Japan is an island nation in East Asia, consisting of four main islands (Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu) and thousands of smaller islands. Japan's total land area is 377,973 km², slightly larger than Germany (357,386 km²), and its population is 123.8 million (including 3.506 million registered foreign residents), making it the 11th most populous country in the world. The Kanto region, which forms the metropolitan area centered around Tokyo, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with 43.54 million people (35% of Japan's total population) residing in this area alone.