East Asia For Miyuki Nakajima album , see East Asia ( album ) . East Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms . Political-geographically , it covers about 6 , 640 , 000 km² , or 15% of the Asian continent . More than 1.5 billion people , about 40% of the population of Asia or a quarter of all the people in the world , live in geographic East Asia . The region is one of the world 's most crowded places . The population density of East Asia , 230 per km² , is over five times the world average . Culturally , it embraces those societies that have long been part of the Chinese cultural sphere : displaying heavy historical influence from the Classical Chinese language ( including the traditional Chinese script ) , Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism Mahayana Buddhism , and Daoism ( Taoism ) . This combination of language , political philosophy , and religion overlaps with the geographical designation of East Asia with the exception of the overseas Chinese , including in Singapore , Malaysia , United States , etc. and Vietnam . The influence is also displayed in the style of architecture , traditional music and instruments , holidays , festivals , etc . East Asia and Eastern Asia ( the latter being the preferred term used by the United Nations ) are both more modern terms for the traditional European name the Far East , which describes the region 's geographical position in relation to Europe rather than its location within Asia . Political-geographic East Asia . Political-geographic East Asia shaded in dark green , cultural and other possible definitions shaded in light green The following countries ( both States and territories ) are located in geographic East Asia : People 's Republic of China Hong Kong ( a special administrative region of the People 's Republic of China ) Japan North Korea South Korea Macau ( a special administrative region of the People 's Republic of China ) Mongolia Republic of China ( Taiwan ) The following peoples or societies are encompassed by cultural East Asia : Chinese society ( including the Chinese -dominated regions of Hong Kong , Taiwan and Macau ; and Singapore due to its majority Chinese population ) Japanese society Korean society Mongolian society Vietnamese society The following countries or regions are sometimes considered part of East Asia . A major reason for disagreement on this question is the difference between the cultural and geographic definitions of `` East Asia '' . Political perspective is also an important factor . The parts of China that are not historically dominated by Han Chinese people : Qinghai , Tibet , Xinjiang ( either East Asia or Central Asia ) Russian Far East ( either East Asia or North Asia ) Vietnam ( either East Asia or Southeast Asia ) In less frequent situations , East Asia is expanded to include all countries in Southeast Asia , especially when used in dualism with the term West Asia , the latter of which is then used to include both South Asia and Southwest Asia . Some consider Taiwan as a part of Southeast Asia instead of East Asia , largely fueled by those attempting to highlight differentiate Taiwanese as a separate ethnic group from the Chinese. [ citation needed ] This argument is based on the notion that the Taiwanese aborigines are genetically related to the Malay peoples of Austronesian descent in the Philippines , Indonesia , and Malaysia . Other subregions of Asia Southeast Asia South Asia ( Indian Subcontinent ) Central Asia Southwest Asia or West Asia ( One definition of the Middle East is synonymous with Southwest Asia ) North Asia ( Siberia ) Northern Eurasia ( Extends into Europe ) Central Eurasia ( Extends into Europe ) See also Asian Network of Major Cities 21 East Asian languages East Asian Tigers , a label pertinent to the recent economic history of the region . East Asia Summit History of East Asia Sinosphere Regions of the world Africa Central  · Eastern  · Northern  · Southern  · Western Americas Caribbean  · Central  · Latin  · North  · Northern  · South Asia Central  · Eastern  · Northern  · Southern  · Southeastern  · Western Europe Central  · Eastern  · Northern  · Southern  · Western Oceania Australasia  · Melanesia  · Micronesia  · Polynesia Polar Arctic  · Antarctic Oceans Pacific  · Atlantic  · Indian  · Southern  · Arctic wuu : 东亚 Categories : Articles with unsourced statements | Asia | East Asia In other languages : العربية | Български | Bân-lâm-gú | Deutsch | Esperanto | Français | 한국어 | Bahasa Indonesia | עברית | Lietuvių | Bahasa Melayu | Nederlands | 日本語 | Polski | Română | Русский | Sicilianu | Simple English | Suomi | Svenska | ไทย | Tiếng Việt | Українська | 中文 Miyuki Nakajima album East Asia ( album ) 