Asian Clam
Corbicula fluminea
Japan
Capital
Toyko
National Language
Japanese
Area
377,972 km²
Background
Japan (Japanese: 日本 Nippon [ɲippoɴ] or Nihon [ɲihoɴ]; formally 日本国 [Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku, meaning "State of Japan"]) is a sovereign island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asian mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and China in the southwest. The kanji that make up Japan's name mean "sun origin". 日 can be read as ni and means "sun", while 本 can be read as hon or pon and means "origin". Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet "Land of the Rising Sun" in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is a stratovolcanic archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands.
The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, which make up about ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area and often are referred to as home islands. The country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions, with Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one. The population of 127 million is the world's tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98.5% of Japan's total population. Approximately 9.1 million people live in Tokyo, the capital of Japan.
Japan
Japan's varied climate and geography is reflected in its nine forest ecoregions, falling within two biomes: "Temperate and Broadleaf Mixed Forests" and "Temperate Coniferous Forests". They range from subtropical moist broadleaf forests in the Ryūkyū and Bonin Islands, to temperate broadleaf and mixed forests in the mild climate regions of the main islands, to temperate coniferous forests in the cold, winter portions of the northern islands.
Japan has over 90,000 native species - iconic examples include the Brown Bear (Ursus arctos), the Japanese Macaque (Macaca fuscata), the Japanese Raccoon Dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides), the Large Japanese Field Mouse (Apodemus speciosus), and the Japanese Giant Salamander (Andrias japonicus).
A large network of national parks has been established to protect important areas of flora and fauna as well as thirty-seven Ramsar wetland sites. Four sites have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for their outstanding natural value.
Statistics
Over 4,900 species, with all or part of their range in Japan have been assessed for The IUCN Red List – around 80% of which exist in aquatic systems.
Biological resource use, urban development and climate change are the primary threats to these species. The key uses for these species include, trading or collection for pets or in horticulture, or for human consumption.
Every species has its own story, but here are a selection of native species from Japan:
You can click on any of the species below or search for a species of your choice to find out more about it!
| The Japanese Macaque (Macaca fuscata), otherwise known as the Snow Monkey are found in the mountains of Honshu Island. The macaques survive in temperatures as low as -100°C, keeping warm by bathing in hot springs. The IUCN Red List considers this species Least Concern. | Picture |
| The island of Hokkaido is home to the Brown Bear (Ursus arctos) – which arrived on the island from the Siberian mainland during the last glacial period. The Brown Bear is common across the Northern Hemisphere and is therefore assessed as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. | Picture |
| Distributed across western Honshu, Shikoku and Kyusyu, the Japanese Giant Salamander (Andrias japonicus) has been designated as a special natural monument in Japan and is totally protected. This species is considered Near Threatened on The IUCN Red List | Picture |
You can click on any of the species below or search for a species of your choice to find out more about it!
Species from Japan
New Zealand Mudsnail
Potamopyrgus antipodarum
Sepia latimanus