Geography of Japan
Japan is an island nation comprising a stratovolcanic archipelago over along East Asia's Pacific coast. It consists of 6,852 islands. The main islands are Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku and Hokkaido. The Ryukyu Islands and Nanpō Islands are south of the main islands. The territory extends . It is the largest island country in East Asia and fourth largest island country in the world. Japan has the sixth longest coastline and the eight largest Exclusive Economic Zone of in the world.
History of Japan
The Allies occupied Japan until 1952, during which a new constitution was enacted in 1947 that transformed Japan into a constitutional monarchy. After 1955, Japan enjoyed very high economic growth, and became a world economic powerhouse. Since the 1990s, economic stagnation has been a major issue. An earthquake, and tsunami in 2011 caused massive economic dislocations and a serious nuclear power disaster.