japan
n. uncountablen. an island country in East Asia. It is known for its unique culture, busy cities, and beautiful mountains.
n. an island nation located in the northwest Pacific Ocean, off the eastern coast of the Asian mainland.
I want to visit Japan next summer.
Many tourists travel to Japan in the spring to see the famous cherry blossoms in bloom.
The economic development of Japan following the second world war remains a significant case study for historians examining rapid industrialisation and technological advancement in the twentieth century.
Etymology tree Hokkien 日本 /Ji̍t-púnbor. Malay Jepangbor. Portuguese Japãobor. ▲ Malay Jepangbor. Dutch Japanbor. English Japan First attested in English as Giapan in Richard Willes's 1577 The History of Travayle in the West and East Indies (cited in Peter C. Mancall's Travel Narratives from the Age of Discovery, pp. 156–57), translating a 19 February 1565 letter of the Portuguese Jesuit missionary Luís Fróis as "Of the Ilande of Giapan". Borrowed from Portuguese Japam /Japão with possible influence from Dutch Japan, both from Malay Jepang, from Hokkien 日本 (Ji̍t-pún), from Middle Chinese 日本 (nyit pwon^X, “sun origin”). With /j/ readings, such as Iaponia /Japonia /Japon /Iapon from possibly Cantonese 日本 (jat⁶ bun²), also from Middle Chinese 日本 (nyit pwon^X, “sun origin”). Compare also modern Mandarin 日本 (Rìběn), Japanese 日本(にっぽん) (Nippon) / 日本(にほん) (Nihon) (whence English doublets Nippon and Nihon), Korean 일본 (Ilbon) (日本), Vietnamese Nhật Bản (日本). The earliest form of Japan in Europe was Marco Polo's Cipangu, from some form of synonymous Sinitic 日本國 /日本国 (“Japan state”).
As a proper noun, it is always capitalised and typically used without an article.