
Japan
Shinjitai: 日本国
Kyujitai: 日本國Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku
Japan (日本, Nihon or Nippon
?, officially 日本国
Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku) is an
island country in
East Asia. Located in the
Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the
Sea of Japan,
China,
North Korea,
South Korea and
Russia, stretching from the
Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the
East China Sea and
Taiwan in the south. The
characters that make up
Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "
Land of the Rising Sun".
Japan is an
archipelago of 6,852 islands.
[9] The four largest islands are
Honshū,
Hokkaidō,
Kyūshū and
Shikoku, together accounting for 97% of Japan's land area. Most of the islands are
mountainous, many
volcanic; for example, Japan’s highest peak,
Mount Fuji, is a volcano. Japan has the world's
tenth-largest population, with over 128 million people. The
Greater Tokyo Area, which includes
the de facto capital city of
Tokyo and several surrounding
prefectures, is the
largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.
Archaeological research indicates that people were living on the islands of Japan as early as the
Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan begins with brief appearances in
Chinese history texts from the first century A.D. Influence from the outside world followed by long periods of isolation has characterized
Japan's history. Since adopting its
constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a
unitary constitutional monarchy with an
emperor and an elected parliament called the
Diet.
A major economic power,
[10] Japan has the world's
second-largest economy by
nominal GDP and the
third largest in
purchasing power parity. It is also the world's
fourth largest exporter and
fifth largest importer. It is also the only Asian country in the
G8 and is currently serving as a non-permanent member of the
UN Security Council. Although Japan has officially
renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern and extensive military force which is employed in self-defense and peacekeeping roles. It is a
developed country with very high
living standards (10th highest HDI). Japan has
the highest life expectancy of any country in the world (according to both the
UN and
WHO estimates) and the third lowest
infant mortality rate.
[11][12]