In the Japanese language, Japan is called “Nihon” and not “Japan,” but why do we call them differently?

Marco Polo (a Venetian merchant/adventurer) introduced Japan to Europe as "Cipangu" in his book "Oriental Views” because in Chinese, “日本 Nihon” was pronounced as JIBEN/JIPEN.

Marco Polo was an adventurer who is said to have visited Japan in the 13th century, and he described Japan as "the land of gold" in his later books. Portugal was the first European country to trade with Japan in the 16th century, and it is said that they trusted his words and really looked for gold in Japan. Information about Japan in Europe had been greatly influenced by Marco Polo, and the way this country is called is one of them.

By the way, in Japanese we can say “Nihon” or “Nippon”; what are these differences? In fact in 2009, an official statement from the government was announced saying that "it doesn't matter either way.” So you can call Japan “Nihon” or “Nippon” whichever you like, but I personally feel that
Nihon is more common.

However, please note that in the case of proper nouns such as "日本ニホン大学 Nihon University" and "日本(ニッポン)放送協会 Japan Broadcasting Corporation", the reading is fixed.

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