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Why does the name " United States " gets article?

Like:

He is from Japan

He is from the United states

But Japan doesn't get article. Why?

Thanks

CowperKettle
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GforOevOerD
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    *She is from India, he is from the United Kingdom.* But *She is from the Republic of India, he is from Britain*. The same principle applies here, except that there is no English name for modern Japan which includes the type of state (it's not the *Empire of Japan*, even though there is an emperor, as that name refers to the prewar entity). – choster Aug 14 '15 at 23:11

1 Answers1

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The word "states" is not a proper noun. It's essentially "those states [of America] that are now united" (add capitalization as desired).

Victor Bazarov
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  • I have searched and found it that it's best to call the countries by the name they have introduced themselves as to the English language. – GforOevOerD Sep 16 '15 at 17:35