JAPAN

An archipelago in the Pacific, Japan is separated from the east coast of Asia by the Sea of Japan. It is approximately the size of Montana. Japan's four main islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku. The Ryukyu chain to the southwest was U.S.-occupied from 1945 to 1972, when it reverted to Japanese control, and the Kurils to the northeast are Russian-occupied.

Location

North-east Asia. Japan is a chain of islands which lies off the north-east coast of Asia. The Sea of Japan separates the islands from the C.I.S., China and South and North Korea. The Pacific Ocean is to the east. The main island is Honshu, with Hokkaido island to the north, Shikoku and Kyushu islands to the south. Sakhalin island (C.I.S) is to the north of Hokkaido.

Geography

Strategic location in northeast Asia.

Capital

Tokyo

Population

127,463,611

Climate

Varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north.

Language

Japanese

Monetary Unit

Yen

Largest Cities

Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka Nagoya, Sapporo, Kyoto, Kobe, Fukuoka, Kawasaki, Hiroshima, Kitakyusho.

Principal rivers

Tone, Ishikarai, Shinano, Kitakami

Places to Visit

Tokyo, Chiba, Fukuoka, Hiroshima Kochi, Kyoto, Nagasaki, Nagoya,
Okayama, Hokkaido, Osaka, Yokohama, Nagano

Air Ports

Narita International Airport(Tokyo), Fukuoka Airport, OsakaAirport,
Matsumoto Airport (Nagano), Haneda Airport (Yokohama)