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Japan
is located in the North Pacific off the coast of Russia and
the Korean peninsula. The area of Japan is 377,873km2, which
makes it slightly smaller in land mass than California. Japan
consists of four main larger islands and more than 4000 smaller
islands. The main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and
Kyushu. Honshu is the largest with an area of 231,000km2.
A modern railroad system connects the major islands. Japan's
high-speed Shinkansen (bullet train), connects major urban
areas.
Japan
is over 70% mountainous with approximately 18% of the land
mass being suitable for settlement. As a result Japan's cities
are sprawling and densely populated. Tokyo, the capital mega-city
of Japan, is located on Honshu island. Central Tokyo has a
population of 12 million people, with the population of the
Greater Tokyo Area estimated at over 35 million people.
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