japan

• country situated on a chain of islands off the eastern coast of asia
varnish with japan lacquer; coat with any black lacquer
shiny black lacquer which originated in japan; something varnished with japan lacquer
of or pertaining to japan lacquer
japan is a country in the pacific, off the eastern coast of asia. the four principal islands are hokkaido, honshu, shikoku, and kyushu. japan brought the united states into the second world war by attacking the us navy at pearl harbour in 1941. the first use of atom bombs at hiroshima and nagasaki led to the end of the war in 1945. after the second world war japan developed high technology industries and it is now the world's largest producer of cars, washing machines, and watches. it also exports computers, stereos, televisions, and video recorders. emperor akihito succeeded his father, emperor hirohito, in 1989. the liberal democratic party (ldp), which had been in power almost continuously since 1955, was defeated in elections in 1993, when morihiro hosokowa of the japan new party (jnp) became prime minister. he resigned over alleged financial scandals in 1994. tomiichi murayama, of the socialist party, became prime minister in a coalition with the ldp.