Japan is an archipelago in the pacific ocean. The land has a total area of 377,970 km² and a total coastline of 29,751 km. This area is approximately 94% of the area of California. The archipelago consists of 6,852 mostly uninhabited islands. Japan has no direct neighbours. The distance between New York City and the Capital Tokyo is about 10,870 km.With an Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.915 Japan counts as one of the high developed economies by UN-definition. The IMF also shares this classification.

The climate in JapanWith an extent of over 2300 km from north to south, it is difficult to make a general statement about the climate. The individual parts of the country would be too different. The climate in Japan is mostly subtropical. So it is much drier and warmer than in the most parts of the US or Central Europe. Only in a few humid months per year the intense of rain is a bit higher. Depending on the season, the average daytime temperatures range between 9 and 31 degrees. In some parts of the country the temperature raises up to 34 °C. In the colder months and depending in the region, the temperature lowers down to 1°C in a month's average. Average daytime and nighttime temperaturesDetailed climate data for Japan and 33 geographic spots of the countryVolcanosEarthquakesTsunamis