GEOGRAPHY OF JAPAN: DATA, LAND, MOUNTAINS, PLAINS

GEOGRAPHY OF JAPAN

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Japan is an archipelago (island chain) strategically located in northeast Asia between the North Pacific Ocean to the east, the Sea of Japan to the west, the Sea of Okhotsk to the north and the East China Sea to the south. Situated east of the Korean Peninsula and south of the Russian Far East, Japan is comprised of four major island and thousands of smaller islands. Covering about 145,856 square miles (378,000 square kilometers), Japan is slightly larger than the United Kingdom, slightly smaller than California, and approximately the same size as Germany, Finland, Vietnam, or Malaysia, and one twenty-fifth the size of the United States. The nearest countries are Korea (about 100 miles to the west), Russia and China.

Japan is divided into 47 state-like prefectures. The four main islands (the "Home Islands") are Hokkaido, Honshu (the largest, most populous, and site of Tokyo, the capital), Shikoku, and Kyushu. A 2023 Geospatial Information Authority of Japan survey detected 100,000 islands and islets, but only the 14,125 islands with a circumference of at least 100 meters (330 feet) were officially counted; about 260 of the islands are inhabited; [Source: CIA World Factbook]

The islands of Japan form a bow-shaped string stretching from the northeast to the southwest. They make up less than 15 percent of Japan’s total claimed territory. Most of its territory is in the sea. In addition to the 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) of ocean that Japan can also claims around the main islands according to the 1982 United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea it can also claim 200 nautical miles around far flung Japanese islands that extend from near Taiwan and China to far out in the Pacific Ocean. Japan's total claimed area is approximately 4,850,000 square kilometers (or about 1.87 million square miles) if its territorial waters and its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) are included. This about half the size of the United States including Alaska.

The longest distances are 3,008 kilometers (1,869 miles) from northeast to southwest and 1,645 kilometers (1,022 miles) from southeast to northwest. In terms of latitude, Japan coincides approximately with the Mediterranean Sea and with the city of Los Angeles in North America. Paris and London have latitudes somewhat to the north of the northern tip of Hokkaido. Most of agricultural land is along the coast or in the river valleys and plains between the mountains on the main islands. Mountains ranges and volcanoes (some still very active) cover about 68 percent of Japan. Large plains around Tokyo and Osaka that once contained a lot of farm land are now heavily urbanized.

Administrative divisions: 47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gunma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi. [Source: CIA World Factbook]

Good Websites and Sources: Geography of Japan afe.easia.columbia.edu/japan ; Statistical Handbook of Japan Land and Weather Chapter stat.go.jp/english/data/handbook ;2010 Edition stat.go.jp/english/data/nenkan ; News stat.go.jp ; Japan’s Ministry of Environment env.go.jp/en ; Essay on Comparing Japan and Britain on Environmental Criteria aboutjapan.japansociety.org ; Maps Statistical Maps of Japan stat.go.jp ; Library of Congress Map Collection (do a Search for Japan ) http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem ; Japanese Historical Maps from Berkeley davidrumsey.com/japan ; Japan Map Center jmc.or.jp/english ; Geographical Survey Institute, Government of Japan gsi.go.jp ; JNTO JNTO No. 2 ; Perry-Castaneda Mapp Collection University of Texas

Geographical Data for Japan

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size, latitude comparison with the U.S. Area: total: 377,915 square kilometers (145,913 square miles); land: 364,485 square kilometers (140,728 square miles); water: 13,430 square kilometers (5,185 square miles); Geographic coordinates: 36 00 N, 138 00 E. Elevation: highest point: Mount Fuji 3,776 meters (12,388 feet); lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 meters (-13 feet); mean elevation: 438 meters (1,437 feet). [Source: CIA World Factbook]

Coastline: 29,751 kilometers (18,486 miles). Land boundaries: total: 0 kilometers (0 miles).
Land use: agricultural land: 12.6 percent (2023 estimate); arable land: 11.1 percent (2023 estimate); permanent crops: 0.7 percent (2023 estimate); permanent pasture: 0.9 percent (2023 estimate); forest: 68.3 percent (2023 estimate); other: 19 percent (2023 estimate). Arable land is land cultivated for crops like wheat, maize, and rice that are replanted after each harvest. Permanent crops is land cultivated for crops like fruit trees oranges that are not replanted after each harvest. Irrigated land: 15,730 square kilometers (6,073 square miles) (2014).

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nautical miles (22.2 kilometers; 13.8 miles); between 3 nautical miles (5.6 kilometers; 3.5 miles) and 12 nautical miles (22.2 kilometers; 13.8 miles) in the international straits — La Perouse or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and the Korea and Tsushima Straits; contiguous zone: 24 nautical miles (44.4 kilometers; 27.6 miles); exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers; 230 miles).

Population distribution: All primary and secondary regions of high population density lie on the coast; one third of the population resides in and around Tokyo on the central (Kanto) plain..

Beginning about 250 miles south of Kyushu are the Ryukyu islands, which includes Okinawa. North of Hokkaido are a few islands than run up to the Sakhalin islands, which Japan is currently trying to get back from Russia. The land area of Japan includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto).

Geology of Japan

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Geologically, Japan is one of the youngest inhabited areas on earth. The landforms of Japan are steep and rugged, indicating Japan's youth geologically. It regularly experiences volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Around Tokyo much of the landscape is made up of marine sediments — deposited when the area was occupied by seas — covered by layers of ash from eruptions by Haokone, Mt. Fuji and other volcanoes.

Japan is riddled with faults and is located at the junction of four tectonic plates, including the Eurasian, North American, and Pacific Tectonic Plates. As a result, earthquakes are common throughout the islands. In the last 75 years, the Japanese archipelago or areas immediately offshore have experienced five earthquakes measuring more than eight on the Richter scale; and 17 measuring more than seven on the Richter scale. It is unusual for a year to go by without three or four earthquakes measuring 6.0 or more.

Japan lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire and is home to 108 of the world’s 1,500 or so active volcanoes, including more than 10 percent of the active volcanoes that are a threat to human populations. Volcanoes in Japan are ranked A to C in accordance with the degree of their volcanic activity, with A being the most active. Some A volcanoes have erupted 400 times a year. Mt. Fuji is classified as an active volcano even though it hasn't erupted since 1707.

Land and Landscapes of Japan

Japan is mostly rugged and mountainous. Most Japanese live in the sprawling urban areas that seem to go on forever, but once they end they give way to beautiful countryside. Forests cover about two-thirds of Japan. About 41 percent of the trees in the forests have been planted in nice neat rows, and 44 percent of the planted tree are cedars. The heavily indented coastline extends for 29,751 kilometers (18,486 miles).

The less developed side of Japan that faces the Sea of Japan is often referred as the “backside of Japan” as opposed to more developed “front side” that faces the Pacific. East Japan refers mainly to the Tokyo-Yokohama, Mount Fuji, Japan Alps area. West Japan refers to everything south of Kyoto and Osaka on Honshu, plus the northern part of Kyushu. The area around Tokyo is called Kanto (a reference to Kanto Plain which Tokyo is part of); the region that embraces Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe is called Kansai (or Kinki). Tohuko describes northern Honshu.

The Japanese countryside landscape, sometimes called the satoyama, is structured like a fine patchwork quilt or tile mosaic. An amazing variety of land-use patterns are jumbled together in a complicated manner. The individual patches are all small in area, and often isolated from others of their kind. Each type of land-use pattern contains its own distinctive set of tree species. The result is that a wide diversity of trees, shrubs and woody vines can be found within a very limited area. [Source: Kevin Short, Daily Yomiuri, October 5, 2011]

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regions of Japan Paul Theroux wrote in The Daily Beast: Japan is almost without hinterland. Its population lives mainly on its coast. The mountains are for tunneling through, not residing on. And where there is open landscape, as in the low rolling hills of Hokkaido, it is thinly settled. From the carriage window, as the train travels north from Tokyo, through Sendai and the coastal towns of Minamisanriku, Kesennuma, Okuma, and others — the ones now swept away — the Japanese can be seen living in unusual urban density, the low, snug houses cheek by jowl, traversed by narrow lanes, as they have been throughout history. My sense is that they have been able to live closely together because of their elaborate good manners, mutual respect, self-sufficiency, and work ethic. A less polite society would require more space or higher fences or guard dogs. [Source: Paul Theroux, The Daily Beast, March 20, 2011]

“With this acute sense of limited land and few natural resources, and the hostility of nature, they have taken pains to put off the evil day by manipulating their weird geography, even if it means a disfigurement. The result makes the strange Japanese landscape even weirder: it is the most possessed-looking place imaginable, its awkward-seeming features ordered and buttressed, the human hand visible everywhere. The notion of control and containment, which dominates Japanese life, dominates the landscape. Rivers are cemented into place, embankments are tiers of concrete blocks; sidewalks and bridges exist in the most unlikely places. The 33-mile Seikan Tunnel that links Honshu to Hokkaido under the Tsugaru Strait is the world’s longest railway tunnel. The watchtowers and sea walls all over the coast reinforce the look of Japan as a fortress in the sea. It is, of course, an illusion.

Mountains of Japan

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Hokkaido's Daisetsuzan mountain The Japanese islands are the summits of mountain ridges uplifted near the outer edge of the continental shelf. About 75 percent of Japan's area is mountainous, and scattered plains and intermontane basins (in which the population is concentrated) cover only about 25 percent. A long chain of mountains runs down the middle of the archipelago, dividing it into two halves, the "face," fronting on the Pacific Ocean, and the "back," toward the Sea of Japan. [Source: Library of Congress, 1994]

On the Pacific side are steep mountains 1,500 to 3,000 meters (4,921 to 9,843 feet) high, with deep valleys and gorges. Central Japan is marked by the convergence of the three mountain chains — the Hida, Kiso, and Akaishi mountains — that form the Japanese Alps (Nihon Arupusu), several of whose peaks are higher than 3,000 meters (9,843 feet). The highest point in the Japanese Alps is Kitadake at 3,192 meters (10,472 feet). On the Sea of Japan side are plateaus and low mountain districts, with altitudes of 500 to 1,500 meters (1,640 to 4,921 feet).*

The Chubu Region of central Honshu is known as “the roof of Japan” and has many mountains which are more than 3,000 meters high.s Kitadake is in Yamanashi Prefecture. Japan's third highest peak — Hotakadake at 3,190 meters (10,645 feet) — is on the border between Nagano and Gifu Prefectures. The highest point in Japan is Mount Fuji (Fujisan, also called Fujiyama in the West but not in Japan). It is a volcano dormant since 1707 that rises to 3,776 meters (12,388) above sea level i on the border of Yamanashi and Shizuoka Prefectures. Mt. Fuji,It remains covered in snow until June. [Source: Web-Japan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan]

Volcanoes and Seismic Activity in Japan

As it is situated along the circum-Pacific volcanic belt, Japan has several volcanic regions — usually considered to number seven “from the far north to the far south. Of the total number of volcanoes, approximately 80 are active, including Mt. Mihara on Izu Oshima island, Mt. Asama on the border between Nagano and Gunma Prefectures, and Mt. Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture. Japan has almost 1/10 of the world’s approximately 840 active volcanoes, even though it has only about l/400 of the world’s land area. Mt. Fuji, which has been dormant since its last eruption in 1707, is by no means incapable of erupting again in our lifetimes. Though volcanoes can cause great harm through large eruptions, they also contribute an incalculable tourist resource. Touristic areas such as Nikko, Hakone, and the Izu Peninsula, for example, are famous for their hot springs and attractive scenery of volcanic mountains.

As all these volcanoes attest, the Earth’s crust beneath the Japanese archipelago is unstable and full of energy. Thus Japan is among those countries most likely to suffer from earthquakes. Every year there are approximately 1,000 earthquakes which are strong enough to be felt. In January 1995, the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake killed approximately 6,000 people, injured over 40,000, and left 200,000 homeless. An earthquake in Niigata Prefecture in October 2004 left over 60 people dead and more than 4,700 injured. In March 2011, a magnitude 9 earthquake was recorded off the coast of Sanriku (Tohoku) in the Pacific Ocean, and the ensuing tsunami, more than 10m high in places, hit the coast across a vast region from Tohoku to Kanto. The number of dead and missing after the earthquake and tsunami reached nearly 20,000.

Plains and Plateaus of Japan

The Plains of Japan are few and relatively small and cover only about 29 percent of the total land area. Most plains are located along the seacoast and are composed of alluvial lowlands and low hills. None of the populated plains or mountain basins is extensive in area. The largest, the Kanto Plain, where Tokyo is situated, covers only 13,000 square kilometers (8,077 square miles). It includes parts of Tochigi, Ibaraki, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, and Kanagawa prefectures. Other relatively large areas of flat land are the Echigo Plain (Niigata Prefecture), the Ishikari Plain (Hokkaido), and the Nobi Plain (Aichi and Gifu prefectures). The population is heavily concentrated in these limited flat areas. They are among the most densely populated places in the world.

The Nobi Plain surrounds Nagoya. The Kansai (Kinai) Plain is in the Osaka-Kyoto area. The Sendai Plain is around the city of Sendai in northeastern Honshu. There are four small plains in Hokkaido, including the Ishikari Plain. Many of these plains are along the coast, and their areas have been increased by reclamation throughout recorded history. [Source: Library of Congress, 1994 *]

The small amount of habitable land prompted significant human modification of the terrain over many centuries. Land was reclaimed from the sea and from river deltas by building dikes and drainage, and rice paddies were built on terraces carved into mountainsides. The process continued in the modern period with extension of shorelines and building of artificial islands for industrial and port development, such as Port Island in Kobe and Kansai International Airport in Osaka Bay. Hills and even mountains have been razed to provide flat areas for housing.*

Foothills border the coastal plains. Far from the coast, terraced hillsides mark the transition from plains to mountain ranges. As you approach the mountains, the slopes become steeper and are intersected by numerous waterways, which isolate groups of hills. The Hakone Hills in central Honshu are a prime example of this terrain.

Many of Japan's plateaus have been shaped by volcanic activity, while others consist of ancient limestone. The Shiga Highlands, located in the Jo-Shin-Etsu National Park in central Honshu, are a lava plateau ranging from 1,400 to 1,700 meters (4,593 to 5,577 feet) in height. The Hachimantai Plateau, which is volcanic in origin and located in northern Honshu, rises 1,400 to 1,600 meters (4,593 to 5,249 feet) above sea level. The Akiyoshi-dai Plateau, located in western Honshu, is a limestone plateau riddled with 420 caves. The Atetsu Plateau, in the same region, is also limestone-based. The Bandai Plateau in northern Honshu contains lakes and marshes. Other plateaus in Honshu include Nihon Daira near Mount Fuji, Midagahara in the Japanese Alps, and the Musashino Plateau near Tokyo. The Ebino Plateau, which stands 1,200 meters (3,937 feet) above sea level, is located within Japan's first national park, Kirishima Yaku, on Kyushu Island. The Takachihokyo Plateau, near Mount Aso on Kyushu, is lava-based and has a river-eroded valley with rock formations. [Source: Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of Physical Geography, Gale Group, Inc., 2003]

Rivers, Lakes and Wetlands of of Japan

There are 32,000 rivers, streams and lakes. Because Japan is so mountainous it doesn't really have any navigable rivers except near the seas. Most of Japan’s rivers are short, flow very fast, with their waters reaching the ocean not long after leaving mountain valleys and basins. An example of the “steepness” of river flows is the Kurobe River, which joins the Sea of Japan after flowing only 83 kilometers from its source in the Japan Alps at an altitude of over 2,900 meters.

The longest river in Japan is the Shinano, with a length of 367 kilometers (228 miles), in north-central Honshu, flows through the Chubu region in Nagano and Niigata Prefectures to the Sea of Japan. Second in length is the Tone River, which flows through the Kanto Plain to the Pacific Ocean, and third in length is the Ishikari River in Hokkaido, at 268 kilometers. The many rivers descending from mountainous areas have done much to mold Japan’s topography, creating large and small valleys and basins and producing fan-shaped deltas near the points where they flow into the sea. The rapid flow of Japan’s mountains rivers provides a valuable, renewable resource: hydroelectric power generation. Japan's hydroelectric power potential has been exploited almost to capacity. Seasonal variations in flow have led to extensive development of flood control measures. [Source: Library of Congress, 1994]

Japan's rivers have carved deep gorges through the mountain ranges. The Suwa, Minakami, and Momiji Canyons on the Tone River in the Japanese Alps are known for their whitewater rapids. Kurobe Gorge, located in central Honshu, is Japan's deepest gorge, plunging 1,500 to 2,000 meters (4,921 to 6,562 feet). There is a dam at its southern end. Dakigaeri Gorge is a national park in northern Honshu. The Oobako and Kobako Canyons in Hokkaido feature rocky terrain and waterfalls, as does Sounkyo Gorge. Other noteworthy river gorges include Oboke Gorge on Shikoku Island and Takachiho and Yabakei Gorges on Kyushu Island. [Source: Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of Physical Geography, Gale Group, Inc., 2003]

The largest lake in Japan is Lake Biwa *Biwa-ko), near Kyoto, with an area of 688 square kilometers (266 square miles). It fills a fault basin on the island of Honshu. and is affected by pollution, and alien fish species such as bluegill and black bass. Lake Kussharo, in the Akan National Park of Hokkaido, is considered the clearest lake in the world, transparent to a depth of 41 meters (135 feet). The second largest in Japan is Lake Kasumigaura (168 square kilometers, 65 square miles) near Tokyo. Other notable lakes include Saroma (150 square kilometers, 58 square miles) on Hokkaido, Inawashiro (103 square kilometers, 40 square miles) in Bandai-Asahi National Park in northern Honshu, and Nakaumi (89 square kilometers, 56 square miles). [Source: Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of Physical Geography, Gale Group, Inc., 2003]

Eleven areas in Japan have been designated as Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. The Honshu sites are Lake Biwa and its surrounding marshes, the Izu-numa and Uchi-numa lakes and peat swamps, the Katano-kamoike pond and marsh (a major bird habitat), and the Yatsu-higata mudflat (a shorebird habitat near Tokyo). The Hokkaido sites are Akkeshiko, a lake and salt marsh complex; Bekambeushi-shitsugen, a peat bog; Kushiro-shitsugen, a wildlife habitat containing reed beds; Kutcharo-ko, a reed swamp; and Utonai-ko, a lake surrounded by swamps. There are also wetland sites on Okinawa and Niigata Islands. Japan's wetlands are under threat from pollution, land reclamation for development and water extraction.

Geographical Names and Japan

In the early 1990s both the U.N.'s conference on Geographical Names and the U.S. Board of Geographic names rejected suggestions by Koreans to the change the name of the body of water between Korea and Japan from the Sea of Japan to the East Sea.

In August 2007, the ninth conference for the standardization of geographical names ruled that the Sea of Japan will remain the Sea of Japan. South Korea and North Korea wanted the name to be changed to the “East Sea” or the “Sea of Korea,” names which they say have been used for more than 2,000 years. The chairman of the conference said, “I encourage the three countries involved to find a solution acceptable to all of them, taking into account any relevant solutions, or else agree to differ.”

North Korea and South Korea joined together to contest the name and argued that the “East Sea” and “Sea of Japan” names to be used concurrently until a common designation could be worked out. Japan argues that the “Sea of Japan” name has long been established and widely recognized as the name of the sea since the late 18th century.

Japan's First Glaciers Have Been Found

In April 2012, Jiji Press reported: “A Japanese research team has confirmed that large bodies of ice discovered in the Tateyama mountain range in central japan satisfy the definition of glaciers. The bodies of ice, found in three places in Toyama Prefecture, are the first confirmed glaciers in Japan. Previously, no glacier was known to exist in the region south of the Russian peninsula of Kamchatka. It was learned that the Japanese Society of Snow and Ice reached its conclusion by analyzing research by the Tateyama Caldera Sabo Museum in Tateyama, Toyama Prefecture. Its findings will be reported in the May edition of the society's newsletter. [Source: Jiji Press, April 6, 2012]

Prefectures of Japan

Snow in valleys and streams at high altitudes remains even during the summer. This snow may cover large bodies of ice, which may be considered glaciers if they move for at least one year. Using the Global Positioning System, the museum tracked the movements of bodies of ice in the Sannomado and Komado valleys of the 2,999-meter-high Mt. Tsurugi and the Gozenzawa snow valley of Mt. Oyama, which is 3,003 meters high.In research conducted in 2010 and 2011, the museum confirmed that the ice moved 10 to 30 centimeters per month. All three bodies of ice are considered independent glaciers. "I'm very happy [the bodies of ice] have been recognized as glaciers," said museum member Kotaro Fukui, who participated in the study."We will continue our research," he said, noting that there are more bodies of ice that may satisfy the definition of glaciers.

Prefectures of Japan

Aichi — Area: 5,138 square kilometers (1,984 square miles); Capital: Nagoya
Akita — Area: 11,612 square kilometers (4,483 square miles); Capital: Akita
Aomori — Area: 9,617 square kilometers (3,713 square miles); Capital: Aomori
Chiba — Area: 5,150 square kilometers (1,988 square miles); Capital: Chiba
Ehime — Area: 5,672 square kilometers (2,190 square miles); Capital: Matsuyama
Fukui — Area: 4,191 square kilometers (1,618 square miles); Capital: Fukui
Fukuoka — Area: 4,960 square kilometers (1,915 square miles); Capital: Fukuoka
Fukushima — Area: 13,794 square kilometers (5,322 square miles); Capital: Fukushima
Gifu — Area: 10,596 square kilometers (4,091 square miles); Capital: Gifu

Gumma — Area: 6,356 square kilometers (2,454 square miles); Capital: Maebashi
Hiroshima — Area: 8,466 square kilometers (3,269 square miles); Capital: Hiroshima
Hokkaido — Area: 83,519 square kilometers (32,247 square miles); Capital: Sapporo
Hyōgo — Area: 8,378 square kilometers (3,235 square miles); Capital: Kōbe
Ibaraki — Area: 6,094 square kilometers (2,353 square miles); Capital: Mito
Ishikawa — Area: 4,197 square kilometers (1,620 square miles); Capital: Kanazawa
Iwate — Area: 15,279 square kilometers (5,899 square miles); Capital: Morioka
Kagawa — Area: 1,882 square kilometers (727 square miles); Capital: Takamatsu
Kagoshima — Area: 9,165 square kilometers (3,539 square miles); Capital: Kagoshima

Kanagawa — Area: 2,402 square kilometers (927 square miles); Capital: Yokohama
Kōchi — Area: 7,107 square kilometers (2,744 square miles); Capital: Kōchi
Kumamoto — Area: 7,408 square kilometers (2,860 square miles); Capital: Kumamoto
Kyōto — Area: 4,613 square kilometers (1,781 square miles); Capital: Kyōto
Mie — Area: 5,778 square kilometers (2,231 square miles); Capital: Tsu

Miyagi — Area: 7,292 square kilometers (2,815 square miles); Capital: Sendai
Miyazaki — Area: 7,735 square kilometers (2,986 square miles); Capital: Miyazaki
Nagano — Area: 13,585 square kilometers (5,245 square miles); Capital: Nagano
Nagasaki — Area: 4,112 square kilometers (1,588 square miles); Capital: Nagasaki
Nara — Area: 3,692 square kilometers (1,425 square miles); Capital: Nara
Niigata — Area: 12,579 square kilometers (4,857 square miles); Capital: Niigata
Oita — Area: 6,337 square kilometers (2,447 square miles); Capital: Oita
Okayama — Area: 7,090 square kilometers (2,737 square miles); Capital: Okayama
Okinawa — Area: 2,254 square kilometers (870 square miles); Capital: Naha
Osaka — Area: 1,868 square kilometers (721 square miles); Capital: Osaka
Saga — Area: 2,433 square kilometers (939 square miles); Capital: Saga
Saitama — Area: 3,799 square kilometers (1,467 square miles); Capital: Urawa
Shiga — Area: 4,016 square kilometers (1,551 square miles); Capital: Otsu
Shimane — Area: 6,628 square kilometers (2,559 square miles); Capital: Matsue
Shizuoka — Area: 7,773 square kilometers (3,001 square miles); Capital: Shizuoka

Tochigi — Area: 6,414 square kilometers (2,476 square miles); Capital: Utsunomiya
Tokushima — Area: 4,145 square kilometers (1,600 square miles); Capital: Tokushima
Tokyo — Area: 2,162 square kilometers (835 square miles); Capital: Tokyo
Tottori — Area: 3,493 square kilometers (1,349 square miles); Capital: Tottori
Toyama — Area: 4,252 square kilometers (1,642 square miles); Capital: Toyama
Wakayama — Area: 4,725 square kilometers (1,824 square miles); Capital: Wakayama
Yamagata — Area: 9,327 square kilometers (3,601 square miles); Capital: Yamagata
Yamaguchi — Area: 6,106 square kilometers (2,358 square miles); Capital: Yamaguchi
Yamanashi — Area: 4,463 square kilometers (1,723 square miles); Capital: Kofu

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons, CIA map, USGS

Text Sources: Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO), CIA World Factbook], Library of Congress, Daily Yomiuri, National Geographic, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Encyclopedia.com, Live Science, The Conversation, The New Yorker, Time, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Google AI, Wikipedia, The Guardian and various websites, books and other publications.

Last updated June 2026