land of the rising sun aka nippon east asia: japan

LAND OF THE RISING SUNAKA NIPPON

EAST ASIA: JAPAN

Is an archipelago—a group or chain of islands

Has 4 main islands: Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu

Has >3,000 smaller islandsLargest & most populated island is Honshu

(capital, Tokyo, is on it)Most people live on coasts because 80% of

land is mountains

JAPAN: AN ISLAND COUNTRY

JAPAN’S TERRAIN

JAPAN’S POPULATION DENSITY(WHERE THE JAPANESE LIVE)

has few nat. resources—must import

world’s largest importer of coal, natural gas, oil

imports 95% of iron ore, tin, & copper used in its factories

MINERAL RESOURCES IN JAPAN

Only 12% of Japan’s land is farmableFarmers use terraces: horizontal strips cut into hillsides Prevents erosionUses all available land

Also use double-cropping—growing 2 or more crops on same land in same season or at the same time

USING THE LAND TO PRODUCE FOOD

TERRACE FARMING IN JAPAN 1

TERRACE FARMING IN JAPAN 2

Aquaculture: fish farming; raises fish, shrimp, oysters, mussels, clams, seaweed

replaces seafood killed by water pollution & overfishing

AQUACULTURE IN JAPAN

BICYCLESCARSBUSESBULLET TRAINS

TRANSPORTATION