TNUA
English School of
Creative Learning 
英語魔法學院

Japan

Japan, a country of islands, extends along the Pacific coast of Asia. The main island is Honshu, and the country has three other large islands—Hokkaido to the north and Shikoku and Kyushu to the south. More than 4,000 smaller islands surround the four largest. A modern transportation system connects the main islands, including the Seikan Tunnel linking Honshu to Hokkaido—the world's longest railroad tunnel at 54 kilometers (33 miles). Japan's high-speed trains (known as shinkansen, or bullet trains) connect major urban areas. 

 

About 73 percent of Japan is mountainous, and all its major cities, except the ancient capital of Kyoto, cling to narrow coastal plains. Only an estimated 18 percent of Japan's territory is suitable for settlement—so Japan's cities are large and densely populated. Tokyo, the capital, is the planet's largest urbanized area at 36 million. One of the most traditional and isolated societies on Earth when Commodore Matthew C. Perry sailed an American fleet into Tokyo Bay in 1853, Japan is democratic and outward-looking today. Among the top three exporters of manufactured goods, the nation has the second largest economy after that of the U.S.

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- Copyright from National Geographic Society