Japan (Japanese: 日本, Nihon or Nippon) is an East Asian country surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Japan, the Philippine Sea, the East China Sea, and the Sea of Okhotsk. To the west is Korea (North and South), to the north Russia, and to the southwest China and Taiwan.

One of the world's leading industrialized countries, the "Land of the Rising Sun" is composed of over 3,000 islands. The largest and main islands are, from north to south, Hokkaidō, Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū. The Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa, are southwest of the main islands.