Volcanoes can be found all over the world. Often located along tectonic plate boundaries, shield, composite, and cinder cone volcanoes can be magnificent and deadly. The Pacific Ring of Fire is home to volcanic arcs and volcanic island arcs; the volcanoes of Japan are one of them. Japan, like many regions in this ring, is likely to have many volcanoes of varying shape, size, and make. According to Japan: A Country Study, “One-tenth of the world's active volcanoes are in Japan, which lies in a zone of extreme crustal instability” (Bunge, p. 66). All of these volcanoes affect Japan and its landscape in one way or another. The Smithsonian Institution suggests that Japanese volcanoes can be subdivided into four regions, Hokkaido, Honshu, Izu and Ryukyu/Kyushu and that each of these has numerous volcanoes ("Japan, Taiwan, Marianas"). The Hokkaido region is located in the north of the country. is part of Japan and is one of its largest islands. Hokkaido has many types of volcanoes. Some notable volcanoes and calderas in this region are as follows. The Akan Caldera is located within the Akan Volcanic Complex. This caldera has been historically active and will periodically erupt. However, its volcanic explosivity index has not exceeded 1 since around 50 BCE. The most recent eruption in the Akan caldera came from a cone called Me-Akan on November 18, 2008 ("Japan, Taiwan, Marianas"). The Encyclopedia of Earthquakes and Volcanoes suggests that because earthquakes often precede volcanic eruptions in this region, the Akan caldera and its cones have played a very important role in studying the relationship between earthquakes. volcanic and tectonic earth and magmatic systems (Gates and Ritchie, p. 4). .Another volcano in Hokkaido is Tokachi-dake...... middle of paper ......chlorine vapors. Ground temperatures began to rise around Sakurajima in 1914. This increase killed local flora and fauna; Eventually the ground became so hot that it could no longer be held in. Benzene and chlorine gases also became a problem when livestock and people became ill around the vents that ran through Sakurajima (Gates and Ritchie, p. 4). Japan offers a wide variety of volcanoes. “The islands of the Japanese archipelago occupy one of the most concentrated areas of seismic and volcanic activity in the world” (Gates and Ritchie, p. 127). Although Japan's volcanoes can be very deadly, many of them are tourist attractions. Mount Fuji, for example, and the many hot springs produced by volcanic activity are often visited. However, the calderas and volcanoes of this region still pose problems for the people and places of Japan (Gates and Ritchie, p.. 127-128).