Actually, it's not as covered as you might think. Japan's relatively cold (in geothermal terms) due to its tectonic position. (It's counter-intuitive, but fore

Actually, it's not as covered as you might think. Japan's relatively cold (in geothermal terms) due to its tectonic position. (It's counter-intuitive, but forearcs have relatively low geothermal gradients for such tectonically active areas.) The main areas of geothermal potential are localized around the volcanic arc. Most of this land is inside of national parks. Compare this to areas like Iceland or most of the African rift, where you have a very high regional geothermal gradient. Anywhere you can find deep permeability, you'll have potential for geothermal power generation. Japan certainly has a lot of geothermal potential, and hasn't utilized most of it yet, but it's not as simple as it seems at first glance.