Japan, the extreme complexity of islands, agricultural areas, cities & population, mountains, plains, and even weather can tell you why this country operates the way it does. In focusing on specific topics, the reader will get a full understanding of overall structure of Japan. Being in a situation where the landmass is sitting on the edge of the deepest trench in the ocean, to rough seas surrounding all sides, Japan still finds a way to hold one of the biggest world economies, provide some of the highest rice productions and house some of the densest cities in the world. Throughout out the essay I will break down Japan into basically three parts and will try to pertain it to the quote written by David H. Kornhauser. The best way to start breaking down Japan is to get the understanding of landscape and physically features of the country. Knowing where the important areas are for development and agriculture. This will also explain why Japan is also dependent upon natural resources because of the limit space they have. Once that’s all covered, I can then narrow down onto the plains and describe the build of cities and the overall distribution throughout the country. Then finally covering why Japan has such a strong economy, but also why they are still so dependent on international trade. Cause Japan wouldn’t be Japan without the support of other countries such as the U.S., Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and even parts in South America. I easy way to sum this up is, “[L]ooking outward, Japan sees what it has become since Hiroshima: a source of fury and wonder, the world’s second-largest economy, a power without arms. Looking inward, Japan sees old ways shaken and new ones moving forward at a hectic pace”.[1]
The whole Japan archipelago carries a wide range of characteristics as you move from the south up to the north. This series of islands covers 25 degrees of latitude, from 45º N to 20º N, so you can get the affects of heavy blizzards to warm tropical breezes and all else in between.[2] Since the country lies on a fault zone where the Eurasian plate, Philippine plate and Pacific plate meet it results in uplifts, and where there is some kind of tectonic submerge or slip-fault volcanoes and earthquakes evolve. So the majority of the landmass is mountainous with scattered areas of alluvium sediment disposals, which through time slow erodes and changes the appearance of landscapes.
Up in the Hokkaido and Tohoku regions, mountains take up much of the area, the Ishikari Plain in Hokkaido and Tsugaru Plain in Tohoku are the main lowland areas in these regions. This is where you can find types of agriculture such as apple production, vegetable farms and dairy farms.[3] As you climb high in elevation you get one of the most important commodities; wet rice. Wet rice needs very close attention and is regulated daily to make sure the water height is perfect, if not, then they drain some out. This production process is very difficult especially when you come across Yamase (a cold airmass that lies over the area during summer months complicating an appropriate rice crop), so farmers need advanced production methods and strong labor workers during this time of year.[4]
As you travel south a little bit more you come to some plains where the majority of the population resides. Tokyo is the capital and holds the largest population of people in one city, located on the eastern side. On the western side you could say that Kyoto plays a “capital” role, where more farming arises.[5] The Chubu region also is dominated by mountains where high rice yields take way each year. If you want flat in this area the best place is the Nobi Plain which is located on the Pacific coast. This plain is also a pathway of three major rivers; Kiso, Nagara, and Ibi. Along these rivers is where a good number of people farm and produce vegetable crops.[6]
The mountains keep on running down the whole length of the Honshu island to the south tip where the Chugoku region locates. To the east is the Island of Shikoku where it as warmer climates allowing newer crops than from the northern regions. The last major island is Nansei Island where it has two mountain ranges; Tsukushi and Kyushu Mountains. These are split by the Kumamoto plain.[7] This plain as more of an elevation change, up upland fruits and vegetables are grown while down lower as you approach the coast rice is produced. So here is the reason rice is so important, it is grown everywhere from cold winter weather to warm summer tropics.
Where Japan has lowlands, there is bound to be a city, and in these cities population densities can overwhelm the region. Dating back to the 1100’s and earlier the first two cities developments were Nara and Kyoto. Today it can be seen that these cities were well planned, located at river sides is an important part of city planning in order to have a strong relationship with other cities through water travel.[8] Since the first two sites of city development there have been a great number of cities with great population densities. Up in the northern parts of Japan, on the island of Hokkaido and northern Honshu there are only a few cities with populations over 500,000.[9] Down south a little bit more is where the heart of busy cities workers thrives to keep such a strong economy. Japanese cities are built on basically two types of landforms; alluvial plains or a transition between alluvial plains and terraced hill sides. Like the US, Japan has a megalopolis but covers a greater extent with a higher percentage of overall population. The region of Kanto is where the capital lays, Tokyo. From there it’s just a chain of cities through the Kinki region, along the Inland Sea and into the northwest part of Kyushu.[10] The location of the city has a close relationship to its surrounding features. Size matches size; take Tokyo, the largest city built on a large plain. The other trailing cities are also built on plains that are able to accommodate such a large human body.[11] Connecting these cities there are well defined high speed train lines and highways providing people with options in travel.
With such great populations and such efficient productions of industrial goods, Japan holds a lot of contributes to the world economy. Since they still are an island country, they are in strong need of support of natural resources from other countries. With automobile productions and needs of transportation for such a high volume of people, sources of fuel are always needed. In the past Japan was a little less dependent of countries because they were able to produce coal to provide fuel for the industrial nation. This was also a commodity that they could trade and because much of the world need sources of fuel, but as green revolutions began and countries want a cleaner environment the demand for coal decreased. Now Japan is feeling the effects because they aren’t getting enough out of the coal so they are force to close down mines, result in a new form of fuel. Which brings them to the need for oil and natural gases?[12] In 2000 Japan’s oil consumption was half of all their energy sources used. Slowly other means of energy such as natural gas and nuclear power are increasing. Overall Japan doesn’t have too much trouble in organizing with their trading partners. With ports like Kobe, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Kyoto they are able to import and export efficiently.
Japan has a number of commodities they export elsewhere; including automobiles, electronics, and other motor parts/ computer parts. Japan’s most valuable player when it comes to trades is the US. In a recent finding in 2006 Japan exported around $150 billion to the US, 29 % of that being cars.[13]They also have connections to Southeast Asian and the Middle East for oil and other natural resources, although they have encountered some problems with oil fields in the Middle East. Japan’s Arabian Oil Company can’t compete with the other leading companies from the US.[14]To solve this problem they have the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Japan took its FDI to Southeast Asia to allow a stable supply of natural resources, and other raw materials.[15]Overall Japan keeps a busy schedule day to day, making sure their ties with other countries are close and to remain a wealthy nation.
It is fascinating to see how Japan operates and the long history of human evolvement and being able to settle in areas with limited amount of space. You have the long stretches of mountains, rivers, and water on all sides. Finding ways to use the land that’s available to produce important crops is interesting to see. I think from what I’ve learned throughout the course is that there is definitely a geographical stand point to the urban development. What else to do when building outwards stops? You start building up and soon you get distinct skylines in each urban area. Let’s say if Japan was like the Great Plains, their overall purpose in life would be completely different. Now all of that area that would be mountains is now land that is usable and can build, and even cultivate larger farm lots. They would be able to obtain wheat farms, cattle farms, and any other crops that they would intend to produce. Instead of rivers there would be lakes, which then you would need to build more roads because there would be limited waterways. But Japan isn’t like the Great Plains; the Japanese had to find ways to work around the mountainous terrain and did so by urban environments.
[1] Pradyumna P. Karan, “Japan In the 21st Century”, The University of Kentucky Press 2005, p 1.
[2] Pradyumna P. Karan, “Japan in the 21st Century”, The University of Kentucky Press 2005, p 9.
[3] Ibid, 111-112; 118.
[4] “Small Farms, Big Cities”, (video).
[5] Pradyumna P. Karan, “Japan in the 21st Century”, The University of Kentucky Press 2005, 109.
[6] Ibid, 134.
[7] Ibid, 155.
[8] Ibid, 237.
[9] Pradyumna P. Karan, “Japan in the 21st Century”, The University of Kentucky Press 2005, 247.
[10] Ibid, 248.
[11] Ibid, 251.
[12] Pradyumna P. Karan, “Japan in the 21st Century”, The University of Kentucky Press 2005, 29.
[13] Daniel Workman, “Japans Top Exports & Imports; Most Popular Products Traded Between Japan & US”, July 2007, http://internationaltrade.suite101.com/article.cfm/japans_top_exports_imports , accessed 06/07/09.
[14] Pradyumna P. Karan, “Japan in the 21st Century”, The University of Kentucky Press 2005, 31.
[15] Ibid, 313.
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