Japan: an island arc on the Pacific Ring of Fire

Background

Japan is an island country off the east coast of Asia, a string of islands in a northeast-southwest arc stretching about 1,500 miles (2,400 km).
Its four major islands are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu.
The Sea of Japan lies to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east; Mount Fuji is the highest peak.
Japan lies at the intersection of four tectonic plates, the Eurasian, North American, Pacific and Philippine Sea plates, and contains about 10 percent of the world's active volcanoes.