<P> Japan ( Japanese : 日本 ; Nippon ( ɲippoɴ ) or Nihon ( ɲihoɴ ) ; formally 日本 国 Nippon - koku or Nihon - koku , lit . `` State of Japan '' ) is a sovereign island country in East Asia . Located in the Pacific Ocean , it lies off the eastern coast of the Asian mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and China in the southwest . Coordinates : 35 ° N 136 ° E ﻿ / ﻿ 35 ° N 136 ° E ﻿ / 35 ; 136 The kanji that make up Japan 's name mean `` sun origin '' , and it is often called the `` Land of the Rising Sun '' . Japan is a stratovolcanic archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands . The four largest are Honshu , Hokkaido , Kyushu , and Shikoku , which make up about ninety - seven percent of Japan 's land area and often are referred to as home islands . The country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions , with Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one . The population of 127 million is the world 's tenth largest . Japanese people make up 98.5 % of Japan 's total population . About 9.1 million people live in Tokyo , the capital of Japan . </P>
<P> Japan ( Japanese : 日本 ; Nippon ( ɲippoɴ ) or Nihon ( ɲihoɴ ) ; formally 日本 国 Nippon - koku or Nihon - koku , lit . `` State of Japan '' ) is a sovereign island country in East Asia . Located in the Pacific Ocean , it lies off the eastern coast of the Asian mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and China in the southwest . Coordinates : 35 ° N 136 ° E ﻿ / ﻿ 35 ° N 136 ° E ﻿ / 35 ; 136 The kanji that make up Japan 's name mean `` sun origin '' , and it is often called the `` Land of the Rising Sun '' . Japan is a stratovolcanic archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands . The four largest are Honshu , Hokkaido , Kyushu , and Shikoku , which make up about ninety - seven percent of Japan 's land area and often are referred to as home islands . The country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions , with Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one . The population of 127 million is the world 's tenth largest . Japanese people make up 98.5 % of Japan 's total population . About 9.1 million people live in Tokyo , the capital of Japan . </P>
what region of the world is japan in
what region of the world is japan in
East Asia
East Asia