“Resource-poor Japan” – is a constant refrain to describe the country’s energy sector and industrial landscape. While for the most part true, such a moniker obscures a more nuanced reality.

With an area covering 380,000 square kilometers, a little bigger than Italy, Japan’s total size grows exponentially when the Exclusive Economic Zone is tallied. In that case, the country covers a massive 4.47 million square kilometres, about half the size of Brazil.

With such a vast area, statistically speaking, Japan should have significant deposits of natural resources, especially since it’s located in the earth’s most volcanic area, along the Ring of Fire. All other countries and regions along the Ring — Indonesia, Sakhalin, Alaska, California, Chile – have extensive deposits of oil, gas and metals precisely due to the intense geological activity.

Up until the mid 20th century, Japan had major onshore deposits of important metals such as copper, as well as an abundance of coal. But as those were depleted, the refrain became that the country has no raw minerals. So, why does Japan stand out today as the exception among its Pacific Rim neighbors, and is it really “resource-poor”?