Comprised of four main islands, and over 6,000 smaller ones, Japan stretches for around 1,500 miles from sub-tropical Okinawa in the south to the frozen climes of Hokkaido in the north.
The bulk of the country's 127 million inhabitants live in urban areas, mostly on Honshu island, the country's largest. The capital since 1868, modern Tokyo is a sprawling mega city and home to over 36 million people.
From the 12th century until the mid 19th century, Japan was a feudal society dominated by military leaders known as shoguns. A long period of self-imposed international isolation ended when the Emperor Meiji took direct control of the country in 1867 and began a period of modernization. Western trade began to influence the development of the country.
