There are many names of Japan in the English, Japanese, and other languages. The word "Japan" (or "Japon") is an exonym, and is used (in one form or another) by a large number of languages. The Japanese names for Japan are Nippon (にっぽん  listen (help·info)) and Nihon (にほん  listen (help·info)). They are both written in Japanese using the kanji 日本. The Japanese name Nippon is used for most official purposes, including on Japanese money, postage stamps, and for many international sporting events. Nihon is a more casual term and the most frequently used in contemporary speech.

Both Nippon and Nihon literally mean "the sun's origin", that is, where the sun originates, and are often translated as the Land of the Rising Sun. This nomenclature comes from Imperial correspondence with Chinese Sui Dynasty and refers to Japan's eastward position relative to China. Before Nihon came into official use, Japan was known as Wa (倭^?) or Wakoku (倭国^?).Wa was a name early China used to refer to an ethnic group living in Japan around the time of the Three Kingdoms Period.

Japan ⁱ/dʒəˈpæn/ (Japanese: 日本 Nihon or Nippon; formally 日本国  Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku, literally the State of Japan) is an island nation in 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 in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".

Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.

Archaeological research indicates that people lived in Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other nations followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War and World War I allowed Japan to expand its empire during a period of increasing militarism. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since adopting its revised constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament called the Diet.

Casino Versus Japan (sometimes Casino vs. Japan) is the recording name for Erik Kowalski (born May 5, 1973 in Wisconsin), a United States-based electronic musician who produces intelligent dance music (IDM).

Erik Kowalski started with recorded episodes of Miami Vice, sampling Jan Hammer's music, sampling and playing them over the backdrop of other musical genres. More samples were collected from a range of sources and mixed with other homemade recordings. Kowalski taught himself piano in high school, along with guitar and drums, and began putting together simple songs.

Recording guitar-based, ambient/experimental music as Radiogate in 1996 and 1997, Kowalski matured in the underground electronic music community in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He worked at Atomic Records and also wrote for the alternative fanzine Milk Magazine to stay informed on developments within many styles of innovative music. In early 1998, he approached Mike Bailey of the local electronic label Star Star Stereo with some demo tapes, and shortly thereafter, released his self titled debut Casino Versus Japan. This subsequently led to live performances (including several dates opening for Low) with Charles Wyatt (Charles Atlas) accompanying Kowalski on guitar. In January 2000, Go Hawaii was released on CD by Wobblyhead (later on double-vinyl LP by City Centre Offices, 2001). By the summer of 2002, the track "It's Very Sunny" was used in a Hummer television commercial. His third album Whole Numbers Play The Basics, followed in September, 2002 on Carpark Records. The song "Manic Thru Tone" was used in MTV's "Choose Or Lose" campaign in the fall of 2002.

Robin Currie McBryde (born 3 July 1970), is a former rugby union player who gained 37 rugby union caps for Wales as a hooker between 1994 and 2005.

McBryde was born in Bangor, and first played club rugby for Porthaethwy (Menai Bridge), then for Yr Wyddgrug (Mold) and for the North Wales team. He then moved to South Wales in search of a higher standard of rugby. He joined Swansea then moved to Llanelli, making his first appearance for the club on 1 October 1994 against Cardiff. He captained Llanelli when they won the Welsh Cup in 1998 and the Welsh Championship in 1999 and later played for the Llanelli Scarlets regional side when they were formed in 2003. He played 250 games for Llanelli and the Scarlets between 1994 and 2005.

He won his first cap for Wales against Fiji in 1994. His last international appearance was as a replacement in the match against Ireland in March 2005 which saw Wales clinch the Grand Slam.

He was selected for the British and Irish Lions 2001 tour to Australia, but was forced out of the tour by injury. Injury also meant that he missed the 2003 Six Nations Championship.