Country · Asia
Japan
Japan is a country in Eastern Asia. About 126.5 million people live there, in an area of 377 930 square kilometres. Its capital city is Tokyo.
Picture credit: Basile Morin (CC BY-SA 4.0) · CEphoto, Uwe Aranas (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Basile Morin (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Morio (CC BY-SA 3.0) · DXR (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Japan?
Japan lies in Eastern Asia, on the continent of Asia.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 4 008 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 29 751 km long.
It has no land neighbours — every border it has is with the sea.
How big is Japan?
Japan covers 377 930 square kilometres.
That is about 9.2 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 61st largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 334.8 people on every square kilometre.
That is busier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Japan?
About 126.5 million people live in Japan.
That is the 10th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Japanese.
They pay with the Japanese yen (¥).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 81 years.
The land of Japan
The land of Japan sits on average 438 metres above sea level.
Its coast runs for about 29 751 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 1 488 days.
It lies between the tropics and the poles, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Japan different?
Dishes the country is known for: Sushi, Japanese curry and Ramen.
Websites from here often end in .jp.
Japan and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 17 live in Japan.
It takes up about 0.28 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Asia the country ranks 17th of 46 by size, and 6th by population.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 20 live wild in Japan: Bottlenose dolphin, Sea otter, Great white shark, Clownfish, Giant Pacific octopus, Moon jellyfish and more. The highest mountain in the country is Mount Fuji, at 3 776 metres. The longest river in the country is the Shinano. The largest lake in the country is Lake Biwa.
Bottlenose dolphin
Sea otter
Great white shark
Clownfish
Giant Pacific octopus
Moon jellyfish
Carrion crow
Great spotted woodpecker
Chambered nautilus
Deep-sea anglerfish
Pufferfish
Ocean sunfish
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Japan compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 25 times as big as Japan: 9 372 610 km² against 377 930 km². See both on one map
- Japan is about 1.6 times as big as the United Kingdom: 377 930 km² against 242 900 km². See both on one map
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Japan?
The capital of Japan is Tokyo. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Japan?
About 126.5 million people live in Japan, which makes it the 10th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
How big is Japan?
Japan covers 377 930 square kilometres, making it the 61st largest country in the world. That is about 9.2 times the size of Switzerland.
What is the highest mountain in Japan?
The highest mountain in Japan is Mount Fuji, 3 776 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Japan?
The longest river in Japan is the Shinano, about 367 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in Japan?
The largest lake in Japan is Lake Biwa. It covers about 670 km².
Which continent is Japan in?
Japan is in Asia, in the part called Eastern Asia.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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