Japan is an island country, which according to tradition, was founded in 660 BC by Emperor Jimmu. It has a comparative area that is slightly smaller than California. Its total land area is 374,744 kilometers, which includes Bonin Islands, Ryukyu Islands, and Volcano Islands. Its coastline area encompasses 29,751 kilometers. Currently, several of its islands are claimed by other nations. These include Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan Islands, and the Habomai island group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, and claimed by Japan; Liancourt Rocks disputed with South Korea; and Senkaku Islands claimed by China and Taiwan.
Japan's climate varies from tropical in the south to cool temperate in the north. Its terrain is mostly rugged and mountainous. Thirteen percent of its land is arable, with one percent devoted to permanent crops, one percent used as meadow and pastures, 67 percent being forest or woodland, and nine percent being irrigated land.
Japan has many dormant and some active volcanoes, with about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year. The country is also subject to tsunamis. Its population in 1992 was 124,460,481 , with a birthrate of 10 births per 1,000 population, and a death rate of seven deaths per 1,000 population, with an infant mortality rate of four deaths per 1,000 live births. Its life expectancy at birth is 77 years for males and 82 years for females. The fertility rate is 1.6 children born per woman, and it has a net migration rate of zero migrants per 1,000 population.
Most of Japan's population is Japanese (99.4 percent), with the rest of the population being largely comprised of Koreans. Most Japanese observe both Shinto and Buddhist rites, so the percentages add up to more than 100 percent: Shinto 95.8 percent, Buddhist 76.3 percent, Christian 1.4 percent, and others 12 percent. Its national language is Japanese and it has a literacy rate o...