Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia, comprising over 3,000 mostly mountainous islands, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south Japan has been settled since 30,000 BC, but only appeared in written history in Chinese history texts in the 1st century AD. A strong central Japanese state with its capital in Nara first emerged in the 8th century. During the sixteenth century western traders and missionaries reached Japan for the first time. An isolationist period followed, during which Japan cut almost all ties to the outside world. Japan entered the modern age in the mid 19th century going through a rapid modernisation phase. Today Japan is a constitutional parliamentary monarchy. It's capital is Tokyo. Japan is the world's second largest economy and is home to some of the world's leading producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles and processed foods.