Geography

Japan is an island country in the North Pacific Ocean. Four large islands and thousands of smaller ones make up Japan. The four major islands – Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku – has about 1, 200 miles about 125 million people are crowded on these islands making Japan one of the most populated countries in the world. The capital city is Tokyo. Japan with area about 145,870 sq.mi (377,801 km2) has the highest mount Fuji 12,388 ft. (3,776 m) above see level, which has last erupted in 1707. The Japanese call their country Nippon or Nihon, which means source of the sun. The name may have come from Zipangu, the Italian name given to the country by Marco Polo, a Venetian traveler of the late 1200´s. Polo had heard of the Japanese islands while traveling through China. Mountains and hills cover most of Japan, making it a country of great beauty. But the mountains and hills take up so much land and great majority of the people live on narrow plains along the coasts. Japan is situated within one of the Earth's most geologically active zones. The country thus experiences violent volcanic eruptions--at least 60 volcanoes have been active within historic times. Tsunamis (huge sea waves) often accompany offshore tremors and may cause severe damage along the Pacific coast.
Japan's five largest river basins are the Tone on Honshu; the Ishikari on Hokkaido; and the Kitakami, the Shinano, and the Kiso also on Honshu. Lake Biwa in central Honshu is Japan's largest lake; all other major lakes are in the northeast. .
Japan's temperatures are generally mild because of the warming effects of the Kuroshio (Japan Current) and the Tsushima Current. Winter and summer temperatures vary widely from north to south. Government

Japans present constitution was drawn up by the Allied occupation forces and went into effect on May 3, 1947. 1
Now it’s considered to be the democratic constitution, which guarantees the people many human liberties, such as freedom of speech, of religion, of the press...
Nowadays all Japanese citizens 20 years may vote (1947- Constitution guaranteed women the right vote)
The politics here is similar to the other democratic countries - there are several parties. The most successful, conservative party (since 1955 has the most seats in the diet) is Democratic Party, which represents rural areas.