Editing Geography of Japan (section)

==Ocean currents==
[[File:Japan%27s_ocean_currents.PNG|thumb|upright=1.3|The ocean currents surrounding the Japanese archipelago: 1. [[Kuroshio Current|Kuroshio]] 2. Kuroshio extension 3. Kuroshio countercurrent 4. [[Tsushima Current]] 5. Tsugaru Current 6. Sōya Current 7. [[Oyashio Current|Oyashio]] 8. Liman Current]]

The Japanese archipelago is surrounded by eight [[ocean current]]s.
* The {{nihongo|'''Kuroshio'''|黒潮 ("くろしお")|"Black Tide"}} is a warm, north-flowing ocean current on the west side of the Ryukyu Islands and along the east coast of Kyushu, Shikoku, and Honshu. It is a strong [[western boundary current]] and part of the North Pacific [[ocean gyre]].
* The '''[[Kuroshio Current]]''' starts on the east coast of [[Luzon]], [[Philippines]], past [[Taiwan]], and flows northeastward past Japan, where it merges with the easterly drift of the [[North Pacific Current]].<ref name="EB1911">{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Kuro Siwo |volume=15 |page=953}}</ref> It transports warm, tropical water northward toward the polar region. The Kuroshio extension is a northward continuation of the Kuroshio Current in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. The Kuroshio countercurrent flows southward to the east of the Kuroshio current in the Pacific Ocean and [[Philippine Sea]].
** The winter-spawning [[Japanese Flying Squid]] are associated with the Kuroshio Current. The eggs and larvae develop during winter in the [[East China Sea]], and the adults travel with minimum energy via the Kuroshio Current to the rich northern feeding grounds near northwestern Honshu and Hokkaido.<ref name="mann">Mann, K.H. and J.R.N. Lazier. (2006). ''Dynamics of Marine Ecosystems''. Blackwell Scientific Publications, 2nd Edition</ref>
* The {{nihongo|'''Tsushima Current'''|対馬海流|Tsushima Kairyū}} is a branch of the Kuroshio Current. It flows along the west coast of Kyushu and Honshu into the Sea of Japan.
* The {{nihongo|'''Oyashio'''|親潮||"Parental Tide"}} current is a cold subarctic ocean current that flows southward and circulates counterclockwise along the east coast of Hokkaido and northeastern Honshu in the western North Pacific Ocean. The waters of the Oyashio Current originate in the [[Arctic Ocean]] and flow southward via the [[Bering Sea]], passing through the Bering Strait and transporting cold water from the Arctic Sea into the Pacific Ocean and the [[Sea of Okhotsk]]. It collides with the Kuroshio Current off the eastern shore of Japan to form the North Pacific Current. The nutrient-rich Oyashio is named for its metaphorical role as the {{nihongo|parent|親|''oya''}} that provides for and nurtures marine organisms.<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Kuroshio and Oyashio Currents |date=2001 |last=Qiu |first=Bo |title=Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences |pages=1413–25 |publisher=Academic Press |chapter-url=http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/oceanography/bo/Q01.pdf |quote=The upwelled, nutrient-rich water feeds the Oyashio from the north and leads to its nomenclature, parent (''oya'') stream (''shio''). |access-date=2018-10-25 |archive-date=2021-08-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802164839/http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/oceanography/bo/Q01.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Glattstein |first=Judy |title=Enhance Your Garden with Japanese Plants |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BAhIAAAAYAAJ |year=1996 |publisher=Kodansha International |isbn=978-1-56836-137-6 |page=16 |quote=[...] currents whirl around and ascend, and nourish microscopic plankton. Oyashio is thus the parent of fishes |access-date=2018-10-25 |archive-date=2023-08-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230808005358/https://books.google.com/books?id=BAhIAAAAYAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* The '''Liman Current''' is a southward-flowing cold ocean current that flows from the [[Strait of Tartary]] along the Asian continent in the Sea of Japan.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www3.pa.hrr.mlit.go.jp/hokurikukankyo/shizen/ryukyo/tsusima.html| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140308151146/http://www3.pa.hrr.mlit.go.jp/hokurikukankyo/shizen/ryukyo/tsusima.html |title=海流 |publisher=北陸地方整備局 (Hokuriku Regional Development Bureau)| access-date = 2014-03-08| archive-date = 2014-03-08| url-status= dead |date=2018-04-14}}</ref>
* The {{nihongo|'''Tsugaru Warm Current'''|津軽暖流|Tsugaru Danryū}} originates when the Tsushima Current is divided in two as it flows through the west entrance of the [[Tsugaru Strait]], and along the La Perouse Strait at the north coast of Hokkaido it becomes the {{nihongo|'''Sōya Warm Current'''|宗谷暖流|Sōya Danryū}}. The flow rate is 1 to 3 knots. There is a relatively stronger flow in the summer than in the winter.<ref name="milt1">{{Cite web |url=http://www1.kaiho.mlit.go.jp/KAN1/soudan/kairyu.html |title=北海道周辺の海流 第一管区海上保安本部 |access-date=2018-10-25 |archive-date=2020-01-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200110005019/https://www1.kaiho.mlit.go.jp/KAN1/soudan/kairyu.html |url-status=live }}</ref>