Mutsu Province The Meiji Mutsu Province was a region in the northernmost part of the main island that corresponds to today's Aomori Prefecture. At the same time, while the characters of the name were unchanged, the official reading was changed to the "on'yomi" version "Rikuō". Mutsu Province Mutsu Province is also known as or . The term is often used to refer to the combined area of Mutsu and the neighboring province Dewa which make up the Tōhoku region. Mutsu, on northern Honshū, was one of the last provinces to be formed as land was taken from the indigenous Emishi and became
Geography of Japan recognized around of seabed around Okinotorishima, giving Japan priority over access to seabed resources in nearby areas. According to U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, the approved expansion is equal to about 82% of Japan's total land area. The People's Republic of China and South Korea have opposed Japan's claim because they view Okinotorishima not as an island, but as a group of rocks. The Japanese archipelago is mainly rugged and mountainous (73%) so the relatively small amount of habitable land has prompted significant terrain modification by humans over many centuries. Approximately 0.5% of Japan’s total area