Ever since I moved to Japan I've heard the Japanese say, "Nihon wa chiisai kuni desu" (Japan is a small country), with the underlying meaning that this fact is responsible for many of Japan's weaknesses. Foreigners are quick to point out that England is also a small country, yet has historically been very powerful. But hey, let's not even go there!
But you can't deny that this "small country" mentality is coming back to bite Japan. It's no wonder foreigners are not coming to visit Japan this year after the events of March 11. With Japan often described as an "island nation" or, "with a landmass equal to the state of Montana," it's easy to see why people outside Japan would be surprised to find that Japan is actually over 3,000 km long. That makes Japan more similar to the Mississippi River than Montana.
How well do you know Japan? Could you tell someone, for example, that Japan is 880 km off the coast of China and 215 km off South Korea?