Japan: Size and Location

Japan, an island country of 143,619 square miles (slightly smaller than California), is situated [location] in the Pacific Ocean 115 miles east of the Korean Penninsula.

Japan is composed of the four large islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku [4 islands] and two Pacific Ocean island groups [2 groups]: the Ryukyu Islands which include the island of Okinawa, and the Bonin Islands including Iwo Jima.

Total distance from northern Hokkaido [4 islands] to the southern most island in the Ryukyu chain is about 1,400 miles or similar to the distance from northern New York State to Alabama [compare].

Japan also claims the four southern most Kuril Islands [Kurils] (Habomai, Shikotan, Kunashiri, and Etorofu) off the northeast coast of Hokkaido. These islands were occupied by the Soviet army in 1945 near the end of WWII. This continued occupation has prevented the signing of a peace treaty between Japan and the USSR (now Russia).

For more information on the Kuril Islands see:
http://geography.about.com/education/geography/library/weekly/aa021400a.htm