Editing Geography of Japan (section)

===Marine resources===
[[File:Japan Exclusive Economic Zones.png|thumb|right|upright=1.3|[[Exclusive economic zone of Japan|Japan's exclusive economic zones]]:{{legend|#dd12c2|Japan's EEZ}}{{legend|#f080e1|Joint regime with Republic of Korea}}{{legend|#f2d1ee|EEZ claimed by Japan, disputed by others}}]]
The exclusive economic zone of Japan has an estimated large quantity of mineral resources such as [[methane clathrate]], [[natural gas]], metallic [[mineral]]s, and [[rare-earth mineral]] reserves. Seabed mineral resources such as [[manganese nodule]]s, [[cobalt]]-rich crust, and submarine hydrothermal deposits are located at depths over {{convert|1000|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name="japan-seabed"/> Most of these deep-sea resources are unexplored at the seabed. Japan's mining law restricts offshore oil and gas production. There are technological hurdles to mine at such extreme depths and to limit the ecological impact. There are no successful commercial ventures that mine the deep sea yet. So currently, there are few [[deep sea mining]] projects to retrieve minerals or [[deepwater drilling]] on the ocean floor.

It is estimated that there are approximately 40 trillion cubic feet of methane clathrate in the eastern Nankai Trough of Japan.<ref name="天然ガスの本">藤田和男ほか監修 佐々木詔雄ほか編著 『天然ガスの本』 日刊工業新聞 2008年3月25日初版1刷発行 {{ISBN|978-4-526-06024-3}}</ref> As of 2019, the methane clathrate in the deep sea remains unexploited because the necessary technology has not been established yet. This is why, currently, Japan has very limited [[proven reserves]] like [[crude oil]].

The [[Kantō region]] alone is estimated to have over 400 billion cubic meters of natural gas reserves. It forms a [[Minami Kantō gas field]] in the area spanning [[Saitama Prefecture|Saitama]], Tokyo, [[Kanagawa Prefecture|Kanagawa]], [[Ibaraki Prefecture|Ibaraki]], and [[Chiba Prefecture|Chiba]] prefectures. However, mining is strictly regulated in many areas because it is directly below Tokyo and is only slightly mined on the [[Bōsō Peninsula]]. In Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture, there have been frequent accidents with natural gas that was released naturally from the [[Minami Kantō gas field]].<ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.14863/geosocabst.2008.0.426.0 |year=2008 |volume=2008 |last1=金子 |first1=信行 |title=関東平野下に賦存する可燃性天然ガスについて |journal=日本地質学会学術大会講演要旨 |last2=佐脇 |first2=貴幸 |last3=棚橋 |first3=学.}}</ref>

In 2018, {{convert|250|km|mi|abbr=on}} south of [[Minami-Tori-shima]] at {{convert|5700|m|ft|abbr=on}} deep, approximately 16 million tons of [[rare-earth mineral]]s were discovered by [[Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology|JAMSTEC]] in collaboration with [[Waseda University]] and the [[University of Tokyo]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Centuries worth of rare earth elements found in Japan's EEZ |url=http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201804170045.html |newspaper=The Asahi Shimbun |date=April 17, 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621021131/http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201804170045.html|archive-date=June 21, 2018|access-date=February 24, 2019}}</ref>

====Marine life====
Japan maintains one of the world's largest [[fishing fleet]]s and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch (2014).<ref name="CIA World Factbook"/> In 2005, Japan ranked sixth in the world in the [[fishing industry by country|tonnage of fish caught]].<ref name="World review of fisheries and aquaculture">{{cite web |url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/w9900e/w9900e02.htm |title=World review of fisheries and aquaculture |website=[[Food and Agriculture Organization]] |access-date=January 18, 2014 |archive-date=March 12, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150312075816/http://www.fao.org/docrep/w9900e/w9900e02.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Japan captured 4,074,580 metric tons of fish in 2005, down from 4,987,703 tons in 2000 and 9,864,422 tons in 1980.<ref name="Fish capture by country">{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/datablog/2009/sep/02/fish-capture-country |title=Fish capture by country |website=[[The Guardian]] |date=September 2, 2003 |access-date=January 18, 2014 |last=Brown |first=Felicity |archive-date=January 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118075757/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/datablog/2009/sep/02/fish-capture-country |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2003, the total aquaculture production was predicted at 1,301,437 tonnes.<ref name="Japan National Aquaculture Sector Overview">{{cite web |url=http://www.fao.org/fishery/countrysector/naso_japan/en |title=Japan National Aquaculture Sector Overview |website=[[Food and Agriculture Organization|FAO]] Fisheries & Aquaculture |access-date=2018-10-04 |archive-date=2017-01-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170121134330/http://www.fao.org/fishery/countrysector/naso_japan/en |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2010, Japan's total fishery production was 4,762,469 fish.<ref name="World fisheries production, by capture and aquaculture, by country (2010)">{{cite web |url=ftp://ftp.fao.org/FI/STAT/summary/a-0a.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525161431/ftp://ftp.fao.org/FI/STAT/summary/a-0a.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2017-05-25 |title=World fisheries production, by capture and aquaculture, by country (2010) |website=Food and Agriculture Organization |access-date=January 18, 2014 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Offshore fisheries accounted for an average of 50% of the nation's total fish catches in the late 1980s, although they experienced repeated ups and downs during that period.<ref name=loc/>