The geographical character of the island country of Japan is most striking in terms of the contrast between extensive, rugged, and heavily forested uplands and its densely settled and intensively used lowlands, the latter supporting the bulk of the nation’s urban, industrial, and agricultural activities. Steeply sloping land constitutes some three-quarters of the archipelago; the contrast between the verdant, sparsely populated interior uplands and the remaining 25 percent of the country that is relatively level and supports the vast majority of Japan’s approximately 126 million people could not be more dramatic. The Greater Tokyo metropolitan area, for example, is the world’s largest. It is located atop the largest alluvial plain in Japan, the Kanto; and it is one of the most magnificent and expensive zones of human endeavor to be found on the face of the earth, with some 36 million people living within about a 70-square-kilometer radius of the central business district. Thus about one-quarter of the national population is located in an area representing less than 5 percent of the country. The contrast between upland and lowland land-use patterns serves as an essential backdrop for an interpretive description of Japan’s spatially distinctive character.

Gil Latz is Associate Vice Chancellor for International Affairs and Professor of Geography, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis; and Associate Vice President for International Affairs, Office of the Vice President for International Affairs, and Philanthropic Studies Faculty Member, Indiana University. Until 2012, he was affiliated with Portland State University, Portland, Oregon; over his 28 year appointment he held positions in: Geography, International Studies, and as Vice Provost for International Affairs. His graduate research training took place at the University of Chicago (1976-1980) and the University of Tokyo (1980-84); in 1986 he was granted the Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Recent publications include: assessing international learning in the US; Vietnam’s educational reform; Italian landscape history; and controversial issues in Japanese politics and society.

• TIME: 12 p.m.

• COST: free

• WHERE: IU Ballantine Hall, Room 004, IU campus, Bloomington.

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