Introduction

Abstract

Japan is a relatively small island country with a total area of less than 380,000 square kilometers, but very large regional and seasonal differences characterize its climate. From a global perspective, the Japanese archipelago is located on the eastern edge of the huge Eurasian continent. It thus has a climate that differs greatly from that of Europe, which is located on the continent's western edge. In addition, because it is surrounded by oceans, it is generally considered to have a temperate climate. Still, in reality, it is characterized by large annual variations in temperature and regional and seasonal differences in precipitation distribution. On the other hand, climatic changes from the past to the present are not uniform, and long-term climate variability and interannual climate anomalies do not necessarily coincide with those of other regions. This book describes the characteristics of Japan's climate on both spatial and temporal scales and discusses why such regional differences and temporal variations occur.