JAPAN: intro & economy

Early in 1995, the ground in the Japanese port city of Kobe began to shake. The earthquake passed in less than a minute—but the destruction was immense. Buildings and bridges like this one collapsed. Gas lines broke, and the leaking gas caught fire. Thousands of people died, and the damage exceeded $100 billion.

INTRODUCTION

The city of Kobe suffered an earthquake because Japan lies on the Ring of Fire. This name refers to an area surrounding the Pacific Ocean where the earth’s crust often shifts. Japan experiences thousands of earthquakes each year. People in Japan also have to deal with tsunamis. These huge sea waves caused by undersea earthquakes are very destructive along Japan’s Pacific coast.

Japan is an archipelago, or a group of islands, off the coast of eastern Asia between the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean. Four main islands and thousands of smaller ones make up Japan’s land area. The largest islands are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu.

The most famous peak is Mount Fuji, Japan’s highest mountain and national symbol. Rugged mountains and steep, forested hills dominate most of Japan. Narrowly squeezed between the seacoast and the mountains are plains. The Kanto Plain in eastern Honshu is Japan’s largest plain. Tokyo, the capital, and Yokohama, one of Asia’s major port cities, are located here. You will find most of Japan’s cities, farms, and industries on the coastal plains.

Industry

Japan is an industrial giant known worldwide for its manufactured goods' variety and quality. Japan’s modern factories use new technology and robots to make their products quickly and carefully. These products include automobiles and other vehicles. Japan leads the world in automobile production. Japan’s factories also produce consumer goods such as electronic equipment, watches, small appliances, and calculators. Other factories produce industrial goods such as steel, cement, fertilizer, plastics, and fabrics.

Agriculture

Farmland in Japan is very limited. Yet farmers use fertilizers and modern machinery to produce high crop yields. Crops grow on terraces cut in hillsides and even between buildings and highways. In warmer areas, farmers harvest two or three crops a year. The chief crop is rice, a basic part of the Japanese diet. Other important crops include sugar beets, potatoes, fruits, and tea. Seafood is an important part of the people’s diet as well.

Economic Challenges

Japan is one of the world’s leading exporters. Because of trade restrictions, the country imports few finished goods from other countries, however. Another challenge facing Japan is preserving the environment. Air pollution from power plants has produced acid rain. Because of overfishing, supplies of seafood have dropped. The government has passed laws to limit the amount of fish that can be caught each year.