Exclusive economic zone of Japan
Japan has the eighth largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the world. The total area of Japan is about 377,973.89 km². Japan's EEZ area is vast and the territorial waters (including: the Seto Inland Sea) and EEZ together is about 4.48 million km².
Childbirth in Japan
The US then occupied Japan from 1945 to 1952 under General Douglas MacArthur. A new constitution took effect in 1947 according to which the emperor became largely a symbolic head of state. Japan regained its sovereignty in 1952, and in 1972 the US gave back some islands, the Ryukyu, that included Okinawa. Japan's economic growth was swift, relying on new technologies, manufacturing and a protectionist attitude. In 1998, Japan – like much of the region – suffered the worst recession since World War II, which led eventually to the resignation of the prime minister. Since then the economy has improved, but is still plagued by stagnation, a fact that the recent 23-foot tsunami and the largest earthquake in Japanese history that struck on March 11, 2011 did not help. A tsunami triggered by a huge earthquake in 2011 stuck the nuclear power plant (NPP) in Fukushima and lead to the leakage of harmful radioactive materials, such as 131I, 137Cs, and 134Cs, into the environment. As a result, more than 170,000 people in Japan evacuated from the area at the time. The radioactive materials from Fukushima incident were released into the air and water, possibly polluting agriculture and marine life in Japan and other nearby countries.