The English word Japan is an exonym not used in the Japanese language. The Japanese names for Japan are Nippon and Nihon. They are both written in Japanese using the kanji. The Japanese name Nippon is used for most official purposes, including on Japanese money, postage stamps, and for many international sporting events.Japan ( Nihon or Nippo Nippon-koku) is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of China, Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes identified as the "Land of the Rising Sun".
Japan comprises over 3,000 islands making it an archipelago. The largest islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyūshu and Shikoku, together accounting for 97% of Japan's land area. Most of the islands are mountainous, many volcanic; for example, Japan’s highest peak, Mount Fuji, is a volcano. Japan has the world's tenth largest population, with about 128 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.