Global InformationJapan information
Japan 日本国 (Japanese) Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Imperial Seal
| |
| Anthem: 君が代 (Kimigayo) "His Imperial Majesty's Reign" | |
| State Seal: 大日本國璽 (Dai Nihon Kokuji) "National Seal of Greater Japan"  | |
 Location of Japan
Territory claimed but not controlled | |
| Capital and largest city | Tokyo 35°41′N 139°46′E / 35.683°N 139.767°E |
| Official languages | Japanese (de facto) |
| Demonym(s) | Japanese |
| Government | Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
• Emperor | Naruhito |
• Prime Minister | Fumio Kishida |
| Legislature | National Diet |
• Upper house | House of Councillors |
• Lower house | House of Representatives |
| Formation | |
• Imperial Dynasty established | 539 AD[1][2][3] |
• Meiji Constitution | November 29, 1890 |
• Current constitution | May 3, 1947 |
| Area | |
• Total | 377,975 km2 (145,937 sq mi)[4] (62nd) |
• Water (%) | 1.4[5] |
| Population | |
• March 1, 2024 estimate |  123,970,000[6] (11th) |
• 2020 census | 126,226,568[7] |
• Density | 330/km2 (854.7/sq mi) (44th) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2024 estimate |
• Total |  $6.721 trillion[8] (4th) |
• Per capita | $54,184[8] (34th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2024 estimate |
• Total |  $4.110 trillion[8] (4th) |
• Per capita | $33,138[8] (30th) |
| Gini (2018) |  33.4[9]medium |
| HDI (2022) | 0.920[10] very high (24th) |
| Currency | Japanese yen (¥) |
| Time zone | UTC+09:00 (JST) |
| Driving side | left |
| Calling code | +81 |
| ISO 3166 code | JP |
| Internet TLD | .jp |
Japan[a] is an island country in East Asia. It is in the northwest Pacific Ocean and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north toward the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, and Taiwan in the south. Japan is a part of the Ring of Fire, and spans an archipelago of 14,125 islands, with the five main islands being Hokkaido, Honshu (the "mainland"), Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa. Tokyo is the country's capital and largest city, followed by Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Kobe, and Kyoto.
Japan has over 125 million inhabitants and is the 11th most populous country in the world, as well as one of the most densely populated. About three-fourths of the country's terrain is mountainous, concentrating its highly urbanized population on narrow coastal plains. Japan is divided into 47 administrative prefectures and eight traditional regions. The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world. Japan has the world's highest life expectancy, although it is experiencing a population decline due to its very low birth rate.
Japan has been inhabited since the Upper Paleolithic period (30,000 BC). Between the fourth and ninth centuries AD, the kingdoms of Japan became unified under an emperor and the imperial court based in Heian-kyō. Beginning in the 12th century, political power was held by a series of military dictators (shōgun) and feudal lords (daimyō), and enforced by a class of warrior nobility (samurai). After a century-long period of civil war, the country was reunified in 1603 under the Tokugawa shogunate, which enacted an isolationist foreign policy. In 1854, a United States fleet forced Japan to open trade to the West, which led to the end of the shogunate and the restoration of imperial power in 1868. In the Meiji period, the Empire of Japan adopted a Western-modeled constitution, and pursued a program of industrialization and modernization. Amidst a rise in militarism and overseas colonization, Japan invaded China in 1937 and entered World War II as an Axis power in 1941. After suffering defeat in the Pacific War and two atomic bombings, Japan surrendered in 1945 and came under a seven-year Allied occupation, during which it adopted a new constitution.
Under the 1947 constitution, Japan has maintained a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a bicameral legislature, the National Diet. Japan is a developed country and a great power, with one of the largest economies by nominal GDP. Japan has renounced its right to declare war, though it maintains a Self-Defense Force that ranks as one of the world's strongest militaries. A global leader in the automotive, robotics, and electronics industries, the country has made significant contributions to science and technology, and is one of the world's largest exporters and importers. It is part of multiple major international and intergovernmental institutions.
Japan is a cultural superpower as the culture of Japan is well known around the world, including its art, cuisine, film, music, and popular culture, which encompasses prominent manga, anime, and video game industries.
- ^ Hoye, Timothy (1999). Japanese Politics: Fixed and Floating Worlds. Pearson. p. 78.
- ^ Dehaas, Josh (April 29, 2019). "5 things to know as Japan's Emperor Akihito steps down". CTV.
- ^ Cartwright, Mark (July 10, 2019). "Emperor of Japan". World History Encyclopedia.
- ^ 令和元年全国都道府県市区町村別面積調 (10月1日時点) [Reiwa 1 nationwide area survey by prefectures and municipalities (as of October 1)] (in Japanese). Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. December 26, 2019. Archived from the original on April 15, 2020.
- ^ "Surface water and surface water change". OECD. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
- ^ "Population Estimates Monthly Report". Statistics Bureau. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ "2020 Population Census Preliminary Tabulation". Statistics Bureau of Japan. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
- ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, April 2024 Edition. (Japan)". www.imf.org. International Monetary Fund. April 16, 2024. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
- ^ Inequality – Income inequality – OECD Data. OECD. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
- ^ "Human Development Report 2023/2024" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. March 13, 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 13, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
- ^ "Official Names of Member States (UNTERM)" (PDF). UN Protocol and Liaison Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 5, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
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