Misc: How many spaces are there on a Scrabble Crossword Game board?

Questions

------------ means "land of the free."?

Japan consists of the four large islands of Hokkaido, ----------, Shikoku, Kyushu, and about three thousand smaller islands.?

Lake Baikal in -------------- is the only lake in the world that is deep enough to have deep-sea fish.?

----------- is the only country in the Middle East that does not have a desert.?

Located 137 miles north of Rome, ------------- is the oldest and one of the smallest republics in the world.?