ABSTRACT

Japan, with its total area of 377,837 square kilometres, is about the same size as Germany, Finland, Vietnam or Malaysia. It is about 1/25 the size of the US and is smaller than the state of California. The country has four major islands: Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. Japan is a land of volcanoes. Almost onetenth of the world’s approximately 840 active volcanoes are in Japan, altogether it has only about 1/400 of the world’s land area (Ministry of Foreign Affairs website: https://www.mofa.go.jp).