GENERAL INFORMATION  IOC Code: JPN  Country: Japan  Continent: Asia  President: J. Koizumi                       (Prime Minister)  Capital: Tokyo  Largest City: Tokyo   Currency: Yen (¥)  Official languages: Japanese  Motto: Peace and Progress  POPULATION (1 January 2005)  Population: 128 085 000  GDP/inhabitant (in US $): 32 640   Density (inhabitants/km2): 337   Average age (in years):  42  Life expectancy (in years): 80.93  COMMUNICATION  Internet code: .jp   Calling code: +81

 DESCRIPTION
Japan is an 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.

Japan is the world's second-largest economy and one of the world's leading industrialized countries. It is a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament, called the Diet, which is one of the oldest legislatures in Asia. Despite its rugged terrain, Japan is one of the most populous—and one of the most densely populated—countries in the world. Greater Tokyo, with over 30 million residents, is the largest metropolitan area in the world.

Japan's name in the kanji writing system is often translated as "Land of the Rising Sun", and comes from the country's eastward position relative to China.

Source: www.wikipedia.com