Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

Commuters

most Japanese people live in the

cities, but few people can afford

to live in the city centers, so most

people have to commute to

work. trains are fast and

efficient, but they are so

overcrowded that special

guards are employed to

push commuters

into the carriages.

mount FuJi

Mount Fuji is

a huge cone-shaped

volcano that last erupted

in 1707. It is the highest point

on the island of Honshu. The

mountain is considered sacred, and

is the traditional goal of pilgrimage.

According to legend, an earthquake

created Mount Fuji in 286 bce.

Ryukyu Islands

A chain of islands called the ryukyu islands

stretches 700 miles (1,120 km) south from

Japan towards taiwan. the largest

island, okinawa, has an area of

450 sq miles (1,165 sq km), but

most of the other islands are

smaller. most of the islanders are

farmers, and grow rice, sugar

cane, and sweet potatoes.

japan

295

Volcano Mountain Capital

city

Large

city/

town

Small

city/

town

Ancient

monument

N

S

W E

statIstIcs

area: 145,914 sq miles

(377,915 sq km)

Population:

126,920,000

capital: tokyo

languages: Japanese,

Korean, Chinese

Religions: shinto and

Buddhist, Buddhist,

Christian

currency: Yen

Highest point: mount

Fuji 12,389 ft (3,776 m)

Main occupations:

manufacturing, finance

Main exports: Cars,

steel, electronic

equipment, iron,

textiles, ships, vehicles

Main imports: oil,

machinery, coal, iron

ore, timber, wheat, food

eArthquAKes

in Japan, earthquakes

are part of everyday life.

the islands lie on a fault

line, and earthquake

tremors occur, on average,

5,000 times a year. most

of these are mild and go

unnoticed, but in 2011,

a destructive earthquake

struck Japan, triggering

a tsunami and causing

widespread devastation.

KYushu

The most southerly of

Japan’s major islands,

Kyushu is also the most

densely populated island.

Iwo JIMa

the island of iwo Jima was the scene of a

fierce battle between Japan and America

during World War ii.

Miyake-jima

Hachijo-

jima

Aoga-shima

Sumisu-jima

Tori-shima

Sofu-gan

Chichijima-

retto

Mukojima-retto

Hahajima-

retto

Kita-Io-jima

Iwo-jima

Minami-Io-jima

Kózu-shimaNii-jima

Ka

za

n-

ret

to

Og

as

aw

ar

a-s

oh

to

I

z

u

• s
  h
  o
  t
  o

P h i l i p p i n e S e a

P A C I F I C O C E A N

Miyake

Hachijo

Yokohama

TOKYO

Kyushu

Naze

Naha

Okin

aw

a-

sh

ot

Okinawa o^

Amami-

o-shima

A

m

am

i-g

un

to^

Satsunan-shoto

Senkaku-

shoto

Ishigaki-jima

Iriomote-jima

S

ak

ish

im

a-s

hot

o^

Osumi-shoto

Ryukyu Islands

(to Japan )

0

0 100 200

100 200

scalE BaR

km

miles

0

0 200 miles

200 km 0

0 100 miles

100 km

Kii-suido

Sea of

Okhotsk

La Perouse (^) S
trait
Ishikari-wa
n
Uchi
ura-wan
Tsugaru-k
aiky
o^
Sen
dai-wan
Sag
ami

• nad
  Is a^
  e-wan

Wakasa-w

an

To

sa-w

an

Iyo-nada^

K

ore

a^

Str

ait

Jeju^ Strait

Amakusa-

nada

East China

Sea

S e a o f

J a p a n

( E a s t S e a )

P

A

C

I

F

I

C

O

C

E

A

N

Ok

i-s

ho

to^

Koshikijima-retto

Goto-retto

Yaku-shima

Teniga-shima

Tsushima

Izu-

hanto

Dozen

Dogo

Sado

Okushiri-to

Rishiri-to

Rebun-to

Miyake-jima

Hachijo-jima

Iz

u

• s
  h
  ot
  o

Kurile Islands

(claimed by Japan)

Honshu

Shikoku

Hokkaido

Kyushu

Sh

ina

no

• ga

wa

Biwa-ko

Ou

• sa
  nm
  ya
  ku

soutH

koREa

J a P a n

RussIan

(^) FEd
ERa
tI
o
n
Mount Fuji
3776m
Horoshiri-dake
2052m
Asahi-dake
2290m
Miyazaki
Nagasaki Nobeoka
Sasebo
Kochi
Shimonoseki MatsuyamaTokushima
Iwakuni
Wakayama
Kurashiki
Himeji Hamamatsu
Matsue
Tottori
Fukui
Kanazawa Mito
Nagano
Hitachi
Toyama
Iwaki
Koriyama
Niigata Fukushima
Akita
Hachinohe
Hirosaki
Aomori
Hakodate
Tomakomai
Otaru Obihiro Kushiro
Asahikawa
Kitami
Oita
Yamaguchi
Okazaki
kagoshima
kumamoto
Fukuoka
kitakyushu
Hiroshima
kobe
okayama
kyoto
nagoya yokohama
kawasaki
tokyo chiba
sapporo
osaka
sendai
Utsunomiya
Gifu
Tsu
Maebashi
Ishinomaki
Morioka
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