Japan

Japan

Where Is It? Japan is made up of a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. It is just off the east coast of Asia. Japan has four main islands and thousands of smaller islands. The entire country is smaller than the state of California.

Tokyo (TOH-kee-yoh) is the capital city of Japan. It is on the largest island, called Honshu (HON-shoo). Tokyo has many tall skyscrapers. More than thirty-two million people live there.

People More than 127 million people live in Japan. The country's main language is Japanese. More people live in cities and towns than in the country. City life in Japan is very busy. Most cities have little space, and people are crowded together.

Most people in Japan eat rice. Japan grows much of the rice it uses. The Japanese also catch many fish and sell them across the world.

Land Most of Japan is covered with mountains. The country has more than seventy volcanoes. The most famous one is Mount Fuji (FOO-jee). It has not erupted in many years. Earthquakes are also common.