home
Menu
Create
Random
0
0
0
thumbnail

Japan Country Quiz

Can you guess these facts about the country of Japan?
Quiz by
Quizmaster
Featured Quiz
Rate:
Last updated: May 16, 2020
You have not attempted this quiz yet.
More quiz info >>
First submittedApril 19, 2013
Times taken142,183
Average score70.8%
Rating4.93
Quiz and answer stats >>
Shared scores >>
5:00
Enter answer here
0
 / 24 guessed
The quiz is paused. You have remaining.
Scoring
You scored / = %
This beats or equals % of test takers also scored 100%
The average score is
Your high score is
Your fastest time is
Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...
Hint
Answer
Highest mountain
Mount Fuji
Currency
Yen
Nickname
Land of the
Rising Sun
Capital city
Tokyo
Former name of the above
Edo
Second most populous urban area
Osaka
Main islands
Hokkaido
Honshu
Shikoku
Kyushu
Traditional religions
Shinto
Buddhism
Hint
Answer
National sport
Sumo
Most popular spectator sport
Baseball
The city of Kobe is famous for this food
Beef
Japanese comics are called ...
Manga
Military nobility of pre-industrial Japan
Samurai
Alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice
Sake
Southernmost prefecture where
karate was invented
Okinawa
Former capital city
Kyoto
Japanese robe worn on formal occasions
Kimono
Japanese name for Japan
Nihon
Traditional hostess and entertainer
Geisha
Celebrated tree blossom
Sakura
Save Your Stats
Your Next Quiz
Asian Countries Ending in "IA"
Which countries of Asia have a name that ends with the two letters IA?
Countries of the Middle East
Can you name all the countries that are generally considered to be part of the Middle East?
Countries of Asia with Two or More Words
Can you guess the countries in Asia whose short name has more than one word?
Summer Olympics Host Cities - Sudden Death
Twenty three cities have hosted the Summer Olympics at least once. Can you click them all without making any mistakes?
107 Comments
What
+5
Level 26
Aug 30, 2013
Well and how was the word "Japan" created if Japanese people didn't make it?
plattitude
+48
Level 94
Aug 30, 2013
It actually has to do with the evolution of sounds over the past 1500 years, and the transliteration of the name across at least 3 languages (most likely through Mandarin Chinese, Malay, and Portuguese). Dictionary.com has a fairly succinct explanation--http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/japan (scroll down about halfway).
What
+8
Level 26
Aug 30, 2013
And learnt something new. Thank you :)
Jiaozira
+6
Level 72
Aug 18, 2017
It's probably based off of the Chinese "riben" 日本,which means "sun origin". It is pronounced somewhat similar to Japan and probably is why in English we call it Japan.
bakainu
+31
Level 70
Mar 26, 2019
There's a ton of countries whose names are completely different from their English words. China is Zhongguo, Finland is Suomi, Hungary is Magyarorszag, etc.
laptopper
+1
Level 27
Oct 1, 2022
well it isn't a japanese word
SupBroDude
+2
Level 56
Aug 21, 2025
Sounds like someone doesn't know what an exonym is.
Vincent21
+1
Level 21
Feb 20, 2026
It's a Portuguese interpretation of the Chinese pronunciation of the kanji for the country.
Gigafist
+3
Level 10
Aug 30, 2013
Really nice quiz. 50% :)
kshimizu
+8
Level 14
Mar 25, 2014
I got 86%, which is about as low as I should get considering that I used to live there. I just have trouble remembering the names of the main islands.
CrayCray
+3
Level 67
Apr 4, 2014
The only thing I had no idea about was the stock market index. As for the rest, I breezed through it. :) I do know quite a bit about Japan.
JustinH17
+8
Level 71
Oct 20, 2015
Please accept Saki for Sake.
Baltimorean
+67
Level 66
Jan 19, 2016
Please don't accept a misspelling like that.
redsplat
+10
Level 72
Dec 18, 2020
Mistransliteration you mean. I don't think it's world-ending to accept 'saki' as an additional type-in. This isn't a spelling quiz, it's a knowledge of Japan quiz.
Abby
+17
Level 47
Sep 8, 2021
If you pronounce it correctly there shouldn't be any reason why you end up with "saki" as a transliteration
BlackLab
+2
Level 66
Jan 23, 2023
Teriyaki, Sushi, moshi moshi
stylus
+4
Level 79
Jun 20, 2021
just want to take this opportunity to encourage anyone reading to check out the short stories of Saki, undisputably the master of the genre and every single one worth a read
ningyou
+15
Level 21
Dec 4, 2015
Japanese do not call only rice wine "sake". Now, sake is any alcoholic drink. Please also accept "nihonshu".
PrinceEric
+3
Level 56
Feb 2, 2016
I second, third, and fourth this.
Quizmaster
+18
Level ∞
Sep 10, 2018
Nihonshu will work now. Funny story. When I was in Japan we ordered sake. At some point, glasses of ice water arrive, and then the rest of the meal. At the end of the meal we realize that we never got any sake. Then I taste the water. It was like watered-down vodka. And that's how I learned that sake is just generic alcohol in Japan.
ppaaccoojrf
+4
Level 42
Nov 28, 2020
The "watered down vodka" that you got was probably Shochu.
laptopper
+2
Level 27
Oct 1, 2022
yep sake just basically means alcohol
roleybob
+2
Level 73
Jan 19, 2016
sushi isn't fish
ArcherM1
+4
Level 28
Jun 7, 2019
Correct. Merely a style of cuisine
PSTSCCH
+4
Level 46
Jan 19, 2016
Should 'en' be acceptable for 'yen'? Because 'en' is Japanese word for 'yen'.
Djilas
+10
Level 86
May 16, 2020
We're looking for English words though
epicdjyoshi
+3
Level 54
Jan 23, 2016
Love this quiz :)

Please check out my Top 10 Japanese cities by population

Also I thought that Football (especially womens) was a pretty popular sport in Japan

bakainu
+3
Level 70
Mar 26, 2019
Soccer is the second most popular, and maybe overtaking baseball soon
Nettspend1c34
+2
Level 32
Apr 30, 2025
nah baseball is so big in Japan
dunkinggandalf2
+1
Level 72
Feb 13, 2026
Big in Japan? Where the Eastern sea's so blue ? Big? In Japan??? Alright...
haha1019
+3
Level 39
Mar 12, 2016
So easy I had 3 mins left! Thats bc im japanese...
kangelyazaki
+17
Level 28
May 23, 2016
I'm Japanese and have been speaking English since very young; I translated for a living for a while... and i still don't understand why non-Japanese people thinks "sake" refers to our rice wine. Sake simply means alcoholic beverage in Japanese, hence wine, beer, other brews like vodka is a sake for us.

Nihonshu, shochu, is what we call our rice wines....

Malbaby
+3
Level 70
Sep 9, 2017
Thankyou for that slice of knowledge. The 'sake' = 'rice wine' misinformation has been around for a long time, this is the first time I've been truly informed.
Djilas
+7
Level 86
May 16, 2020
Well, words get different meanings in other languages, so there's nothing wrong with sake meaning rice wine in English. But I agree it's a bit strange on a quiz about Japan.
DonTheLamplighter
+3
Level 87
May 18, 2020
This is good to know. JetPunk educates once again.
morequizzes4u
+2
Level 32
Oct 21, 2016
Try my quiz about Japan http://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/135084/japanese-feudal-system
WanderingWalrus
+2
Level 82
Apr 2, 2017
For us Brits, can we have Yakusa as well as Yakuza as we use 's' rather than 'z' and the original word (being presumably in Kanji) has neither. thanks
fitheach
+2
Level 58
Jan 23, 2023
Do we? I've never seen it spelt yakusa before.
MustardCustard
+3
Level 66
Jun 12, 2017
Osaka is not a metro area, Osaka is part of the Keihanshin metro area.
mahble
+7
Level 79
Jul 25, 2017
Who else looked at Bill Wurtz's history of Japan? :P
TheCrusher
+8
Level 70
Jul 20, 2018
Best. Thing. On the internet. Ever. It's 9 minutes long but it's worth every second. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh5LY4Mz15o&t=2s
JWatson24
+5
Level 71
Jul 12, 2020
"How about Sunrise Land?"
MyNameWasTaken
+3
Level 46
May 11, 2021
"Japan is an island by the sea, filled with volcanoes, and it's

🎵BEAUTIFUUUUUUUUUUUUL🎵"

AchillesFirstStand
+2
Level 79
Jul 12, 2020
The sequel is also very worth watching. It's 20 minutes, but he manages to get through the history of the entire world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuCn8ux2gbs

DarthCaedus66
+6
Level 12
Sep 9, 2017
Am I the only one who tried Magikarp for "ornamental carp"
Xenops
+3
Level 69
Nov 21, 2017
Thank you Kill Bill for Yakuza.
DistrictPunk
+4
Level 77
Apr 14, 2018
Could you also possibly accept "Saki" for the fermented rice drink question?
Azerk
+2
Level 64
Oct 18, 2022
That's not even how you pronounce sake
BlackLab
+1
Level 66
Jan 23, 2023
Oh for Buddhas Sake
GVanMeter
+2
Level 25
Jun 22, 2018
Great quiz!
GeographyGeek42
+2
Level 65
Sep 2, 2018
What is an Alcholic beverage?
Sifhraven
+4
Level 76
Mar 15, 2020
Booze
Ainmclarach
+2
Level 71
Aug 18, 2024
Username checks out.
FentonsDad
+2
Level 89
Oct 7, 2018
One "s" in occasion.
BobSaget
+20
Level 76
Oct 7, 2018
Too Japan-centric.
protector441
+5
Level 48
Oct 8, 2018
Is not Shogun fitting for "Military nobility of pre-industrial Japan" as well?
camus
+2
Level 80
May 17, 2020
"Nobility" implies a whole group of society, whereas there was only one shogun at a time.
Findlay
+4
Level 80
May 18, 2020
I didn't try, but does daimyo work? It arguably fits the clue.
applescrumper
+4
Level 46
Sep 5, 2020
I also feel like it would make sense to accept "shogunate"/"shogun" as a type-in for that hint.
mcpf
+2
Level 59
Oct 8, 2018
Strictly speaking, tokyo is not japan's capital. Japan simply does not have any official capital city.

http://houseikyoku.sangiin.go.jp/column/column081.htm "There are no laws to define where Japan's capital is since 1868 because Tokyo was built to stabilize East and North." the Legislative Bureau House of Councillors

Azerk
+1
Level 64
Oct 18, 2022
Strictly speaking, it's called the Republic of China and not Taiwan, but Taiwan is still the most recommended type-in
divantilya
+3
Level 36
Oct 8, 2018
50%. Better than I anticipated. (Also misspelled "Sake" as "Saki").
kiwiquizzer
+3
Level 68
Oct 8, 2018
89%. Thanks high school geography.
jmellor13
+2
Level 68
Oct 11, 2018
I've been to over thirty countries, and I don't think any can come close to my affection for Japan and its people. I cannot wait to go back.
RedLightning
+2
Level 47
Aug 6, 2019
Awesome quiz!! I love Japan and its history and culture so much! I'm learning Japanese too.
QRU
+2
Level 77
May 16, 2020
私も日本語を習います、赤い霆さん!
JWatson24
+1
Level 71
May 20, 2021
Speaking of Japanese history, if anyone wants to see a cool quiz on Feudal Japan, look no further than here!
KanzazKyote
+4
Level 92
Oct 24, 2019
I'm pretty sure Okinawa is considered a main island, albeit a very small one.
Djilas
+1
Level 86
May 16, 2020
No
Azerk
+1
Level 64
Oct 18, 2022
Considering that there are 4 islands bigger than Okinawa for a category with 4 answers, no
salvadoran
+1
Level 62
Nov 4, 2023
According to the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Okinawa is considered a main island. But apparently the idea of Japan having four main islands is very prevalent since a lot of sources don't list Okinawa as a main island. So I guess it's perfectly acceptable for quizzes to only ask for the other four islands!

Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20071113053915/http://www.mlit.go.jp/crd/chirit/ritoutoha.html

BiggieSmalls
+20
Level 76
Nov 21, 2019
this might be one of the only quizzes on here where Kalbamahut hasn't commented.
Jacktheguy
+4
Level 93
Jul 12, 2020
Who's Kalbamahut?
kalbahamut
+23
Level 79
Jul 12, 2020
Was there something you wanted my input on?
CzechMapping
+1
Level 47
Feb 13, 2026
Arent you supposed to be dead or smth?
DonTheLamplighter
+2
Level 87
May 18, 2020
After "anime" didn't work, I had nothing. Never heard of "manga" until now. Loved "Speed Racer" growing up. Never knew it was Japanese until decades later.
PrettyTiedUp
+5
Level 71
May 19, 2020
Manga is comics, anime is cartoons (short for animation).

I love Japan - it's my favourite country. I can't wait to go back.

WillemLAif
+2
Level 81
May 18, 2020
Plum blossom or Ume is also a celebrated tree blossom, although less popular than this one. Wonder if that would have been accepted (went for the more popular one).
redsplat
+3
Level 72
Dec 18, 2020
Speaking of the sake conversation, good quality umeshu is delicious. Lovely served hot in the cold months, and iced in the summer.
ing
+3
Level 73
May 21, 2020
"Occasion" has one "s" in it.
Quizmaster
+3
Level ∞
May 21, 2020
Okay
kogatora
+2
Level 96
Jul 30, 2020
fun quiz
Lucyandadam123
+2
Level 45
Aug 11, 2020
accept buddhist plz :)
Scorp
+1
Level 64
Jun 1, 2021
How come Buddhism is a traditional religion? It originated in India and travelled.
icyfingerwaves
+5
Level 46
May 18, 2022
Buddhism has been practiced in Japan for over 1500 years. I think that qualifies as traditional.
gorbachor
+3
Level 46
Aug 28, 2020
Could you accept Kobe Beef?
Zych
+2
Level 68
Sep 2, 2020
0:51 seconds :)
Findlay
+2
Level 80
Oct 12, 2020
100%! I knew that Asian Studies Major specialising in Japan would come in handy one day.
Hampus
+2
Level 56
Nov 16, 2020
What about Yokohama? (3,7 million)

Osaka has 2,7 million.

Azerk
+2
Level 64
Oct 18, 2022
Yokohama is commonly considered a part of the Tokyo urban area
Aqquar
+3
Level 21
Mar 8, 2021
The celbrated tree blossom is called Hanami. Sakura litteraly means Cherry Tree so I guess it's not exactly the answer we are supposed to find.

Or the question should be "what tree's blossom is celebrated at hanami (or in the beginning of spring). I guess. Maybe my english is not on point on this one

adventurek
+2
Level 65
Jun 11, 2021
Hanami isn't a tree blossom, it's an event where people enjoy the blossoms (hanami/花見 is literally "flower look").
Maggiejo
+1
Level 68
May 22, 2022
All correct! I'm such a weeb XD
Deru
+1
Level 36
Jul 27, 2022
I typed "saki" and I think it should be acceptable since dar is acceptable for dar es salaam and much worse spellings are acceptable for innumerable other words. Thanks for the quiz.
Azerk
+1
Level 64
Oct 18, 2022
Shinto isn't really a religion so much as it is a way of life
RuthlessCosmo
+4
Level 78
Jan 23, 2023
False. It involves worship of supernatural beings; it has priests; it has temples. It may not have the sort of rigidly policed theology as does Islam or Christianity, but that doesn't make it less of a religion.
Youngsterliam
+1
Level 55
Jan 12, 2023
22/24, I'm too much of a weeb to do worse, For some reason I always forget how Shikoku is called and I missed the Kobe Beef one
RuthlessCosmo
+1
Level 78
Jan 23, 2023
On a tangential note: the interesting fact linked to this quiz states: "During WWII, Japan launched over 9000 balloons with incendiary bombs attached to them. They hoped that the bombs would cross the Pacific to the United States, start massive forest fires, and sow panic. The project was a colossal failure. However, in 1945, one balloon did kill six picnickers in Oregon. Those six people were the only deaths caused by enemy action in the continental U.S. during WWII."

Except that more than 500 U.S. soldiers died in the Aleutian campaign. Alaska may not have been a state at that time but it was part of the continental U.S.

partdavid
+1
Level 74
Jan 23, 2023
The fact isn't linked to this particular quiz, it's just random, so this is really a comment for its comment page.
RJG
+1
Level 63
Feb 12, 2023
I have live in Japan, but only managed 21/24.
EconomicSnake
+2
Level 73
Sep 28, 2023
"Steak" should be accepted for the wagyu question, I think. That's the most famous preparation of Kobe beef.
bakainu
+1
Level 70
Aug 14, 2024
Should accept "maiko" as well as "geisha" for the entertainers.
Kurimeshi
+2
Level 17
Aug 24, 2024
I'm Japanese, but I got 5 questions wrong on this quiz.

I may be a disgrace to Japan.

(This text uses Google Translate.)

Relgasic
+1
Level 60
Jan 28, 2025
Can you accept Honsyu and Kyusyu as answers?
godeulB
+1
Level 34
May 15, 2025
Anyone who got 100% is not beating the weeb allegations
FlickerP
+1
Level 79
Feb 13, 2026
I am baffled how 83% know the name for Japanese comics, especially considering some of the answers with lower percentages. I have genuinely never heard of it
mizu
+1
Level 59
Feb 13, 2026
Might being a bit pedantic but Japan has had alot of cpital cities in its history so the question of which was the former capital technically has a number of correct answers not just Kyoto. Such as Kamakura and im fearly certain that Osaka was a captial briefly.

Basically lots of periods where wherever the Shogan or Emperor lived was the captial.

Copyright H Brothers Inc, 2008–2026
Contact Us | Go To Top | View Mobile Site | Site Map