State of Japan

The **State of Japan** (日本国)  is a sovereign island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asian mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the southwest. This country (especially Academy City) serves as the primary setting for many *Toaru Majutsu no Index*'s fanon series

## Overview

### Geography

Japan is situated in northeastern Asia between the North Pacific and the Sea of Japan. The area of Japan is 377,944 square kilometers, nearly equivalent to Germany and Switzerland combined or slightly smaller than California. Japan consists of 6,852 islands, including four of the large main islands; Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu.

Japan has many islands but also has many forests as well. The forests of Japan cover about 25.12 million hectares, which adds up to roughly 66% of the entire national land area. This means that Japan has one of the largest forest coverage rates in the world. Other areas used to consist of 5.04 million hectares of agricultural land, 3.06 million hectares of other lands, 1.74 million hectares of residential land, 1.33 million hectares of water surfaces, rivers, and channels, 1.23 million hectares of roads, and 260 thousand hectares of wilderness areas.

Japan’s topographical features include coastlines with varied scenery, towering mountains, which are very often volcanic and twisted valleys that invite visitors into the mysterious world of nature.

### The National Area of Japan

The islands of Japan in the Pacific Ocean may cover more territory than you thought. The northernmost, southernmost, easternmost, and westernmost edges are Iturup, Okinotorishima, Minamitorishima, Yonagunijima respectively.
It is about 3,146 kilometers from the easternmost island of Minamitorishima to the westernmost island of Yonagunijima, and 2,787 kilometers from the southernmost island of Okinotorishima to the northernmost island of Iturup.

### Language

There is only one official language spoken in Japan, which is of course Japanese. However, many Japanese are able to understand English to a certain extent since English is the foreign language that everyone must learn as part of compulsory education.

### Population

Japan’s population is over 126 million. Most Japanese reside in densely populated urban areas. Japan’s capital city is Tokyo. The population of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area including the city, some of its suburbs and the surrounding area is approximately 12 million.
Historically, the population of Japan has undergone repeated periods of increase and decrease. During the period from approximately 400 years ago to 300 years ago, it increased significantly due to the societal change from the Warring State Period to a peaceful period. Afterward, it remained stable until approximately 150 years ago. Due to the advancement of medical care, changes in lifestyle, and industrial growth, the population of approximately 33,300,000 rapidly increased to the current 127 million. It is, however, estimated to take a significant downward turn in the future due to its aging population combined with its declining birth rate.