Japan is an island country in East Asia located in the northwest Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by the Sea of Japan to the west and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. Part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, Japan comprises an archipelago of 6852 islands covering 377,975 square kilometers (145,937 sq mi); the country's five main islands, from north to south, are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa.

California, officially the State of California, is a state in the western part of the United States. It is the third largest state by total area and the largest by population in the United States. Its largest cities are Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, and San Francisco. The capital is Sacramento. It is bordered by Arizona to the southeast, Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east and the Mexican state of Baja California to the south.