Country Details
Japan
Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula
Explore Information
Choose a category to dive deeper
Environment
Detailed information and insights
Environmental issues
air pollution from power plants results in acid rain; acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality; waste management issues; ongoing environmental clean-up in small area of Fukushima after nuclear accident in 2011
International environmental agreements
Party to
Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands
Signed, but not ratified
none of the selected agreements
Climate
varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north
Land use
Agricultural land
12.6% (2023 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 11.1% (2023 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 0.7% (2023 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 0.9% (2023 est.)
Forest
68.3% (2023 est.)
Other
19% (2023 est.)
Urbanization
Urban population
92% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization
-0.25% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions
Total emissions
960.23 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke
367.144 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids
403.042 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
From consumed natural gas
190.043 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
Particulate matter emissions
10.5 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Methane emissions
Energy
214.7 kt (2022-2024 est.)
Agriculture
972.8 kt (2019-2021 est.)
Waste
208.2 kt (2019-2021 est.)
Other
22.7 kt (2019-2021 est.)
Waste and recycling
Municipal solid waste generated annually
42.72 million tons (2024 est.)
Percent of municipal solid waste recycled
11.5% (2022 est.)
Total water withdrawal
Municipal
13.5 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
Industrial
13 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
Agricultural
53 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
Total renewable water resources
430 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
Geoparks
Total global geoparks and regional networks
10
Global geoparks and regional networks
Aso UNESCO; Hakusan Tedorigawa; Itoigawa; Izu Peninsula; Mt. Apoi; Muroto; Oki Islands; San'in Kaigan; Toya - Usu; Unzen (2023)