Japan

E

Plant and Animal Life

More than 17,000 species of flowering and nonflowering plants are found in Japan, and many are cultivated widely. Azaleas color the Japanese hills in April, and the tree peony, one of the most popular cultivated flowers, blossoms at the beginning of May. The lotus blooms in August, and in November the blooming of the chrysanthemum occasions one of the most celebrated of the numerous Japanese flower festivals. Various types of seaweed grow naturally or are cultivated in offshore waters, adding variety to the Japanese diet. The most common varieties of edible seaweed are laver (a purple form of red algae also known as nori), kelp (a large, leafy brown algae also called kombu), and wakame (a large brown algae).

Forests cover 68 percent of Japan’s land area. Forests are concentrated on mountain slopes, where trees are important in soil and water conservation. Tree types vary with latitude and elevation. In Hokkaidō, spruce, larch, and northern fir are most common, along with alder, poplar, and beech trees. Central Honshū’s more temperate climate supports beech, willows, and chestnuts. In Shikoku, Kyūshū, and the warmer parts of Honshū, subtropical trees such as camphors and banyans thrive. The southern areas also have thick stands of bamboo. Japanese cedars and cypress are found throughout wide areas of the country and are prized for their wood. Cultivated tree species include fruit trees bearing peaches, plums, pears, oranges, and cherries; mulberry trees for silk production; and lacquer trees, from which the resins used to produce lacquer are derived. Potted miniaturized trees called bonsai are popular among hobbyist gardeners in Japan and are a highly evolved art form.

Japanese animal life includes at least 140 species of mammals; 450 species of birds; and a wide variety of reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Mammals include wild boar, deer, rabbits and hares, squirrels, and various species of bear. Foxes and badgers also are numerous and, according to traditional beliefs, possess supernatural powers. The only primate mammal in Japan is the Japanese macaque, a red-faced monkey found throughout Honshū. The most common birds are sparrows, house swallows, and thrushes. Water birds are common, as well, including cranes, herons, swans, storks, cormorants, and ducks. The waters off Japan abound with fish and other marine life, particularly at around latitude 36º north, where the cold Oyashio and warm Kuroshio currents meet and create ideal conditions for larger species.

F

Natural Resources

Japan has had to build its enormous industrial output and high standard of living on a comparatively small domestic resource base. Most conspicuously lacking are fossil fuel resources, particularly petroleum. Small domestic oil fields in northern Honshū and Hokkaidō supply less than 1 percent of the country’s demand. Domestic reserves of natural gas are similarly negligible. Coal deposits in Hokkaidō and Kyūshū are more abundant but are generally low grade, costly to mine, and inconveniently located with respect to major cities and industrial areas (the areas of highest demand). Japan does have abundant water and hydroelectric potential, however, and as a result the country has developed one of the world’s largest hydroelectric industries.

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Japan is also short on metal and mineral resources. It was once a leading producer of copper, but its great mines at Ashio in central Honshū and Besshi on Shikoku have been depleted and are now closed. Reserves of iron, lead, zinc, bauxite, and other ores are negligible.

While the country is heavily forested, its demand for lumber, pulp, paper, and other wood products exceeds domestic production. Some forests in Hokkaidō and northern Honshū have been logged excessively, causing local environmental problems. Japan is blessed with bountiful coastal waters that provide the nation with fish and other marine foods. However, demand is so large that local resources must be supplemented with fish caught by Japanese vessels in distant seas, as well as with imports. Although arable land is limited, agricultural resources are significant. Japan’s crop yields per land area sown are among the highest in the world, and the country produces more than 60 percent of its food.

G

Climate

Japan’s climate is rainy and humid, and marked in most places by four distinct seasons. The country’s wide range of latitude causes pronounced differences in climate between the north and the south. Hokkaidō and other parts of northern Japan have long, harsh winters and relatively cool summers. Average temperatures in the northern city of Sapporo dip to –5°C (24°F) in January but reach only 20°C (68°F) in July. Central Japan has cold but short winters and hot, humid summers. In Tokyo in central Honshū, temperatures average 3°C (38°F) in January and 25°C (77°F) in July. Kyūshū is subtropical, with short, mild winters and hot, humid summers. Average temperatures in the southern city of Kagoshima are 7°C (45°F) in January and 26°C (79°F) in July. Farther south, the Ryukyu Islands are warmer still, with frost-free winters.

The climate of Japan is influenced by the country’s location on the edge of the Pacific Ocean and by its proximity to the Asian continent. The mountain ranges running through the center of the islands also influence local weather conditions. The Sea of Japan side of the country is extremely snowy in winter. Cold air masses originating over the Asian continent absorb moisture as they pass over the Sea of Japan, then rise as they encounter Japan’s mountain barriers, cooling further and dropping their moisture in the form of snow. The heaviest snows are in Nagano Prefecture, where annual accumulations of 8 to 10 m (26 to 30 ft) are common. By contrast, Pacific Japan lies in a snow shadow on the sheltered side of the mountains and experiences fairly dry winters with clear skies.

From June to September this pattern reverses. Monsoon winds from the Pacific tropics bring warm, moist air and heavy precipitation to Japan’s Pacific coast. A month-long rainy season called baiu begins in southern Japan in early June, traveling north as the month progresses. Baiu is followed by hot, humid weather. In late August and September, the shūrin rains come to much of the country, often as torrential downpours that trigger landslides and floods. During this period, violent storms called typhoons come ashore in Japan, most often in Kyūshū and Shikoku. Japan’s distant tropical islands also suffer typhoon damage. Meanwhile, throughout the summer the Sea of Japan coast is protected from the Pacific influences by the mountains and is relatively dry. Northern Honshū and Hokkaidō receive relatively little summer precipitation. Average annual precipitation in Sapporo is 1,130 mm (45 in), while in Tokyo it is 1,410 mm (55 in) and in Kagoshima it is 2,240 mm (88 in).

Autumn and spring are generally pleasant in all parts of Japan. The season when cherry blossoms open (typically late March to early May, depending on latitude and elevation) is particularly festive.

H

Environmental Issues

Japan experienced severe environmental pollution during its push to industrialize in the late 19th century and again during the rush to rebuild the economy after World War II. Some of the worst pollution incidents caused great human suffering. One of the first episodes began in the late 19th century, when copper mining operations released effluents that contaminated rivers and rice fields in the mountains of central Honshū, sickening much of the local population. Crusading legislator Tanaka Shōzō led citizen protests that represented an important first step in the creation of a Japanese environmental movement. Nevertheless, more environmental disasters followed. In the early 20th century cadmium poisoning caused an outbreak of a painful bone disease, called itai-itai, in Toyama Prefecture. From the 1950s to the 1970s, mercury contamination in fishing waters caused Minamata disease, an affliction of the central nervous system named after the town in Kyūshū where thousands became ill and hundreds died. Smog, arsenic poisoning, and polychlorobiphenyl (PCB) poisoning produced by industry in the 1970s caused other health problems.

Since that time, Japan has enacted some of the world’s strictest legislation for environmental protection. The government took important steps to improve environmental quality in the late 1960s and early 1970s in response to pressure by citizens’ groups. It passed successive laws to combat pollution and compensate victims of pollution. In 1971 it established the Environmental Agency to monitor and regulate pollution. The Nature Conservation Law of 1972 requires that all natural ecosystems be inventoried every five years.

Significant environmental problems remain, however. Pollution of bays and other coastal waters is a continuing threat to the fishing and aquaculture industries. Emissions by power plants and heavy industry have resulted in acid rain (a type of air pollution) and increasing acidity of freshwater lakes. Smog continues to plague traffic-choked urban areas. Despite successes in promoting recycling and reuse, the total amount of garbage produced per person has increased sharply since the mid-1980s. Waste disposal is a mounting problem in Japan’s urban areas, and the country faces a severe shortage of landfill sites. In addition, the country’s high reliance on nuclear energy poses some environmental hazards. Risks are involved with nuclear waste storage, importation of nuclear fuel, and export of spent fuel for reprocessing. In September 1999 Japan’s worst nuclear accident occurred at a uranium processing plant in Tokaimura when human error caused an uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction and leak, exposing nearly 70 workers to high doses of radiation. The United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency reported that the incident did not cause any lasting harm to the surrounding population and environment.

The Japanese are passionate about their country’s natural heritage. Per capita domestic visits to national parks are among the highest in the world. Japan has 28 major national parks and more than 350 lesser parks, covering more than 14 percent of the country. An extensive series of wildlife preserves and special wildlife sanctuaries covers more than 8 percent of the land. At least 28 marine parks have also been established.

The Land and Resources section of this article was contributed by Roman Cybriwsky.

III

People and Society

Japan ranks as the world’s ninth most populous nation, with a population of 127,467,970 (2007 estimate). It is also one of the most crowded, with an average population density of 340 persons per sq km (881 per sq mi). The population is distributed unevenly within the country. Densities range from very low levels in the steep mountain areas of Hokkaidō and the interior of Honshū island to extraordinarily high levels in the urban areas on Japan’s larger plains. The most crowded area is central Tokyo, where overall population density is about 13,000 persons per sq km (about 33,000 per sq mi). About 66 percent of Japan’s people are concentrated in urban areas, making Japan one of the most heavily urbanized nations in the world.

Although Japan is one of the world’s most populous and crowded countries, it is also one of the slowest growing. At present, the annual population growth rate is -0.01 percent. The slow rate of increase is due to low birthrates (9.2 births per 1,000 people in 2007) and a relatively low rate of foreign immigration. Birthrates are now less than one-third what they were in Japan before the 1950s, when it was common for couples to have three or more children. The average number of children per couple in Japan is now less than 1.5. The total population of the country is expected to begin declining soon because Japan’s net reproduction rate has been below 1.0 for a number of years (meaning that the Japanese population is not replacing itself). Projections call for population totals of about 120 million in 2025 and about 100 million in 2050. The prospect of such significant decline raises worries in Japan about whether the country will have a sufficient labor force to meet economic needs and enough people of working age to support the growing proportion of the population that is elderly.

The age structure of Japan’s population has changed tremendously in recent decades. The segment of the population between the ages of 0 and 14 declined from 35.4 percent in 1950 to 15.2 percent in 1998, while the number of people aged 65 or older increased from 4.9 percent to 16.0 percent. In 1995 Japan’s elderly outnumbered its youth for the first time in the country’s history. Life expectancy increased over the same period, largely due to improved health conditions, and is now 85 years for females and 78 years for males, in both cases the highest expected longevity in the world. The number of people in Japan aged 85 or over increased from 134,000 in 1955 to an estimated 4.3 million in 1998.

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