Question

japan does not have any natural resources in spite of this factor it is a developed or rich country. how?

Answer 1

they import raw materials and manufacture advanced goods like robots

Answer 2

The presence or absence of natural resources need not stop a country from getting rich, but they can impact the process of getting rich both negatively and positively.

In order to become rich and prosperous, a country needs to build its manufacturing sector. Most of the developed countries in the world followed this path. Among them, the USA, the UK, and Germany had access to a lot of natural resources, especially coal and iron. Other countries, like the Netherlands, Japan and South Korea industrialized despite the absence of natural resources. The latter countries managed to do this by importing raw materials and exporting finished goods.

Sometimes, the presence of natural resource can prevent industrialization, and this is known as the resource curse. The idea is that when a country is endowed with bountiful resources, the ruling elites may try make money for themselves by exporting these resources instead of using them to kickstart industrialization. The West Asian and Central American countries fall in this category. Probably Venezuela too would fall under this category.