Japan

Japan is a country located in East Asia. Officially known as Nippon, it is a nation comprised of 6,852 islands and 47 prefectures. The four largest islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku, which together comprise about ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area.

Japan has played a consistent role in the daikaiju ("giant monster") films of the Shōwa period and Heisei periods. Beginning with 1954's Gojira and extending into the modern era, Japan and its many inhabitants have had to deal with all sorts of atomically mutated monsters including Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, King Ghidorah, Anguirus and many others. Godzilla first set his sights on the island after causing some mayhem on nearby Oto Island. Members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force mustered up all of their military might to combat him, as he laid waste to bridges, towers, and skyscrapers, but were unable to stop his rampage. Ultimately, it was the work of one tormented scientist, Daisuke Serizawa, and his Oxygen Destroyer, which finally put the monster down for good... or did it? Like the proverbial bad penny, Godzilla and his pals found a way to spring back up time and time again to make trouble for the poor folks of Japan.

Regions

 * Chūbu region: The Chūbu region is the central region of Honshū. It encompasses nine prefectures: Aichi, Fukui, Gifu, Ishikawa, Nagano, Niigata, Shizuoka, Toyama, Yamanashi, and often Mie. The region is the widest part of Honshū and the central part is characterized by high, rugged mountains. The Japanese Alps divide the country into the Pacific side, sunny in winter, and the Sea of Japan side, snowy in winter. In Godzilla vs. Monster Zero, a race of aliens known as Xians tricked the Japanese government into relinquishing control of Godzilla and Rodan over to them. Mentally controlling the monsters, the Xians threatened to have them rampage through Shizuoka Prefecture unless they surrendered to them.


 * Chūgoku region: The Chūgoku region is the westernmost region of Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It consists of the prefectures of Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori and Yamaguchi. The Chūgoku region is characterized by irregular rolling hills and limited plain areas and is divided into two distinct parts by mountains running east and west through its center. The city of Hiroshima, the "capital" of the Chūgoku region, was rebuilt after being destroyed by an atomic bomb in 1945, and is now an industrial metropolis of more than one million people.


 * Kansai region: The Kansai region lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Mie, Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo, and Shiga. Depending on who makes the distinction, Fukui, Tokushima and even Tottori Prefecture are also included. While the use of the terms "Kansai" and "Kinki" have changed over history, in most modern contexts the use of the two terms is interchangeable. The urban region of Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto (Keihanshin region) is the second most populated in Japan after the Greater Tokyo Area.


 * Kantō region: The Kantō region is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 45 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain. The rest consists of the hills and mountains that form the land borders.


 * Tōhoku region: The Tōhoku region consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region consists of six prefectures (ken): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains a reputation as a remote, scenic region with a harsh climate. In the 20th century, tourism became a major industry in the Tōhoku region.

Prefectures

 * Akita Prefecture: Akita Prefecture a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of northern Honshu, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Akita. Akita Prefecture played a minor role in the 1965 film Frankenstein Conquers the World.


 * Hiroshima Prefecture: Hiroshima Prefecture s a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Hiroshima. It has a population of around 2.9 million. Hiroshima prefecture lies in the middle of Chūgoku. Most of the prefecture consists of mountains leading towards Shimane Prefecture; and rivers produce rich plains near the coast. The province faces Shikoku across the Seto Inland Sea. Hiroshima Bay opens on the Inland Sea. The prefecture also includes many small islands.


 * Kanagawa Prefecture: Kanagawa Prefecture is located in the southern region of Japan known as Kantō and is considered part of the Greater Tokyo Area. It's capital city is Yokohama. Another city of note in Kanagawa is Kamakura.


 * Kyoto Prefecture: Kyoto Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of the island of Honshu. It's capital city is Kyoto. Other notable cities include Ayabe, Jōyō, Kizugawa, Kyōtanabe, Kyōtango and Nagaokakyō. In Marvel Comics, parts of the ninja assassin clan known as The Hand are based out of Kyoto Prefecture.


 * Mie Prefecture: Mie Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of the island of Honshu. It has fourteen major cities, seven districts and municipalities. It's capital city is Tsu. It is part of the Kii Peninsula with a total land area of 5,777.22 km2. In the 1954 film Gojira, the fictional locale of Oto Island was filmed in Toba in Mie Prefecture.
 * Miyagi Prefecture: Miyagi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region on Honshu island. The capital is Sendai. It has an area of 7,285.16 km² with a population of 2,337,513. It has 10 districts and 36 municipalities.


 * Nagano Prefecture: Nagano Prefecture is located on the island of Honshu in the Chūbu region. Its capital city is Nagano. A notable location is the Kitasaku District which contains the town of Karuizawa. In the 2003 film Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., Karuizawa was the home of Doctor Shin'ichi Chûjô, and his nephew Yoshito Chûjô and grandson Syun Chûjô.


 * Niigata Prefecture: Niigata Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Honshū on the coast of the Sea of Japan. The capital is the city of Niigata with which it shares the same name. Godzilla series actress Kumi Mizuno was born in the city of Niigata on January 1st, 1937.


 * Okayama Prefecture: Okayama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on the main island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Okayama.


 * Shizuoka Prefecture: Shizuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan. It is located on the island of Honshu in the Chūbu region. With a land area of 3,003.73 square miles, it borders the Pacific Ocean to the east. It is bordered to the west by the Japanese Alps, which includes Mount Fuji. In film, Shizuoka Prefecture has made numerous appearances in Asian cinema. It often appears in films of the daikaiju ("giant monster") vein, such as Godzilla vs. Monster Zero in 1965. In that film, a race of aliens known as Xians tricked the Japanese government into relinquishing control of Godzilla and Rodan over to them. Mentally controlling the monsters, the Xians threatened to have them rampage through Shizuoka unless they surrendered to them.


 * Tokyo Prefecture: Tokyo is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. It is located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands. Tokyo Metropolis was formed in 1943 from the merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture and the city of Tokyo. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family.


 * Toyama Prefecture: is a prefecture of Japan located in the Hokuriku region on the main Honshu island. The capital is the city of Toyama. Toyama is the leading industrial prefecture on the Japan Sea coast, and has the industrial advantage of cheap electricity from abundant hydroelectric resources.
 * Yamagata Prefecture: Yamagata Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region on Honshu island. Its capital is Yamagata. Yamagata Prefecture is located in the southwest corner of Tōhoku, facing the Sea of Japan. It borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima Prefecture on the south, Miyagi Prefecture on the east, and Akita Prefecture on the north. All of these boundaries are marked by mountains, with most of the population residing in a limited central plain.

Districts

 * Kitasaku District: The Kitasaku District is located in Nagano Prefecture in Japan. It has three towns, Karuizawa, Miyota and Tateshina. In the 2003 film Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., Kitsaku District was the site of a Mothra sighting, who accompanied the Shobijin fairies to visit the home of Doctor Shin'ichi Chûjô.

Cities & Towns

 * Higashiosaka: is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on February 1st, 1967, by a merger of three cities, Fuse, Kawachi, and Hiraoka in eastern Osaka Prefecture. Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. actress Miho Yoshioka was born in Higashiosaka on February 3rd, 1980.


 * Kamakura: Kamakura is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It was incorporated as a city in 1939 and has a population of more than 170,000 people. Noted Godzilla actor Hiroshi Koizumi was born in Kamakura on August 12th, 1926.


 * Karuizawa: Karuizawa is a town located in the Kitasaku District of Nagano Prefecture. In the 2003 film Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., Karuizawa was the home of Doctor Shin'ichi Chûjô, and his nephew Yoshito Chûjô and son, Syun Chûjô. The twin fairies known as the Shobijin visited Doctor Chûjô to implore his aid in convincing the Japanese government that they must cease using MechaGodzilla for it was made from the bones of the original Godzilla. Failure to do so would risk an attack from Mothra. Shin'ichi walked outside his home and saw Mothra in moth form resting before him.
 * Kyoto: Kyoto is a city located on the island of Honshu. It is located in the Kansai region of the Kyoto Prefecture. For over a thousand years, Kyoto stood as the Imperial capital of Japan. If one is looking for copious amounts of temples and shrines, Kyoto is the place to be. Noted Godzilla film series screenwriter Shin'ichi Sekizawa was born in Kyoto on June 2nd, 1921.
 * Toba: Toba is a city in Mie Prefecture. It borders the cities of Ise and Shima. In the 1954 film Gojira, the fictional locale of Oto Island was filmed in Toba in Mie Prefecture.


 * Yamagata: Yamagata is the capital city of Yamagata Prefecture located in the Tōhoku region of Japan. The Mogami River passes through the city, which includes Mount Zaō within its borders. Yamagata City is located in a wide central valley that can heat up quickly in spring and summer and is often grey and humid, while to the east in Miyagi Prefecture on the Pacific coast it is usually clearer and more temperate.

Films that take place in

 * Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965)
 * Godzilla (2014)
 * Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
 * Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.
 * Gojira (1954)

Manga that takes place in

 * Venus Capriccio Vol 1

Characters from

 * Amiko Kobayashi
 * Asano Kimura
 * Daisuke Serizawa
 * Emiko Yamane
 * Emmy Kano
 * Hideto Ogata
 * Hoshi Sato
 * Ichirō Yashida
 * Keiko O'Brien
 * Kenichiro Terasawa
 * Keniuchio Harada
 * Kyohei Yamane
 * Mariko Yashida
 * Matsu'o Tsurayaba
 * Noboru Kaneko
 * Noburu-Hideki
 * Shiro Yoshida
 * Shingen Harada
 * Shin'ichi Chûjô
 * Sueko Togami
 * Syun Chûjô
 * Yoshito Chûjô
 * Yukio

Organizations based out of
Includes real world and fictional organizations
 * Equal Environment Earth Union

Monsters that enjoy rampaging through

 * Baragon
 * Furankenshutain
 * Gamera
 * Godzilla
 * Mechani-Kong

People who were born in

 * Akira Ifukube
 * Akira Onodera
 * Anna Nakagawa
 * Atsuhiro Iwakami
 * Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
 * Frank Spotnitz
 * Franklin J. Schaffner
 * Haruo Nakajima
 * Hiroshi Koizumi
 * Hôchû Ôtsuka
 * Ishirô Honda
 * Ituski Ômori
 * Kazuki Ōmori
 * Ken Watanabe
 * Kenichiro Kawaji
 * Kosuke Toyohara
 * Kumi Mizuno
 * Mai Nishikata
 * Masaaki Tezuka
 * Masahiro Yokotani
 * Masataka Sawada
 * Michiko Ikeda
 * Michiru Yamazaki
 * Miho Yoshioka
 * Naomi Kusumi
 * Naoyuki Konno
 * Shigeyuko Hayashi
 * Shinsuke Onishi
 * Shogo Tomiyama
 * Shôichi Hirose
 * Shôji Kawamori
 * Shotaro Ishinomori
 * Tao Okamoto
 * Teruo Aragaki
 * Tetsuharu Ohta
 * Tomoyuki Tanaka
 * Tsuguo Mogami
 * Yasuko Kobayashi
 * Yasuo Kurashiki

People who died in

 * Akihiko Hirata
 * Akira Ifukube
 * Ishirô Honda
 * Shotaro Ishinomori
 * Tomoyuki Tanaka