Japan
General Information
Spread over a total area of 377,765 sq. Ian., Japan, an archipelago off east coast of Asia, consists of four main islands, Honshu (main land), Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku and a number of smaller islands of which Okinawa is one. Honshu, Kanto, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku, have an area of 32,413 sq. km., 83,408 sq.km., 42,144 sq.km., and 18,795 sq.km. respectively and their major cities are Tokyo, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Matsuyama respectively. Japan has a deeply indented coastline measuring 26,600 km. Main ports are Yokohama, Kobe, Nagoya and Osaka. There are about 60 more or less active volcanoes of which the best known is Mount Aso. The famous Mount Fuji is not active.

Except for limestone and sulphur, Japan is poor in minerals and Japanese industry is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuel. Japan, one of the most industrially advanced countries of the world, has emerged after World War 11, as a leader in technology.. Its principal industries are: automobiles, iron and steel, chemicals, textiles (cotton, wool, silk and synthetics), fishing, ceramics, precision instruments, fertilizers, machinery and shipbuilding. Japan has evolved an extensive fishing industry.

As a result, the number of foreign students, has been climbing up steadily over the past few years. At present, Japan has a foreign student population of more than 40,000. Nearly half of them come from China. Of late, Japan has been trying to improve its intake of Indian students. Lack of knowledge of Japanese is not much of a handicap as most technical disciplines are taught in English.