Backgounder: Basic facts about Japan

BEIJING, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao started a state visit to Japan on May 6-10, the first visit by a Chinese president to Japan in a decade.

The following is a brief introduction to the Asian country:

The Japanese archipelago is located approximately 20-45 degrees north, off the eastern coast of the Asian continent. It comprises four main islands: Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, plus thousands of other smaller ones.

Honshu accounts for about 60 percent of the total Japanese territory of approximately 378,000 square km. As of October 1, 2004, Japan's population was 127.7 million.

Japan is one of the world's most ethnically homogeneous nations, with 99.4 percent of the population made up of ethnic Japanese.

Since Japan is located in a region where several continental plates meet, the country experiences an average of 1,500 earthquakes each year -- representing a tenth of the earth's seismic energy -- and is home to at least 194 volcanoes, 52 of which have been active. Japan's most famous volcano and highest mountain is Mount Fuji.

Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, Japan quickly embarked on the route of national modernization and gradually began military aggression against other Asian countries.

Japan declared unconditional surrender to the Allies in WWII on Aug. 15, 1945. Under the 1947 constitution, the Emperor of Japan is "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people" and exercises a purely ceremonial role without the possession of sovereignty.

The years after 1945 witnessed rapid economic growth in Japan, making the country the second-largest economic power in the world by the end of 1960s, behind the United States.

As close neighbors, China and Japan maintained friendly exchanges for more than 2,000 years. In 1972, the two countries issued the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement and normalized diplomatic relations.

Japan is now China's third-largest trading partner and China is Japan's second-largest trading partner, with two-way trade topping236 billion U.S. dollars in 2007.