There are also many smaller islands stretched in an arc between the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea and the Pacific proper. Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu enclose the Inland Sea . Mountains, many of them volcanoes, cover two thirds of Japan's surface, hampering transportation and limiting agriculture. The climate ranges from chilly humid continental to humid subtropical. Rainfall is abundant, and typhoons and earthquakes are frequent.
Mineral resources are meager, except for coal, which is an important source of industrial energy.
The rapid streams supply plentiful hydroelectric power. Imported oil, however, is the major source of energy. The Shinkansen bullet train, the second-fastest train system in the world after France's TGV, was inaugurated in 1964 between Tokyo and Osaka and later extended. Listing from Electric Library , a pay service. Copyright 2001 Infonautics Corporation .