All Topics  
Japanese Archipelago

 
Japanese Archipelago

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Japanese Archipelago
 
 
  Topics Japanese Archipelago Topic Home

The , which forms the country
Country

Country may refer to the territory of a state, or to a smaller, or former, political division of a geographical region. In another meaning of the word, the country is also a term used to refer to rural areas....
 of Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
, extends roughly from northeast to southwest along the northeastern coast of the Eurasia
Eurasia

Eurasia is a large landmass covering about 53,990,000 km? or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface . Often considered a single continent, Eurasia comprises the traditional continents of Europe and Asia, concepts which date back to classical antiquity and the borders for which are somewhat arbitrary....
 mainland, washing upon the northwestern shores of the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
. The term Home Islands was used at the end of World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
 to define the area of Japan to which its sovereignty and the constitutional rule of the Emperor
Emperor of Japan

The of Japan is the symbol of the state and of the unity of the Japanese people. He is the head of the Imperial House of Japan. Under Japan's present constitution, the Emperor is the "symbol of the state and the unity of the people," and is a ceremonial figurehead in a constitutional monarchy ....
 would be restricted.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Japanese Archipelago'
Start a new discussion about 'Japanese Archipelago'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Japan Topo En
The , which forms the country
Country

Country may refer to the territory of a state, or to a smaller, or former, political division of a geographical region. In another meaning of the word, the country is also a term used to refer to rural areas....
 of Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
, extends roughly from northeast to southwest along the northeastern coast of the Eurasia
Eurasia

Eurasia is a large landmass covering about 53,990,000 km? or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface . Often considered a single continent, Eurasia comprises the traditional continents of Europe and Asia, concepts which date back to classical antiquity and the borders for which are somewhat arbitrary....
 mainland, washing upon the northwestern shores of the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
. The term Home Islands was used at the end of World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
 to define the area of Japan to which its sovereignty and the constitutional rule of the Emperor
Emperor of Japan

The of Japan is the symbol of the state and of the unity of the Japanese people. He is the head of the Imperial House of Japan. Under Japan's present constitution, the Emperor is the "symbol of the state and the unity of the people," and is a ceremonial figurehead in a constitutional monarchy ....
 would be restricted. The term is also commonly used today to distinguish the archipelago from Japan's colonies and other territories in the first half of the 20th century, but is not used in reference to the country as it exists today.

Island components

The archipelago consists of more than 3000 islands, including the four main islands. The main islands, listed in descending order from north to south, are:

  1. Hokkaido
    Hokkaido

    , formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island and the largest, northernmost of its 47 prefectures of Japan....
  2. Honshu
    Honshu

    or Honshu is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait....
  3. Shikoku
    Shikoku

    is the smallest and least populous of the four main islands of Japan, located south of Honshu and east of Kyushu island. Its ancient names include Iyo-no-futana-shima , Iyo-shima , and Futana-shima ....
  4. Kyushu
    Kyushu

    or Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its Japanese Archipelago. Its alternate ancient names include Kyukoku , Chinzei , and Tsukushi-no-shima ....


See also

  • Geography of Japan
    Geography of Japan

    Japan is an island nation in East Asia comprising a large Stratovolcano archipelago extending along the Pacific Ocean coast of Asia. Measured from the geographic coordinate system, Japan is 36? north of the equator and 138? east of the Prime Meridian....
  • List of islands of Japan
    List of islands of Japan

    The four main islands of Japan are:*Hokkaido*Honshu*Kyushu*Shikoku...


External links

center of mass