Thanks to all
The problem was simple and so were the suggestions. Thanks to all!
First you will find my initial question and then a copy of all replies
This list is a great source of info...well done!!
Taoufik


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Hello All,
Very simply I would like to show students how big is Australia compared to
Japan, in size. I would like to overlay Japan map over Australia map. First
I converted the respective maps to shape files (I used the world map
supplied by AView). Then I tried changing the coordiantes for Japan map to
coordiantes that fall within Australia, but was not successful. Any other
suggestions would be appreciated.
Cheers
Taoufik
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Draw two VIEWFRAMES in a layout - ensuring you set them to the same scale -
then simply move one over top of the other.
That should do it.

Cheers,
Anthony

Anthony Herman
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You could try using the XTools extension to convert the Japan shapefile to a
graphic and then physically move it over Australia with your mouse, then
convert it back to a shapefile, this will automatically change the
coordinates.  If you need to XTools extension let me know, otherwise it can
be downloaded from ESRI's web page.

Shannon Oslund
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OK,

First, assuming that you are using a projection that is suitable for
displaying the world...

Why not just zoom in to Australia, then export the view to an image (JPEG or
TIFF). Note the scale in your view. Then zoom into Japan, change the scale
(upper right hand corner) to be the same as you Australia view, and export
that to an image.

Overlay the two images in Photoshop... or simply align them and use them in
Powerpoint or something.

Chip
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Select all the Japan polygons>>Start editing the theme>>Edit>>copy
features>>stopt editing theme[don't save changes]>>Edit>>Paste

This will give you Japan polygons as graphics.  Move them over to Australia.
You can even color these polygons, same way as you color themes.
Rajan
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Start editing one of the shapefiles, select the country you want to move,
and move it with the cursor
Brad
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First, find a projection where the distances on the ground are the same for
both.
Next, make a new view and copy either Japan or Australia to the new view.
Set the view properties to the same for both (kilometers for distance,
meters for units)
Set the scale the same for both by typing in a value.
Create a layout with two map boxes, both the same size. Link one to the
view with Australia, link the second to the view with Japan. Line them up
as close as you can. It may not be inside Australia, but you can have them
side by side to compare.

Margaret