Japan (Japanese: 日本 Nippon or Nihon; formally 日本国 Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku, "State of Japan") is an island nationin East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk. The Kanji that make up Japan's name mean "sun origin", and Japan is often called the "Land of the Rising Sun".