Japan
hideJapan (日本, Nihon or Nippon?, officially 日本国 Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku) is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of 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 which make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes identified as the "Land of the Rising Sun".
Japan comprises 6,852 islands making it an archipelago. 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 about 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, the Diet.
A major economic power, Japan has the world's second largest economy by nominal GDP and the third largest in purchasing power parity. Japan has a significant military equipped with modern defense systems, such as AEGIS, and boasts a large fleet of destroyers. It is also the world's fourth largest exporter and sixth largest importer. It is additionally a member of the G-8 and is the sole Asian power in that organization. It is a developed country with high living standards (8th highest HDI). Japan has the highest life expectancy of any country in the world and the third lowest infant mortality rate (according to both UN and WHO estimates).
For more information about Japan, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with japan
Japan launches 5th spy satellite
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 28, 2009 |
3.5 / 5 (8) |
1
(AP) -- Japan launched its fifth spy satellite into orbit Saturday in a bid to boost its ability to independently gather intelligence, the government said.
Musical robots perform duets (w/ Video)
Nov 26, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (6) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- A flute playing robot unveiled by Waseda University last year has been joined by a robot saxophonist in a Classical music duet. The aim of the project was to design robots that could respond ...
Venomous Aussie redback spiders invading Japan
Nov 25, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
Australia's venomous redback spiders are on the march in Japan, where they are believed to have arrived years ago as stowaways on cargo ships, a wildlife expert warned Wednesday.
Nokia to ax 220 R&D jobs in Japan
Nov 24, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(AP) -- Nokia Corp. said Tuesday it is axing 220 jobs at research and development units in Japan as the world's largest mobile phone maker continues to cut costs.
Submersibles discover top-secret Japanese submarines
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Nov 13, 2009 |
3.2 / 5 (6) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Two World War II Japanese submarines, designed with revolutionary technology to attack the U.S. mainland, have been discovered off the Hawaiian coast of Oʻahu. They are the I-14, which ...
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
Nov 18, 2009 |
3 / 5 (1) |
0
(AP) -- You might call him the Mickey Mouse of video games. He's reminiscent of a doughnut, round and sweet and comforting. He's also a vessel, devoid of a real personality so you can live vicariously through ...
Zero-emission scooter to debut in Japan
Oct 29, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (7) |
3
A Japanese zero-emission "hybrid" scooter to be released next year runs 10 times as economically as a petrol engine bike and can be assisted by human pedal power, its maker said Thursday.
New Japanese glasses bring tears to the eyes
Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets
Oct 27, 2009 |
3.4 / 5 (8) |
0
The Japanese eyewear company behind Sarah Palin's designer glasses has come up with a high-tech solution for obsessive video-gamers and bookworms whose eyes dry out from lack of blinking.
Cyborg-walkers stride toward Japan's robotics future
Aug 03, 2009 |
5 / 5 (21) |
11
Three Japanese cyborg look-alikes turned heads on busy Tokyo streets and subway trains Monday as they made their way to a robotics conference on a hot summer's day -- without breaking a sweat.
Cars may one day mimic fish to avoid collisions
Oct 01, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (9) |
1
Engineers in Japan say they are a step closer to developing technology they hope will cut the risk of car crashes -- by mimicking the behaviour of fish.
Blue roses to debut in Japan
Oct 20, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (12) |
1
Which colour would you like your roses? Red, white, yellow... or perhaps blue?
Bad breath fights monsters at Japan whacky tech fair
Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets
Oct 22, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
A monster-slaying bad breath blow gun, a rain-simulating "funbrella" and a navigation-aid helmet that steers users by pulling their ears: welcome to Japan's latest whacky inventions.
EU: bluefin tuna catches to be reduced
Nov 16, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(AP) -- The EU Commission says over 45 countries who catch tuna have agreed to cut catches of the threatened Atlantic bluefin tuna next year.
Mitsubishi 3D Touch Panel Demonstrated
Mar 13, 2009 |
4 / 5 (2) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- A prototyped capacitive touch panel was demonstrated by Mitsubishi Electric Corp at the Interaction 2009 in Tokyo, Japan. The 3D touch panel can detect not only x- and y- coordinates but also ...
Microsoft CEO: Windows 7 Japan sales 'fantastic'
Nov 05, 2009 |
1 / 5 (2) |
1
(AP) -- Sales of Microsoft Corp.'s new Windows 7 operating system have been "fantastic" in Japan since its launch last month, CEO Steve Ballmer said Thursday.
