A mountainous archipelago of more than 14,000 islands, stretching nearly 3,000 km along the Pacific Ring of Fire
Japan is an archipelago of more than 14,000 islands, four of which — Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku — account for most of the territory and population; to the south-west it ends in the chain of the Ryūkyū Islands, including Okinawa. More than 70% of the terrain is mountainous, leaving few habitable plains, where most of the population is nevertheless concentrated. Located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, at the junction of several tectonic plates, the country has 111 active volcanoes and intense seismic activity, causing recurring earthquakes and tsunamis. Japan also claims several territories without a civilian population under Japanese administration, disputed with its neighbours: the southern Kuril Islands (the "Northern Territories") with Russia, the Liancourt Rocks (Takeshima/Dokdo) with South Korea, and the Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu) with China and Taiwan.
364,546 km²
Area
3,776 m
Highest point · Mount Fuji
0
Land borders
The main rivers of Japan. Click a river to see its length, source and mouth.
Climate
Stretching far from north to south, the country has contrasting climates: snowy winters and short summers in Hokkaidō, four distinct seasons across most of Honshū, Shikoku and Kyūshū with a rainy season (tsuyu) in early summer, and a humid subtropical climate in the Ryūkyū Islands (Okinawa). The archipelago is also highly exposed to typhoons between summer and autumn.
Bordering countries
Administrative divisions
Japan is divided into 47 prefectures (todōfuken): the metropolis (to) of Tokyo, the circuit (dō) of Hokkaidō, two urban prefectures (fu), Ōsaka and Kyōto, and 43 ordinary prefectures (ken). The country has no inhabited overseas territory in the sense that other states administer them: its most remote islands, such as the Ogasawara Islands or Minami Torishima, are administratively attached to prefectures of the main archipelago (in this case, Tokyo). Japan also claims several disputed territories without a civilian population under Japanese administration: the southern Kuril Islands with Russia, the Liancourt Rocks (Takeshima/Dokdo) with South Korea, and the Senkaku Islands with China and Taiwan.
47
1 metropolis (Tokyo), 1 circuit (Hokkaidō), 2 urban prefectures (Ōsaka, Kyōto) and 43 ordinary prefectures.
The 47 regions of the mainland territory of Japan.