Japan

The Land of the Rising Sun

Japan is a country of 6,800 islands; the red circle on its flag is the rising sun. It has many volcanoes and earthquakes, so houses are built to withstand shaking. The Japanese make robots, game consoles and the high-speed 'bullet train' (320 km/h). In spring, when the cherry blossoms bloom, everyone goes for picnics in the parks. Tokyo is the biggest city in the world (37 million people).

Capital: Tokyo. Language: Japanese.

Japan covers 377,975 km² across 6,852 islands (Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku) with 124 million people (the world's oldest population — median age 49, 29% over 65). It sits on the Ring of Fire: 111 active volcanoes (Fuji 3,776 m), 1,500 noticeable earthquakes a year (Tohoku 2011, M9.1, tsunami). History: Jomon (14,000 BC), the imperial dynasty (since 660 BC — the oldest in the world), the samurai, the Edo period (1603–1868, 250 years of isolation), the Meiji Restoration (1868), World War II (Hiroshima, Nagasaki), the post-1945 economic miracle. Economy: the world's 4th largest — Toyota, Sony, Nintendo, robotics, the shinkansen (1964 — the first high-speed train). Culture: Shinto and Buddhism, manga and anime, sushi (a UNESCO-listed cuisine), ikebana, sumo. Longevity: 84 years — a world record. With Uzbekistan: JICA projects, conservation of Termez's Buddhist monuments, Silk Road research.

Fun facts

• Japan has 1,500 noticeable earthquakes a year — almost 4 a day.
• Japan's imperial line has continued for 2,600 years — the oldest in the world.
• The Japanese live 84 years on average — a world record.