Editing Geography of Japan (section)

==Climate==
{{more citations needed|section|date=October 2018}}
[[File:Koppen-Geiger Map JPN present.svg|thumb|upright=2|A [[Köppen climate classification]] map of Japan]]
Most regions of Japan, such as much of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, belong to the temperate zone with a [[humid subtropical climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]] ''Cfa'') characterized by four distinct seasons. However, its climate varies from a cool, [[humid continental climate]] (Köppen climate classification ''Dfa''/''Dfb'') in the north, such as northern Hokkaido, to a warm [[tropical rainforest climate]] (Köppen climate classification ''Af'') in the south, such as the [[Yaeyama Islands]] and [[Minami-Tori-shima]].

===Climate zones===
[[File:Kabira Bay Ishigaki Island41s3s4500.jpg|thumb|[[Kabira Bay]] on [[Ishigaki Island]], [[Okinawa Prefecture]] in March]]
[[File:Himejijo sakura2.jpg|thumb|[[Sakura]] blossoms with [[Himeji Castle]] in [[Hyōgo Prefecture]] in April]]
[[File:Mt.Yarigatake_from_Enzansou.jpg|thumb|[[Mount Yari]], [[Nagano Prefecture]] in August]]
Japan's varied geographical features divide it into six principal climatic zones.
* Hokkaido belongs to the [[humid continental climate]], with long, cold winters and cool summers. Precipitation is sparse; however, winter brings large snowfalls of hundreds of inches in areas such as [[Sapporo]] and [[Asahikawa]].
* In the Sea of Japan, the northwest seasonal wind in winter gives heavy snowfall, which south of [[Tōhoku region|Tōhoku]] mostly melts before the beginning of spring. In summer, it is a little less rainy than in the Pacific area, but it sometimes experiences extreme high temperatures because of the [[foehn wind]] phenomenon.
* [[Central Highland (Japan)|Central Highland]]: a typical inland climate gives large temperature variations between summers and winters and between days and nights. Precipitation is lower than on the coast because of rain shadow effects.
* Seto Inland Sea: the mountains in the Chūgoku and Shikoku regions block the seasonal winds and bring a mild climate and many fine days throughout the year.
* Pacific Ocean: the climate varies greatly between the north and the south, but generally winters are significantly milder and sunnier than those of the side that faces the Sea of Japan. Summers are hot because of the southeast seasonal wind. Precipitation is very heavy in the south and heavy in the summer in the north. The climate of the Ogasawara Island chain ranges from a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification ''Cfa'') to a [[tropical savanna climate]] (Köppen climate classification ''Aw''), with temperatures being warm to hot all year round.
* The climate of the Ryukyu Islands ranges from a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification ''Cfa'') in the north to a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen climate classification ''Af'') in the south, with warm winters and hot summers. Precipitation is very high and is especially affected by the rainy season and typhoons.

===Rainfall===
Japan is generally a rainy country with high humidity.<ref name=loc/> Because of its wide range of latitude,<ref name=loc/> seasonal winds, and different types of ocean currents,{{citation needed|date=November 2020}} Japan has a variety of climates, with the latitude range of the inhabited islands ranging from [[24th parallel north|24°N]] to [[46th parallel north|46°N]], which is comparable to the range between [[Nova Scotia]] and [[The Bahamas]] on the east coast of North America.<ref name=loc/> Tokyo is between [[35th parallel north|35°N]] and [[36th parallel north|36°N]], which is comparable to that of [[Tehran]], [[Athens]], or [[Las Vegas]].<ref name=loc/>

As Mount Fuji and the coastal Japanese Alps provide a rain shadow, Nagano and Yamanashi Prefectures receive the least precipitation in Honshu, though it still exceeds {{convert|900|mm|in|0}} annually. A similar effect is found in Hokkaido, where [[Okhotsk Subprefecture]] receives as little as {{convert|750|mm|in|0}} per year. All other prefectures have coasts on the Pacific Ocean, Sea of Japan, or Seto Inland Sea or have a body of salt water connected to them. Two prefectures—[[Hokkaido Prefecture|Hokkaido]] and [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]]—are composed entirely of islands.

===Summer===
The climate from June to September is marked by hot, wet weather brought by tropical airflows from the Pacific Ocean and Southeast Asia.<ref name=loc/> These air flows are full of moisture and deposit substantial amounts of rain when they reach land.<ref name=loc/> There is a marked rainy season, beginning in early June and continuing for about a month.<ref name=loc/> It is followed by hot, sticky weather.<ref name=loc/> Five or six typhoons pass over or near Japan every year from early August to early October, resulting in significant damage.<ref name=loc/> Annual [[Precipitation (meteorology)|precipitation]] averages between {{convert|1000|and|2500|mm|-1|abbr=on}} except for areas such as [[Kii Peninsula]] and [[Yakushima Island]], which is Japan's wettest place,<ref>{{cite web |title=Japan Climate Charts Index |url=http://www.climate-charts.com/Countries/Japan.html |access-date = 2015-10-11 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171030040135/http://www.climate-charts.com/Countries/Japan.html |archive-date = 2017-10-30 |url-status = dead}}</ref> with the annual precipitation being one of the world's highest at 4,000 to 10,000&nbsp;mm.<ref>{{cite web |title=Yakushima World Heritage property |url=http://www.env.go.jp/nature/isan/worldheritage/en/yakushima/area/index.html |publisher=Ministry of the Environment |access-date=2015-10-11 |archive-date=2016-04-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404162105/http://www.env.go.jp/nature/isan/worldheritage/en/yakushima/area/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Maximum precipitation, like the rest of East Asia, occurs in the summer months except on the Sea of Japan coast, where strong northerly winds produce a maximum in late autumn and early winter. Except for a few sheltered inland valleys during December and January, precipitation in Japan is above {{convert|25|mm|in|0}} of rainfall equivalent in all months of the year, and in the wettest coastal areas it is above {{convert|100|mm|in|0}} per month throughout the year.

Mid-June to mid-July is generally the [[East Asian rainy season|rainy season]] in Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, excluding Hokkaido since the seasonal rain front, or {{nihongo|''baiu zensen''|梅雨前線|}}, dissipates in northern Honshu before reaching Hokkaido. In Okinawa, the rainy season starts early in May and continues until mid-June. Unlike the rainy season in mainland Japan, it rains neither everyday nor all day long during the rainy season in Okinawa. Between July and October, typhoons, grown from tropical depressions generated near the equator, can attack Japan with furious rainstorms.

===Winter===
[[File:Mount_Zao_Winter_Miyagi_12_Feb_2021.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Winter with frozen coniferous trees near Mt. Kumano in the [[Mount Zaō]] range in [[Miyagi Prefecture]]]]
In winter, the [[Siberian High]] develops over the Eurasian land mass and the [[Aleutian Low]] develops over the northern Pacific Ocean.<ref name=loc/> The result is a flow of cold air southeastward across Japan that brings freezing temperatures and heavy snowfalls to the central mountain ranges facing the Sea of Japan but clear skies to areas fronting the Pacific.<ref name=loc/>

The warmest winter temperatures are found in the [[Nanpō Islands|Nanpō]] and [[Bonin Islands]], which enjoy a tropical climate due to the combination of latitude, distance from the [[Asia|Asian continent]], and warming effect of winds from the Kuroshio, as well as the Volcano Islands (at the latitude of the southernmost of the Ryukyu Islands, 24° N). The coolest summer temperatures are found on the northeastern coast of Hokkaido in [[Kushiro Subprefecture|Kushiro]] and [[Nemuro Subprefecture]]s.

===Sunshine===
Sunshine, in accordance with Japan's uniformly heavy rainfall, is generally modest in quantity, though no part of Japan receives the consistently gloomy fogs that envelope the [[Sichuan Basin]] or [[Taipei]]. Amounts range from about six hours per day on the Inland Sea coast and sheltered parts of the Pacific Coast and Kantō Plain to four hours per day on the Sea of Japan coast of Hokkaido. In December, there is a very pronounced sunshine gradient between the Sea of Japan and Pacific coasts, as the former side can receive less than 30 hours and the Pacific side as much as 180 hours. In summer, however, sunshine hours are lowest on exposed parts of the Pacific coast, where fogs from the Oyashio current create persistent cloud cover similar to that found on the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin.

===Extreme temperature records===
The highest recorded temperature in Japan was 41.1&nbsp;°C (106.0&nbsp;°F) on 23 July 2018. An unverified record of 42.7&nbsp;°C was taken in Adachi, Tokyo, on 20 July 2004. The high humidity and the maritime influence make temperatures in the 40s rare, with summers dominated by a more stable subtropical monsoon pattern through most of Japan. The lowest was −41.0&nbsp;°C (−41.8&nbsp;°F) in Asahikawa on 25 January 1902. However, an unofficial −41.5&nbsp;°C was taken in Bifuka on 27 January 1931. Mount Fuji broke the Japanese record lows for each month except January, February, March, and December. Record lows for any month were taken as recently as 1984.

[[Minami-Tori-shima]] has a [[tropical savanna climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]] ''Aw'') and the highest average temperature in Japan of 25&nbsp;°C.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.climate-charts.com/Countries/Japan.html |title=Japan Climate Index |access-date=2015-10-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171030040135/http://www.climate-charts.com/Countries/Japan.html |archive-date=2017-10-30 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

{{Weather box
|location = Japan
|metric first = yes
|single line = yes
|Jan record high C = 29.7
|Feb record high C = 29.1
|Mar record high C = 30.4
|Apr record high C = 33.7
|May record high C = 39.5
|Jun record high C = 40.2
|Jul record high C = 41.1
|Aug record high C = 41.1
|Sep record high C = 40.4
|Oct record high C = 36.0
|Nov record high C = 34.2
|Dec record high C = 31.6
|Jan record low C = -41.0
|Feb record low C = -38.3
|Mar record low C = -35.2
|Apr record low C = -27.8
|May record low C = -18.9
|Jun record low C = -13.1
|Jul record low C = -6.9
|Aug record low C = -4.3
|Sep record low C = -10.8
|Oct record low C = -19.5
|Nov record low C = -28.1
|Dec record low C = -34.2
|source=Japan Meteorological Agency<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/rankall.php?prec_no=&block_no=&year=&month=&day=&view=|title=歴代全国ランキング|language=ja|accessdate=2023-02-27|archive-date=2022-11-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129105519/https://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/rankall.php?prec_no=&block_no=&year=&month=&day=&view=|url-status=live}}</ref> and <ref>{{Cite web |url=https://nbakki.hatenablog.com/archive/category/Nature |title=Nature |date=8 January 2017 |access-date=2021-08-16 |archive-date=2021-09-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925151509/https://nbakki.hatenablog.com/archive/category/Nature |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}

{|class=wikitable
|+Monthly temperature ranges
|-
|colspan=5|Record high temperatures
|colspan=5|Record low temperatures
|-
!Month
!°C
!°F
!Location
!Date
!°C
!°F
!Location
!Date
|-
||January || 29.7 || 85.5 || [[Minami-Tori-shima]] || 7 January 1954<br>9 January 2021|| '''−41.0''' || '''−41.8''' || '''[[Asahikawa]], [[Hokkaido]]''' || '''25 January 1902'''
|-
||February || 29.1 || 84.4 || [[Ishigaki Island|Ishigaki]] || 16 February 1898 || −38.3 || −36.9 || [[Asahikawa]], [[Hokkaido]] || 11 February 1902
|-
||March || 30.4 || 86.7 || [[Naze, Kagoshima]] || 26 March 1999 || −35.2 || −31.4 || [[Obihiro, Hokkaido]] || 3 March 1895
|-
||April || 33.7 || 92.7 || [[Yonago]] || 28 April 2005 || −27.8 || −18.0 || [[Mount Fuji]] || 3 April 1965
|-
||May || 39.5 || 103.1 || [[Saroma, Hokkaido|Saroma]] || 26 May 2019 || −18.9 || −2.0 || [[Mount Fuji]] || 3 May 1934
|-
||June || 40.2 || 104.4 || [[Isesaki]] || 25 June 2022 || −13.1 || 8.4 || [[Mount Fuji]] || 2 June 1981
|-
||July || '''41.1''' || '''106.0''' || '''[[Kumagaya, Saitama]]''' || '''23 July 2018''' || −6.9 || 19.6 || [[Mount Fuji]] || 4 July 1966
|-
||August || '''41.1''' || '''106.0''' || '''[[Hamamatsu, Shizuoka]]''' || '''17 August 2020''' || −4.3 || 24.3 || [[Mount Fuji]] || 25 August 1972
|-
||September || 40.4 || 104.7 || [[Sanjō, Niigata]] || 3 September 2020 || −10.8 || 12.6 || [[Mount Fuji]] || 23 September 1976
|-
||October || 36.0 || 96.8 || [[Sanjō, Niigata]] || 6 October 2018 || −19.5 || −3.2 || [[Mount Fuji]] || 30 October 1984
|-
||November || 34.2 || 94.4 || [[Minami-Tori-shima]] || 4 November 1953 || −28.1 || −18.6 || [[Mount Fuji]] || 30 November 1970
|-
||December || 31.6 || 88.9 || [[Minami-Tori-shima]] || 5 December 1952 || −34.2 || −29.6 || [[Obihiro, Hokkaido]] || 30 December 1907
|}

{|class=wikitable
|+Seasonal temperature ranges
|-
|colspan=5|Record high temperatures
|colspan=5|Record low temperatures
|-
!Season
!°C
!°F
!Location
!Date
!°C
!°F
!Location
!Date
|-
||Winter || 31.6 || 88.9 || [[Minami-Tori-shima]] || 5 December 1952 || '''−41.0''' || '''−41.8''' || '''[[Asahikawa]], [[Hokkaido]]''' || '''25 January 1902'''
|-
||Spring || 39.5 || 103.1 || [[Saroma, Hokkaido]] || 26 May 2019 || −35.2 || −31.4 || [[Obihiro, Hokkaido]] || 3 March 1895
|-
||Summer || '''41.1''' || '''106.0''' || '''[[Kumagaya, Saitama]]'''<br>'''[[Hamamatsu, Shizuoka]]''' || '''23 July 2018'''<br>'''17 August 2020''' || −13.1 || 8.4 || [[Mount Fuji]] || 2 June 1981
|-
||Autumn || 40.4 || 104.7 || [[Sanjō, Niigata]] || 3 September 2020 || −28.1 || −18.6 || [[Mount Fuji]] || 30 November 1970
|}