Japan is an island country.
彼はいろいろな国を旅してきた。
He has traveled through many countries.
Used more broadly for a land or region, especially in descriptive compounds or somewhat literary expressions rather than as an administrative term.
雪の多い国では冬の暮らしに工夫がいる。
In snowy regions, winter life takes some ingenuity.
山を越えると、言葉も習慣も違う国だった。
Beyond the mountains was a land with different speech and customs.
national government; central government
Refers to the state as an actor, especially the national or central government, as opposed to local governments or private organizations.
この道路は国が管理している。
This road is managed by the national government.
国は新しい支援策を発表した。
The government announced new support measures.
Used from the speaker's or subject's viewpoint for the place one belongs to or comes from. 国に帰る commonly means returning to one's home country; for a hometown within Japan, 故郷 or 田舎 is often more explicit.
留学が終わったら国に帰ります。
When my study abroad ends, I will return to my home country.
彼女は国の家族に毎週電話している。
She calls her family back home every week.
province of old Japan
Historical term for a premodern Japanese province, as in 武蔵国 or 山城国. This is tied to older administrative divisions, not modern prefectures.
See also: 国郡里制
武蔵国は現在の東京・埼玉あたりにあった。
Musashi Province was in the area of present-day Tokyo and Saitama.
古い文書には「山城国」と書かれている。
The old document says “Yamashiro Province.”
Archaic or mythological use for land or earth itself, rather than a modern country. It is now mainly encountered in old texts, mythology, or explanations of fixed expressions.
神話の「国生み」では、国は大地や島を指す。
In the mythological term 国生み, 国 refers to land or islands.
I'm planning to go back to my home country during summer vacation.
He left his country to look for work.
The military exists to defend the country.
Many empires collapsed because of war.
That policy is something the national government decides.
northern country · northern provinces; northern regions; northland
kanji radical 31 (enclosing box); "country" radical
national character; regional character
country; land · Japan
all over the country; throughout the nation
regional administrator (pre-Taika hereditary title)
vast country; extensive territory
mountainous country; land of mountains
your country; your hometown · my home country (Japan) · countryside; rural area · daimyo's territory (Edo period)
provincial samurai
the State; the government side; the national side
hometown; native place; one's home
by country; per country
country or region name used as a personal name
birthplace; hometown
hometown; birthplace; native region
people of a country; nation's populace
of the land; earthly; terrestrial