udes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima,
Okinotori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands
(Kazan-retto)
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
29,751 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive fishing zone:
200 nm
territorial sea:
12 nm; 3 nm in the international straits - La Perouse or Soya,
Tsugaru, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or
Tsushima Strait
International disputes:
islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotau, and the Habomai group
occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia,
claimed by Japan; Liancourt Rocks disputed with South Korea;
Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands) claimed by China and Taiwan
Climate:
varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north
Terrain:
mostly rugged and mountainous
Natural resources:
negligible mineral resources, fish
Land use:
arable land:
13%
permanent crops:
1%
meadows and pastures:
1%
forest and woodland:
67%
other:
18%
Irrigated land:
28,680 sq km (1989)
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
natural hazards:
many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic
occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; subject to tsunamis
international agreements:
party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical
Timber, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified -
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea
Note:
strategic location in northeast Asia

@Japan, People

Population:
125,106,937 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.32% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
10.49 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
7.31 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
4.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
79.31 years
male:
76.47 years
female:
82.28 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.55 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Japanese (singular and plural)
adjective:
Japanese
Ethnic divisions:
Japanese 99.4%, other 0.6% (mostly Korean)
Religions:
observ