Continent | Asia Oceania |
---|---|
Region | East Asia Micronesia |
Coordinates | 35.0000° N 136.0000° E |
Area | Ranked 61st |
• Total | 377,915 km2 (145,914 sq mi) |
• Land | 87.93099% |
• Water | 12.06901% |
Coastline | 29,751 km (18,486 mi) |
Borders | None |
Highest point | Mount Fuji |
Lowest point | Hachirōgata |
Longest river | Shinano River |
Largest lake | Lake Biwa |
Japan is an island nation in East Asia comprising a stratovolcanic archipelago extending along the continent's Pacific coast. It lies between 24° to 46° north latitude and from 123° to 146° east longitude. Japan is southeast of the Russian Far East, separated by the Sea of Okhotsk; slightly east of Korea, separated by the Sea of Japan; and east-northeast of China and Taiwan, separated by the East China Sea. The closest neighboring country to Japan is the Russian Federation.
The major islands, sometimes called the "Home Islands", are (from north to south) Hokkaido, Honshu (the "mainland"), Shikoku and Kyushu. There are 6,852 islands in total, including the Nansei Islands, the Nanpo Islands and islets, with 430 islands being inhabited and others uninhabited. In total, as of 2006, Japan's territory is 377,923.1 km2 (145,916.9 sq mi), of which 374,834 km2 (144,724 sq mi) is land and 3,091 km2 (1,193 sq mi) water.
Location: Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula.