Japan (Honda Kiku)

Japan is a main character in the series Hetalia. His human names is name Honda Kiku.

He is a short, slim man with short black hair, dark brown eyes, and is often depicted wearing a white naval uniform with black and gold accents and a katana sword often at his left hip. Although he is one of the shorter characters.

A shy, quiet, and hard-working man, Japan does not know very much about the outside world, partially due to his self-isolation, and needs time to adjust to other people. He is very curious and interested in learning things from other nations. His distinct island customs may seem mysterious to others, although he finds them perfectly normal. He tends to have the behavior of an "old man" and was a hikikomori for a long time, having spent about 250 years in isolation and keeping contact only with Netherlands. Though he appears horrified at the idea of nudity or intimate contact, he has erotic woodcuts in his possession, which he tries to hide secretly between his non-erotic books. Japan also voiced his preference for 2D girls over 3D girls to England, Greece, and France in one strip, hinting that he has an otaku side.

Japan seems to be fond of food in general, very similar to China's fondness, his country's food in particular, as evidenced by his annoyance of having his salted salmon taken off Germany's diet plan. However, unlike China, Japan seemed willing to share recipes and ingredients of some dishes. It is said that cockroaches are one of the things that Japan hates the most, to the extent where he could cry over them. Although he appears relatively calm most of the time, it is suggested that his anger would be the "scariest". However, it is shown that it is hard for him to get that angry, as he is mostly able to only summon an "unpleasant feeling".

He loves animals, especially cats, and owns a white dog called Pochi that resembles an Akita or Shiba Inu, both Japanese breeds. He also eventually gets a rabbit and a guinea pig. He tends to have a weakness for things that are soft and fluffy.

Although he has lost connection to his spiritual side that allowed him to see and communicate with the mystic spirits of his land, Japan is still very respectful towards spirits of the deceased and tries to prevent the other countries from doing anything that would upset them out of both respect and fear of what an angry spirit would do.

Germany: Japan and Germany get along relatively well and tend to be the only ones who adapt to the situation while joined together as the Axis Powers. Japan had known Germany for some time, although Germany said he can never tell what Japan has in mind. Japan seems to admire how put together Germany is and how productive and efficient he can be in his work.

Italy: The two became acquainted with each other as part of the Axis. Japan is shown to often be unnerved by Italy's "shameless" and unusual behavior, even as going as far as to order him to "take responsibility" and marry him after having been hugged and kissed. The two have been shown to have a mutual respect of each other's history and artwork and seem to be close friends although Japan is often caught off guard by Italy's affections and energetic nature.

America: Japan is depicted to have a close friendship with America since the younger country got him to open his borders. Their relationship became better when Japan confided in America how he was worried about getting along with others. Despite their close bond, Japan can become annoyed/angered by many of America's spontaneous outbursts and actions, especially when Japan is on the end of said actions, such as when America had tricked him into hosting a Christmas party. They share a love of technology and video games, and the two are often used to show the differences between their cultures.

China: After being discovered by China as a small child, Japan was raised by the older man, who taught him how to use kanji (which Japan used to create the hiragana alphabet). One day, Japan turned against China and attacked him with a katana, leaving a disfiguring scar on China's back. From this point, the two were enemies in war, and China despaired over how war had changed Japan. It is also to be noted that while China considered Japan a younger brother, Japan himself denied there being such a connection when asked.

England: The two nations are often shown to get along well. Despite not having much in common, Japan suggests they can be lonely together, as both of them do not have many friends. They also formed an alliance (Anglo-Japanese Alliance). They both appear to share a love for tea/tea ceremonies as they can often be seen enjoying tea together.

Russia: Japan is shown to abhor Russia, his grudge stemming as far back as the Russo-Japanese War (although he defeated him, he wound up using up his life savings and became poor). After hearing of the alliance between Russia and Germany, Japan became distraught, claiming "That man is a monster created by fallout from nuclear tests! He tears down buildings! He breathes fire!".

Greece: The two nations have a very friendly relation, and multiple strips can be seen of them visiting each other or bonding over their mutual love of cats. Their relationship could be associated with the real-life Greco-Japan diplomatic relationship, which started in 1899.

Korea: Japan and Korea appear to not get along very well. Japan is often on the end of Korea's hatred and false claims of stolen ideas and inventions. He is also very unnerved at Korea's many attempts to grab his chest with the claim it belongs to him.