Ecoregions of Japan

Japan is home to a nine forest ecoregions, which reflect its climate and geography. The islands that constitute Japan generally have a humid climate, which ranges from warm subtropical in the southern islands to cool temperate on the northern island of Hokkaido.

Japan lies at the convergence of three terrestrial ecozones, the Palearctic, Indomalaya, and Oceania, and its flora and fauna combine elements from all three. The ecoregions that cover the main islands of Japan, Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku, along with the nearby islands, are considered part of the Palearctic ecozone. The island arcs of southern Japan, the Ryukyu Islands to the southwest and the Ogasawara Islands to the southeast, are home to subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregions; the Nansei Islands subtropical evergreen forests ecoregion of the Ryukyus is part of the Indomalaya ecozone, while the Ogasawara subtropical moist forests of the Ogasawaras is part of the Oceania ecozone.

Terrestrial ecoregions

Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests

• Nansei Islands subtropical evergreen forests
• Ogasawara subtropical moist forests

Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests

• Hokkaido deciduous forests
• Nihonkai evergreen forests
• Nihonkai montane deciduous forests
• Taiheiyo evergreen forests
• Taiheiyo montane deciduous forests

Temperate coniferous forests

• Hokkaido montane conifer forests
• Honshu alpine conifer forests

Freshwater ecoregions

(not a complete list)

• Lake Biwa

Marine ecoregions

(not a complete list)

• Sea of Japan
• Sea of Okhotsk
• East China Sea
• Kuroshio Current
• Oyashio Current
• Nansei Shoto reefs
• Ogasawara Islands reefs