Limestone Distribution in Japan

Limestone formed from the Precambrian period (570 Ma) to the Quaternary (present) is distributed in Japan. The limestone areas are small, limestone covers only about 0.4% of the land surface of Japan. But the limestones can be found all over Japan, from Hokkaido to Okinawa and on the Ogasawara Islands. Most of the limestone was formed during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras from biological reefs throughout the Pacific Ocean and reached the Japanese archipelago with the movement of oceanic crust. New Cenozoic, Neogene to Quaternary, limestones are mainly distributed in the Nansei Islands and are uplifted coral reefs. There are very few large-scale limestone plateaus with well-developed karst. Examples are Akiyoshidai in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Hiraodai in Fukuoka Prefecture and Atetsudai in Okayama Prefecture.