The islands surrounding Japan have been the focus of several territorial disputes.
That’s because Japan claims the Russiancontrolled southern Kuril Islands, which Tokyo calls the Northern Territories, a dispute that dates back to the end of World War II when Soviet troops seized them from Japan.
Japan says it has a historical claim to the uninhabited Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which it currently administers, but China has repeatedly denied this.
Japan and South Korea remain locked in a more than 70year dispute over sovereignty over a group of islands known as Dokdo for Seoul and Takeshima for Tokyo in the Sea of Japan, which Korea calls the East Sea.
The island of Honshu is the largest and most populous of the Japanese islands and is home to the country’s largest cities such as Tokyo, Osaka and Yokohama. Hokkaido, the second largest island, is located in the north and is known for its beautiful natural landscape of mountains, lakes and national parks.
Kyushu, the third largest island, is located in the southwest of the country and is home to major cities like Fukuoka and Nagasaki. The smallest of the four main islands, Shikoku lies south of Honshu and is famous for its Buddhist temples and religious pilgrimages.