Japan is an island country consisting of four big islands, which together cover approximately 380 thousand square kilometers. It is larger than Germany and the UK and ranked as the 60th largest country in the world. However, if you add its territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zone (an area in which Japan has the right to have priority over the development of natural resources), Japan would be the ninth largest country. Russia is the largest, followed by the USA, Australia, Canada, China, Brazil, France, India, and Japan. Japan borders the Pacific Ocean to the east, and is located in a temperate zone.