JAPAN 日本

Japan has the world's second largest economy, one of the world's leading industrialized nations and is member of the G8, G4, APEC and a major economic global power as sixth largest exporter and importer. It is a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament, called the Diet, which is one of the oldest legislative bodies in Asia. Despite its rugged terrain, Japan is one of the most populous and most densely populated countries in the world. Greater Tokyo, with over 30 million residents, is the largest metropolitan area in the world. The characters that make up Japan's name literally mean "Land of the Rising Sun", a name that comes from the country's eastward position relative to China.

Fast Fact 基本资料 Geographical Location 地理   Japan (Japanese: 日本, Nihon or Nippon) is an East Asian island country located in the Pacific Ocean, east of China and Korea, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. It is composed of over 3,000 islands, the largest of which are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Most of Japan's islands are mountainous, and many are volcanic; the highest peak is Mount Fuji.   Area 面积 377,835 sq km   Population 人口 127.6 million   Capital 首都 Tokyo (meaning "eastern capital") 东京 （意思“东部之首都”）   People 人民 Japanese   Religion 宗教 Shintoism (official), Buddhism   Climate 气候 Since Japan stretches approximately 20 degrees of latitude, from 25 degN to 45 degN, and approximately 23 degrees of longitude, from 122 degE to 145 degE, the climate varies widely from one region to region. Basically, Japan has four distinct seasons. Summer is hot and humid. During the winter, it snows a lot on the Sea of Japan side and it is dry on the Pacific Ocean side. Japan's rainy season lasts about 40 days during the months of June and July. Also, August to October is the typhoon season in Japan. Japan Information Network indicates that Japan has an unusually high amount of rainfall, averaging 1,700-1,800 millimeters per year. Good times to travel in Japan is early/mid-April or late-October. The temperatures are mild and there isnot too much rain at that time. You can enjoy beautiful cherry blossoms in April and colorful autumn foliage in October.