Regional Geography of Japan/Tohoku and Hokkaido
Outline
Physical
Characteristics
Relative Location:
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Some other East Asian countries
near Japan are South Korea, North Korea, and China. Russia is also close to northern
Japan. The Tohoku Region of Japan is the northernmost region of Japan’s Honshu
island. Hokkaido is a region in itself, and is also
Japan’s northernmost island. Bodies of water that surround Japan are the
Pacific Ocean to it’s eastern side and the Sea of
Japan on the western side.
Landscape and Physical Environment:
According to Pulsipher and Pulsipher’s World Regional Geography, “Lying along a portion of the Pacific
Ring of Fire the entire Japanese island chain is particularly vulnerable to disastrous
volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis.” Because of Japan’s origin being
volcanically related, it is an very mountainous country.
Notable mountains in the Tohoku region are Mt. Gassan,
Mt. Iwaki, and the Hakkoda Mountains. Some other well known mountains in Hokkaido
are Mt. Hakodate, Mt. Tengu, and Mt. Yubaridake.
Weather and Climate:
Generally, Japan has a wet climate. World
Regional Geography states, “Japan and Taiwan actually receive monsoon rains
twice: once in the spring, when the main monsoon moves towards the land, and
again in autumn, as the winter monsoon forces warm air off the continent.” My
geography text goes on to explain that most of Japan’s autumn precipitation comes
down as snow in the north. This makes sense, because in the winter, Tohoku and
Hokkaido are two areas that have some of the most snowfall annually in the
world. Snow statistics on hokkaidowilds.org explains that Sapporo city on the
island of Hokkaido receives over 6 meters of snowfall each winter!
Human
Characteristics
Population, Density and Age/Sex Characteristics:
According to The Times Desktop
Atlas of the World, Japan has a population 127,967,000 people. Men make up
roughly 49% of the population, while women make up slightly more at 51%. The population
of Japan is currently on the decline though. Japan’s population is steadily
aging while the amount of births in the country lowers. The PRB website states,
“In
Japan, more than one-third (36 percent) of the population is projected to be
ages 65 and older by 2050,
up from 28 percent now.”
Language and Religion:
The main language of Japan is Japanese. There are 3 forms of writing for
this language: hiragana, katakana, and kanji. Hiragana and katakana are similar to a kind of alphabet, each hiragana and katakana
symbol represents a sound that can be put together to make sounds. Katakana is
usually only used to spell foreign names or words though. Kanji is a form of
writing directly borrowed from the Chinese language. Different from hiragana and
katakana, kanji are symbols that can represent sounds or whole words. This can
make kanji a bit harder to read since one can’t sound out kanji as one could
reading hiragana or katakana, one just has to memorize
what each kanji means.
For religions, according to The Times
Desktop Atlas of the World, the three most practiced religions in Japan are
Shinto, Buddhism, and Christianity. Buddhist and Shinto shrines can be found
all over Japan. This gives Japan a rare aura as one explores the country. In
the city of Tokyo for example, its common to see shrines and temples that are
hundreds of years old next to skyscrapers and other forms of advanced
architecture. While there are not as many practitioners of Christianity as
there are Shinto and Buddhist practitioners, Christianity has become more
common in recent history. Hundreds of years ago, Christianity was tolerated for
a short time in Japan as it benefitted trade with western nations. Once Tokugawa
Ieyasu came in to power as shogun though, he chose to
isolate the nation and no longer allowed the practice of Christianity in Japan.
Cultural and Ethnic Groups:
According to worldatlas.com Japan is mainly made up of people who are
Yamato Japanese. The second largest group of people in Japan are Ryukyuan
Japanese. Chinese, Korean, Latin America, Filipino, and Ainu make up the other
larger ethnic groups in the nation. The Ainu are a population that is indigenous
to Hokkaido and the northern parts of Honshu. The Ainu had many clashes with
the Japanese throughout history and were eventually forced to assimilate into
Japanese society. In 2008, the Ainu were finally recognized as an indigenous
population in Japan.
Economic
Characteristics
Major Economic Activities:
After Japan’s defeat in WWII, World Regional Geography discusses how
Japan made an amazing economic recovery after. World Regional Geography attributes Japan’s economic success to its
state aided and export oriented market. Something else
that helps Japan’s successful market are productivity innovations. One such
innovation system in Japan is the Kaizen system. When describing this system World Regional Geography states, “In
this system, production lines are constantly surveyed for errors, which helps ensure
that fewer defective parts are produced.”
Imports and Exports:
World Regional Geography describes
some of Japan’s exports being automobiles and technology, using Sony,
Panasonic, Nikon, and Toyota as some examples. Many of these exports go to
North America and Europe. For imports, Japan brings in a lot of fossil fuels
from other nations. According to eia.gov, Japan is the second largest importer
of fossil fuels in the world.
GNP and GNP Per Capita:
According to worldbank.org, GNP per capita in Japan is 38,550 as of
2017. The world bank also has Japan’s GNP listed at 5.765 trillion. BBC news explains
that Japan’s economy ranks as the third largest in the world, only behind the U.S.
and China. Though Japan’s economy had began to decline in the 1990’s and again
in the 2000’s, Japan still has an economy that has an influence all over the
world.
References
2018
World Population Data Sheet With Focus on Changing Age
Structures
https://www.prb.org/2018-world-population-data-sheet-with-focus-on-changing-age-structures/
Ethnic
Groups And Nationalities In Japan
Gregory Sousa -
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/ethnic-groups-and-nationalities-in-japan.html
U.s.
Energy Information Administration - Eia - Independent
Statistics and Analysis
https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=13711
Japan
Country Profile
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-14918801
Pulsipher, L. M., Pulsipher, A., Johansson, O., & Goodwin, C. M. (2017). World regional geography: Global patterns, local lives. New York, NY: W.H.
Freeman and Company.
Desktop atlas of the world. (2015). London: Times Books.
Submitted by Davis Clouse on April
12, 2019.