How has Japan been affected by ocean currents and wind conditions?
Japans climate is greatly affected by nearby ocean currents and the prevailing winds. The Japan Current (or Kuroshio, which means black current) begins near the Philippines and flows north along the south and east coasts. The Tsushima Current, a branch of the Japan current, flows into the Sea of Japan along the west side of the country. Both of these currents are warm, causing Japan to be warmer than areas at the same latitude in mainland China. A cold current called the Oyashio, which means Great Current flows south along Japan’s east coast. (This current may also be known as the Kuril Current or Okhotsk Current.) The Liman Current, an offshoot of the Oyashio, enters the Sea of Japan from the north. The coming together of these warm and cool currents brings large schools of fish to Japanese coastal waters. The winds that move across Japan follow a seasonal pattern. In the winter, dry cold winds blow from the plains of Manchuria and Mongolia in the northwest of Asia. In the summer, war
