Language: Japanese
Currency: Yen (JPY)
Calling Code: 81
Japan (in Japanese: 日本), is an insular sovereign
country of East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean; it is located in
the vicinity of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia. The characters that make up the name of Japan mean "the
origin of the sun," which is why the country is also known as the
Land of the Rising Sun.
Japan is an archipelago of 6852 islands. The Greater Tokyo Area is
located on
the island of Honshū, where the city of Tokyo, the de facto capital
of the nation, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with
more than thirty million residents.
The archaeological remains indicate that the human being has lived
in Japan since the Upper Paleolithic. The first written mention of
the islands is found in texts from ancient China in the 1st century
AD. C. The history of Japan has alternated periods of foreign
influence with other very prolonged periods of total isolation. From
the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive military
shoguna who exercised power in the name of the emperor. In the
seventeenth century the country entered a long period of isolation
that did not end until the mid-nineteenth century. After almost two
decades of internal conflicts and insurrections, Emperor Meiji was
restored as head of state in 1868 and the Empire of Japan was
proclaimed.
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, successes in
the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War and the First
World War allowed Japan to expand its empire and strengthen its
armed forces. The Second Sino-Japanese War that began in 1937, ended
up being part of the Second World War since 1941, conflicts that
ended after the atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
Since the adoption of the revised constitution in 1947, Japan has
maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and a
democratic governing body called the Diet.
Aokigahara Haunted Forest Aokigahara Haunted forest at the base of Fuji mountain is believed to be home of demons, ghosts and other supernatural evil beings. |
Akan National Park is situated on Hokkaido Island in Japan. It covers an area of 904.81 sq km. |
Himeji Castle is a medieval fort in a Japanese town of Himeji. |
Ise Shrine is dedicated to goddess Amaterasu-ōmikami in the city of Ise. |
Kiyomizu Temple is a Buddist complex that was found in a late 8th century during Heian period. |
Matsumoto Castle or a Crow's castle is one of Japan's most famous historic castles. |
Mount Fuji is a picturesque volcano that is probably one of the most recognizable sites of Japan. |
Nara is a magnificent historic complex recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Site situated in Nara Prefecture of Japan. |
Osaka Castle was constructed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1583 during the period of unification of Japan. |