ABSTRACT
The mountain ranges of Japan receive intense and large amounts of precipitation, which, despite dense vegetation, results in high rates of surface and subsurface runoff, and consequently high rates of denudation (Oguchi et al., 2001a). These effects cause the Japanese Alps to be deeply incised and promote mass movement events. Furthermore, Japan is tectonically very active, experiencing pronounced vertical displacement and numerous large earthquakes, which also promote numerous mass movement events, which in turn have a pronounced effect on the shape of the landscape in mountainous areas (Yoshikawa et al., 1981). This chapter describes the various types of mass movement in parts of the Japanese Alps with respect to bedrock lithologies and hillslope hydrological processes.
