near Osaka, Tokyo, in the city of Fujiyama.

Non-ferrous metallurgy. Due to the harmful impact on the environment, the primary smelting of non-ferrous metals is reduced. Processing plants are located in all major industrial centers.

Mechanical engineering provides 40% of industrial production. The main sub-sectors among the many developed in Japan are electronics and electrical engineering, the radio industry and transport engineering.

Japan firmly occupies the 1st place in the world in shipbuilding, specializes in the construction of large-capacity tankers and bulk carriers. The main centers of shipbuilding and ship repair are located in the largest ports (Yokohama, Nagasaki, Kobe).

In terms of car production (13 million units per year), Japan also ranks 1st in the world. The main centers are Toyota, Yokohama, Hiroshima.

The main enterprises of general engineering are located within the Pacific industrial belt - complex machine tool building and industrial robots in the Tokyo region, metal-intensive equipment - in Osaka, machine tool building - in the Nagoya region.

The share of the country in the world output of the radio-electronic and electrical industry is exceptionally large.

In terms of the level of development of the chemical industry, Japan occupies one of the first places in the world.

Japan also has developed pulp and paper, light and food industries.

Japan's agriculture remains an important industry, although it contributes about 2% of GNP; the industry employs 6.5% of EAN. Agricultural production is focused on food production (the country itself provides 70% of its needs).

13% of the territory is cultivated, and the structure of crop production (provides 70% of agricultural production) is dominated by the cultivation of rice and vegetables, and horticulture is developed. Animal husbandry (cattle breeding, pig breeding, poultry farming) is intensively developing.

Due to the exclusive place of fish and seafood in the diet of the Japanese, the country fishes in all areas of the World Ocean, has more than three thousand fishing ports and has the largest fishing fleet (over 400 thousand vessels).

Transport

In Japan, all types of transport are developed, with the exception of river and pipeline transport. In terms of cargo transportation, the first place is occupied by road transport (60%), the second place - by sea. The role of rail transport is declining, while air travel is growing. Due to very active foreign economic relations, Japan has the largest merchant fleet in the world.

The territorial structure of the economy is characterized by a combination of two completely different parts: the Pacific belt, which is the socio-economic core of the country (here are the main industrial areas, ports, transport routes and developed agriculture) and the peripheral zone, which includes areas where timber harvesting is most developed, animal husbandry, mining, hydropower, tourism and recreation. Despite the implementation of a regional policy, the smoothing of territorial disproportions is still slow.

Foreign economic relations of Japan

Japan actively participates in the MGRT, foreign trade occupies a leading place, the export of capital, industrial, scientific, technical and other ties are also developed.

The share of Japan in world imports is about 1/10. Mainly raw materials and fuel are imported.

The country's share in world exports is also more than 1/10. Industrial goods account for 98% of exports.

Territory- 377.8 thousand km 2

Population- 125.2 million people (1995).

Capital— Tokyo.

Geographical location, general information

Japan- an archipelago country located on four large and almost four thousand small islands, stretching for 3.5 thousand km from northeast to southwest along the eastern coast of Asia. The largest islands are Honshu, Hokaido, Kyushu and Shikoku. The shores of the archipelago are strongly indented and form many bays and coves. The seas and oceans washing Japan are of exceptional importance for the country as a source of biological, mineral and energy resources.

Japan is a constitutional monarchy country. The highest body of state power and the only body of legislative power is the parliament.

Natural conditions and resources of Japan

The geological basis of the archipelago is underwater mountain ranges. About 80% of the territory is occupied by mountains and hills with a highly dissected relief of an average height of 1600 - 1700 m. There are about 200 volcanoes, 90 are active, including the highest peak - Mount Fuji (3776 m). Frequent earthquakes and tsunami.

Despite the small area, the length of the country led to the existence of a unique set of natural conditions on its territory: the island of Hokkaido and the north of Honshu are located in a temperate maritime climate, the rest of Honshu, the islands of Shikoku and Yushu are in a humid subtropical climate, and the island of Ryukyu is in a tropical climate. Japan is in the zone of active monsoon activity. The average annual rainfall ranges from 2 to 4 thousand mm.

Approximately 2/3 of the territory is mainly mountainous areas covered with forests (more than half of the forests are artificial plantations). Coniferous forests predominate in northern Hokkaido, mixed forests in central Honshu and southern Hokkaido, and subtropical forests in the south.

There are many rivers in Japan, full-flowing, fast, of little use for navigation, but they are a source for hydropower and irrigation.

The abundance of rivers, lakes and groundwater has a beneficial effect on the development of industry and agriculture.

Population of Japan

The population is distinguished by national homogeneity, about 99% are Japanese. Of the other nationalities, the number of Koreans and Chinese is significant. The most common religions are Shintoism and Buddhism. The population is unevenly distributed over the area. The average density is 330 people per m2, but the coastal regions of the Pacific Ocean are among the most densely populated in the world.

About 80% of the population lives in cities. 11 cities are millionaires.

Economy of Japan

The growth rates of the Japanese economy were among the highest in the second half of the 20th century. The country has largely carried out a qualitative restructuring of the economy. Japan is at the post-industrial stage of development, which is characterized by a highly developed industry, but the leading sector is the non-manufacturing sector (services, finance).

In the electric power industry, 60% of the capacity comes from thermal power plants and 28% from nuclear power plants.

HPPs are located in cascades on mountain rivers. Japan ranks 5th in the world in terms of hydropower generation. In resource-poor Japan, alternative energy sources are being actively developed.

Ferrous metallurgy. In terms of steel production, the country ranks first in the world. The share of Japan in the world market of ferrous metallurgy is 23%.

The largest centers, now operating almost entirely on imported raw materials and fuel, are located near Osaka, Tokyo, in Fujiyama.

Non-ferrous metallurgy. Due to the harmful impact on the environment, the primary smelting of non-ferrous metals is reduced, but the plants are located in all major industrial centers.

Engineering. Gives 40% of industrial production. The main sub-sectors among the many developed in Japan are electronics and electrical engineering, the radio industry and transport engineering.

In terms of car production (13 million units per year), Japan also ranks first in the world. The main centers are Toyota, Yokohama, Hiroshima.

The share of the country in the world output of the radio-electronic and electrical industry is exceptionally large.

By level of development chemical Industry Japan occupies one of the first places in the world.

Japan also has developed pulp and paper, light and food industries.

Japan transport

In Japan, all types of transport are developed, with the exception of river and pipeline transport. In terms of cargo transportation, the first place is occupied by road transport (60%), the second place - by sea. The role of rail transport is declining, while air travel is growing. In connection with very active foreign economic relations, Japan has the largest merchant fleet in the world.

The territorial structure of the economy is characterized by a combination of two different parts: the Pacific belt, which is the socio-economic core of the country, because here are the main industrial areas, ports, highways and developed agriculture, and the peripheral zone, which includes areas where logging, animal husbandry, mining, hydropower and tourism are most developed. Despite the implementation of the regional policy, the smoothing of territorial disproportions is rather slow.

Foreign economic relations of Japan

Japan actively participates in the MGRT, foreign trade occupies a leading place, the export of capital, industrial, scientific, technical and other ties are also developed.

The share of Japan in world imports is about 1/10. Mainly raw materials and fuel are imported.

The country's share in world exports is also more than 1/10. Industrial goods account for 98% of exports.