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Japan

Japan (Japanese: 日本, Nippon or Nihon,[nb 1] and formally 日本国, Nihonkoku)[nb 2] is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while 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 6852 islands covering 377,975 square kilometers (145,937 sq mi); the five main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu (the "mainland"), Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa. Tokyo is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Kobe, and Kyoto.

Japan
日本国 (Japanese)
Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku
Anthem: 
君が代
Kimigayo
"His Imperial Majesty's Reign"
Government Seal
Territory controlled by Japan in dark green; territory claimed but not controlled shown in light green
Capital
and largest city
Tokyo
35°41′N 139°46′E / 35.683°N 139.767°E / 35.683; 139.767
Official languagesJapanese (de facto)
Demonym(s)Japanese
GovernmentUnitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
• Emperor
Naruhito
Fumio Kishida
LegislatureNational Diet
House of Councillors
House of Representatives
Formation
February 11, 660 BC
November 29, 1890
May 3, 1947
Area
• Total
377,975 km2 (145,937 sq mi)[1] (62nd)
• Water (%)
1.4 (as of 2015)[2]
Population
• 2022 estimate
124,214,766[3] (11th)
• 2020 census
126,226,568[4]
• Density
332/km2 (859.9/sq mi) (24th)
GDP (PPP)2022 estimate
• Total
$6.110 trillion[5] (4th)
• Per capita
$48,813 [5] (36th)
GDP (nominal)2022 estimate
• Total
$4.301 trillion[5] (3rd)
• Per capita
$34,358[5] (30th)
Gini (2018) 33.4[6]
medium
HDI (2021) 0.925[7]
very high · 19th
CurrencyJapanese yen (¥)
Time zoneUTC+09:00 (JST)
Driving sideleft
Calling code+81
ISO 3166 codeJP
Internet TLD.jp

Japan is the eleventh most populous country in the world, as well as one of the most densely populated and urbanized. About three-fourths of the country's terrain is mountainous, concentrating its population of 123.2 million 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, with more than 35.6 million residents.

Japan has been inhabited since the Upper Paleolithic period (30,000 BC), though the first written mention of the archipelago appears in a Chinese chronicle (the Book of Han) finished in the 2nd century AD. Between the 4th and 9th centuries, 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 and began a military alliance with the United States. Under the 1947 constitution, Japan has maintained a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a bicameral legislature, the National Diet.

Japan is a developed country, member of OECD, and a great power. Its economy is the world's third-largest by nominal GDP and the fourth-largest by PPP, with its per capita income ranking at 36th highest in the world. Although Japan has renounced its right to declare war, the country maintains Self-Defense Forces that rank as one of the world's strongest militaries. After World War II, Japan experienced record growth in an economic miracle, becoming the second-largest economy in the world by 1972 but has stagnated since 1995 in what is referred to as the Lost Decades. Japan has the world's highest life expectancy, though it is experiencing a decline in population. A global leader in the automotive, robotics and electronics industries, the country has made significant contributions to science and technology. 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. It is a member of numerous international organizations, including the United Nations (since 1956), G20 and Group of Seven.

Etymology

Japan
Japanese name
Kanji日本国
Hiraganaにっぽんこく
にほんこく
Katakanaニッポンコク
ニホンコク
Kyūjitai日本國
Transcriptions
RomanizationNippon-koku
Nihon-koku

The name for Japan in Japanese is written using the kanji 日本 and is pronounced Nippon or Nihon.[9] Before 日本 was adopted in the early 8th century, the country was known in China as Wa (, changed in Japan around 757 to ) and in Japan by the endonym Yamato.[10] Nippon, the original Sino-Japanese reading of the characters, is favored for official uses, including on banknotes and postage stamps.[9] Nihon is typically used in everyday speech and reflects shifts in Japanese phonology during the Edo period.[10] The characters 日本 mean "sun origin",[9] which is the source of the popular Western epithet "Land of the Rising Sun".[11]

The name "Japan" is based on Chinese pronunciations of 日本 and was introduced to European languages through early trade. In the 13th century, Marco Polo recorded the early Mandarin or Wu Chinese pronunciation of the characters 日本國 as Cipangu.[12] The old Malay name for Japan, Japang or Japun, was borrowed from a southern coastal Chinese dialect and encountered by Portuguese traders in Southeast Asia, who brought the word to Europe in the early 16th century.[13] The first version of the name in English appears in a book published in 1577, which spelled the name as Giapan in a translation of a 1565 Portuguese letter.[14][15]

History

Prehistoric to classical history

 
Legendary Emperor Jimmu (神武天皇, Jinmu-tennō)

A Paleolithic culture from around 30,000 BC constitutes the first known habitation of the islands of Japan.[16] This was followed from around 14,500 BC (the start of the Jōmon period) by a Mesolithic to Neolithic semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer culture characterized by pit dwelling and rudimentary agriculture.[17] Clay vessels from the period are among the oldest surviving examples of pottery.[18] From around 700 BC, the Japonic-speaking Yayoi people began to enter the archipelago from the Korean Peninsula,[19][20][21] intermingling with the Jōmon;[21] the Yayoi period saw the introduction of practices including wet-rice farming,[22] a new style of pottery,[23] and metallurgy from China and Korea.[24] According to legend, Emperor Jimmu (grandson of Amaterasu) founded a kingdom in central Japan in 660 BC, beginning a continuous imperial line.[25]

Japan first appears in written history in the Chinese Book of Han, completed in 111 AD. Buddhism was introduced to Japan from Baekje (a Korean kingdom) in 552, but the development of Japanese Buddhism was primarily influenced by China.[26] Despite early resistance, Buddhism was promoted by the ruling class, including figures like Prince Shōtoku, and gained widespread acceptance beginning in the Asuka period (592–710).[27]

The far-reaching Taika Reforms in 645 nationalized all land in Japan, to be distributed equally among cultivators, and ordered the compilation of a household registry as the basis for a new system of taxation.[28] The Jinshin War of 672, a bloody conflict between Prince Ōama and his nephew Prince Ōtomo, became a major catalyst for further administrative reforms.[29] These reforms culminated with the promulgation of the Taihō Code, which consolidated existing statutes and established the structure of the central and subordinate local governments.[28] These legal reforms created the ritsuryō state, a system of Chinese-style centralized government that remained in place for half a millennium.[29]

The Nara period (710–784) marked the emergence of a Japanese state centered on the Imperial Court in Heijō-kyō (modern Nara). The period is characterized by the appearance of a nascent literary culture with the completion of the Kojiki (712) and Nihon Shoki (720), as well as the development of Buddhist-inspired artwork and architecture.[30][31] A smallpox epidemic in 735–737 is believed to have killed as much as one-third of Japan's population.[31][32] In 784, Emperor Kanmu moved the capital, settling on Heian-kyō (modern-day Kyoto) in 794.[31] This marked the beginning of the Heian period (794–1185), during which a distinctly indigenous Japanese culture emerged. Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji and the lyrics of Japan's national anthem "Kimigayo" were written during this time.[33]

Feudal era

 
Japanese samurai boarding a Mongol vessel during the Mongol invasions of Japan, depicted in the Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba, 1293
 
Three unifiers of Japan. Left to right: Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu

Japan's feudal era was characterized by the emergence and dominance of a ruling class of warriors, the samurai.[34] In 1185, following the defeat of the Taira clan in the Genpei War, samurai Minamoto no Yoritomo established a military government at Kamakura.[35] After Yoritomo's death, the Hōjō clan came to power as regents for the shōgun.[31] The Zen school of Buddhism was introduced from China in the Kamakura period (1185–1333) and became popular among the samurai class.[36] The Kamakura shogunate repelled Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281 but was eventually overthrown by Emperor Go-Daigo.[31] Go-Daigo was defeated by Ashikaga Takauji in 1336, beginning the Muromachi period (1336–1573).[37] The succeeding Ashikaga shogunate failed to control the feudal warlords (daimyō) and a civil war began in 1467, opening the century-long Sengoku period ("Warring States").[38]

During the 16th century, Portuguese traders and Jesuit missionaries reached Japan for the first time, initiating direct commercial and cultural exchange between Japan and the West.[31][39] Oda Nobunaga used European technology and firearms to conquer many other daimyō;[40] his consolidation of power began what was known as the Azuchi–Momoyama period.[41] After the death of Nobunaga in 1582, his successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, unified the nation in the early 1590s and launched two unsuccessful invasions of Korea in 1592 and 1597.[31]

Tokugawa Ieyasu served as regent for Hideyoshi's son Toyotomi Hideyori and used his position to gain political and military support.[42] When open war broke out, Ieyasu defeated rival clans in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. He was appointed shōgun by Emperor Go-Yōzei in 1603 and established the Tokugawa shogunate at Edo (modern Tokyo).[43] The shogunate enacted measures including buke shohatto, as a code of conduct to control the autonomous daimyō,[44] and in 1639 the isolationist sakoku ("closed country") policy that spanned the two and a half centuries of tenuous political unity known as the Edo period (1603–1868).[43][45] Modern Japan's economic growth began in this period, resulting in roads and water transportation routes, as well as financial instruments such as futures contracts, banking and insurance of the Osaka rice brokers.[46] The study of Western sciences (rangaku) continued through contact with the Dutch enclave in Nagasaki.[43] The Edo period gave rise to kokugaku ("national studies"), the study of Japan by the Japanese.[47]

Modern era

 
Emperor Meiji (明治天皇, Meiji-tennō); 1852–1912
 
The Japanese Empire in 1942

In 1854, Commodore Matthew C. Perry and the "Black Ships" of the United States Navy forced the opening of Japan to the outside world with the Convention of Kanagawa.[43] Subsequent similar treaties with other Western countries brought economic and political crises.[43] The resignation of the shōgun led to the Boshin War and the establishment of a centralized state nominally unified under the emperor (the Meiji Restoration).[48] Adopting Western political, judicial, and military institutions, the Cabinet organized the Privy Council, introduced the Meiji Constitution (29 November 1890), and assembled the Imperial Diet.[49] During the Meiji period (1868–1912), the Empire of Japan emerged as the most developed nation in Asia and as an industrialized world power that pursued military conflict to expand its sphere of influence.[50][51][52] After victories in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), Japan gained control of Taiwan, Korea and the southern half of Sakhalin.[53][49] The Japanese population doubled from 35 million in 1873 to 70 million by 1935, with a significant shift to urbanization.[54][55]

The early 20th century saw a period of Taishō democracy (1912–1926) overshadowed by increasing expansionism and militarization.[56][57] World War I allowed Japan, which joined the side of the victorious Allies, to capture German possessions in the Pacific and in China.[57] The 1920s saw a political shift towards statism, a period of lawlessness following the 1923 Great Tokyo Earthquake, the passing of laws against political dissent, and a series of attempted coups.[55][58][59] This process accelerated during the 1930s, spawning a number of radical nationalist groups that shared a hostility to liberal democracy and a dedication to expansion in Asia. In 1931, Japan invaded and occupied Manchuria; following international condemnation of the occupation, it resigned from the League of Nations two years later.[60] In 1936, Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Nazi Germany; the 1940 Tripartite Pact made it one of the Axis Powers.[55]

 
Japan's imperial ambitions ended on September 2, 1945, with the country's surrender to the Allies.

The Empire of Japan invaded other parts of China in 1937, precipitating the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945).[61] In 1940, the Empire invaded French Indochina, after which the United States placed an oil embargo on Japan.[55][62] On December 7–8, 1941, Japanese forces carried out surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor, as well as on British forces in Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong, among others, beginning World War II in the Pacific.[63] Throughout areas occupied by Japan during the war, numerous abuses were committed against local inhabitants, with many forced into sexual slavery.[64] After Allied victories during the next four years, which culminated in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, Japan agreed to an unconditional surrender.[65] The war cost Japan its colonies and millions of lives.[55] The Allies (led by the United States) repatriated millions of Japanese settlers from their former colonies and military camps throughout Asia, largely eliminating the Japanese Empire and its influence over the territories it conquered.[66][67] The Allies convened the International Military Tribunal for the Far East to prosecute Japanese leaders for war crimes.[67]

In 1947, Japan adopted a new constitution emphasizing liberal democratic practices.[67] The Allied occupation ended with the Treaty of San Francisco in 1952,[68] and Japan was granted membership in the United Nations in 1956.[67] A period of record growth propelled Japan to become the second-largest economy in the world;[67] this ended in the mid-1990s after the popping of an asset price bubble, beginning the "Lost Decade".[69] On March 11, 2011, Japan suffered one of the largest earthquakes in its recorded history, triggering the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.[70] On May 1, 2019, after the historic abdication of Emperor Akihito, his son Naruhito became Emperor, beginning the Reiwa era.[71]

Geography

Japan comprises 6852 islands extending along the Pacific coast of Asia. It stretches over 3000 km (1900 mi) northeast–southwest from the Sea of Okhotsk to the East China Sea.[72][73] The country's five main islands, from north to south, are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu and Okinawa.[74] The Ryukyu Islands, which include Okinawa, are a chain to the south of Kyushu. The Nanpō Islands are south and east of the main islands of Japan. Together they are often known as the Japanese archipelago.[75] As of 2019, Japan's territory is 377,975.24 km2 (145,937.06 sq mi).[1] Japan has the sixth-longest coastline in the world at 29,751 km (18,486 mi). Because of its far-flung outlying islands, Japan has the eighth largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the world, covering 4,470,000 km2 (1,730,000 sq mi).[3][76]

The Japanese archipelago is 67% forests and 14% agricultural.[77] The primarily rugged and mountainous terrain is restricted for habitation.[78] Thus the habitable zones, mainly in the coastal areas, have very high population densities: Japan is the 40th most densely populated country.[79][80] Honshu has the highest population density at 450 persons/km2 (1200/sq mi) as of 2010, while Hokkaido has the lowest density of 64.5 persons/km2 as of 2016.[81] As of 2014, approximately 0.5% of Japan's total area is reclaimed land (umetatechi).[82] Lake Biwa is an ancient lake and the country's largest freshwater lake.[83]

Japan is substantially prone to earthquakes, tsunami and volcanic eruptions because of its location along the Pacific Ring of Fire.[84] It has the 17th highest natural disaster risk as measured in the 2016 World Risk Index.[85] Japan has 111 active volcanoes.[86] Destructive earthquakes, often resulting in tsunami, occur several times each century;[87] the 1923 Tokyo earthquake killed over 140,000 people.[88] More recent major quakes are the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, which triggered a large tsunami.[70]

Climate

 
Mount Fuji in Spring, view from Arakurayama Sengen Park

The climate of Japan is predominantly temperate but varies greatly from north to south. The northernmost region, Hokkaido, has a humid continental climate with long, cold winters and very warm to cool summers. Precipitation is not heavy, but the islands usually develop deep snowbanks in the winter.[89]

In the Sea of Japan region on Honshu's west coast, northwest winter winds bring heavy snowfall during winter. In the summer, the region sometimes experiences extremely hot temperatures because of the foehn.[90] The Central Highland has a typical inland humid continental climate, with large temperature differences between summer and winter. The mountains of the Chūgoku and Shikoku regions shelter the Seto Inland Sea from seasonal winds, bringing mild weather year-round.[89]

The Pacific coast features a humid subtropical climate that experiences milder winters with occasional snowfall and hot, humid summers because of the southeast seasonal wind. The Ryukyu and Nanpō Islands have a subtropical climate, with warm winters and hot summers. Precipitation is very heavy, especially during the rainy season.[89] The main rainy season begins in early May in Okinawa, and the rain front gradually moves north. In late summer and early autumn, typhoons often bring heavy rain.[91] According to the Environment Ministry, heavy rainfall and increasing temperatures have caused problems in the agricultural industry and elsewhere.[92] The highest temperature ever measured in Japan, 41.1 °C (106.0 °F), was recorded on July 23, 2018,[93] and repeated on August 17, 2020.[94]

Biodiversity

Japan has nine forest ecoregions which reflect the climate and geography of the islands. They range from subtropical moist broadleaf forests in the Ryūkyū and Bonin Islands, to temperate broadleaf and mixed forests in the mild climate regions of the main islands, to temperate coniferous forests in the cold, winter portions of the northern islands.[95] Japan has over 90,000 species of wildlife as of 2019,[96] including the brown bear, the Japanese macaque, the Japanese raccoon dog, the small Japanese field mouse, and the Japanese giant salamander.[97]

A large network of national parks has been established to protect important areas of flora and fauna as well as 52 Ramsar wetland sites.[98][99] Four sites have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for their outstanding natural value.[100]

Environment

In the period of rapid economic growth after World War II, environmental policies were downplayed by the government and industrial corporations; as a result, environmental pollution was widespread in the 1950s and 1960s. Responding to rising concern, the government introduced environmental protection laws in 1970.[101] The oil crisis in 1973 also encouraged the efficient use of energy because of Japan's lack of natural resources.[102]

Japan ranks 20th in the 2018 Environmental Performance Index, which measures a nation's commitment to environmental sustainability.[103] Japan is the world's fifth largest emitter of carbon dioxide.[92] As the host and signatory of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, Japan is under treaty obligation to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions and to take other steps to curb climate change.[104] In 2020 the government of Japan announced a target of carbon-neutrality by 2050.[105] Environmental issues include urban air pollution (NOx, suspended particulate matter, and toxics), waste management, water eutrophication, nature conservation, climate change, chemical management and international co-operation for conservation.[106]

Government and politics

 
Emperor Naruhito, current head of state, and Empress Masako participated in the Imperial Procession by motorcar after the Ceremony of the Enthronement in Tokyo on 10 November 2019.

Japan is a unitary state and constitutional monarchy in which the power of the Emperor is limited to a ceremonial role.[107] Executive power is instead wielded by the Prime Minister of Japan and his Cabinet, whose sovereignty is vested in the Japanese people.[108] Naruhito is the Emperor of Japan, having succeeded his father Akihito upon his accession to the Chrysanthemum Throne in 2019.[107]

Japan's legislative organ is the National Diet, a bicameral parliament.[107] It consists of a lower House of Representatives with 465 seats, elected by popular vote every four years or when dissolved, and an upper House of Councillors with 245 seats, whose popularly-elected members serve six-year terms.[109] There is universal suffrage for adults over 18 years of age,[110] with a secret ballot for all elected offices.[108] The prime minister as the head of government has the power to appoint and dismiss Ministers of State, and is appointed by the emperor after being designated from among the members of the Diet.[109] Fumio Kishida is Japan's prime minister; he took office after winning the 2021 Liberal Democratic Party leadership election.[111] The right-wing big tent Liberal Democratic Party has been the dominant party in the country since the 1950s, often called the 1955 System.[112]

Historically influenced by Chinese law, the Japanese legal system developed independently during the Edo period through texts such as Kujikata Osadamegaki.[113] Since the late 19th century, the judicial system has been largely based on the civil law of Europe, notably Germany. In 1896, Japan established a civil code based on the German Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, which remains in effect with post–World War II modifications.[114] The Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947, is the oldest unamended constitution in the world.[115] Statutory law originates in the legislature, and the constitution requires that the emperor promulgate legislation passed by the Diet without giving him the power to oppose legislation. The main body of Japanese statutory law is called the Six Codes.[113] Japan's court system is divided into four basic tiers: the Supreme Court and three levels of lower courts.[116]

Administrative divisions

Japan is divided into 47 prefectures, each overseen by an elected governor and legislature.[107] In the following table, the prefectures are grouped by region:[117]

 
Prefectures of Japan with colored regions
  Hokkaido

1. Hokkaido


2. Aomori
3. Iwate
4. Miyagi
5. Akita
6. Yamagata

7. Fukushima


8. Ibaraki
9. Tochigi
10. Gunma
11. Saitama
12. Chiba
13. Tokyo

14. Kanagawa


15. Niigata
16. Toyama
17. Ishikawa
18. Fukui
19. Yamanashi
20. Nagano
21. Gifu
22. Shizuoka

23. Aichi


24. Mie
25. Shiga
26. Kyoto
27. Osaka
28. Hyōgo
29. Nara

30. Wakayama


31. Tottori
32. Shimane
33. Okayama
34. Hiroshima

35. Yamaguchi


36. Tokushima
37. Kagawa
38. Ehime

39. Kōchi


40. Fukuoka
41. Saga
42. Nagasaki
43. Kumamoto
44. Ōita
45. Miyazaki
46. Kagoshima

47. Okinawa

Foreign relations

 
Japan is a member of both the G7 and the G20.

A member state of the United Nations since 1956, Japan is one of the G4 nations seeking reform of the Security Council.[118] Japan is a member of the G7, APEC, and "ASEAN Plus Three", and is a participant in the East Asia Summit.[119] It is the world's fifth largest donor of official development assistance, donating US$9.2 billion in 2014.[120] In 2019, Japan had the fourth-largest diplomatic network in the world.[121]

Japan has close economic and military relations with the United States, with which it maintains a security alliance.[122] The United States is a major market for Japanese exports and a major source of Japanese imports, and is committed to defending the country, with military bases in Japan.[122] Japan is also a member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (more commonly "the Quad"), a multilateral security collaboration reformed in 2017 aiming to limit Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region, along with the United States, Australia and India, reflecting existing relations and patterns of cooperation.[123][124]

Japan's relationship with South Korea had historically been strained because of Japan's treatment of Koreans during Japanese colonial rule, particularly over the issue of comfort women. In 2015, Japan agreed to settle the comfort women dispute with South Korea by issuing a formal apology and paying money to the surviving comfort women.[125] As of 2019 Japan is a major importer of Korean music (K-pop), television (K-dramas), and other cultural products.[126][127]

Japan is engaged in several territorial disputes with its neighbors. Japan contests Russia's control of the Southern Kuril Islands, which were occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945.[128] South Korea's control of the Liancourt Rocks is acknowledged but not accepted as they are claimed by Japan.[129] Japan has strained relations with China and Taiwan over the Senkaku Islands and the status of Okinotorishima.[130]

Military

Japan is the second-highest-ranked Asian country in the 2022 Global Peace Index, after Singapore.[131] It spent 1% of its total GDP on its defence budget in 2020,[132] and maintains the ninth-largest military budget in the world.[133] The country's military (the Japan Self-Defense Forces) is restricted by Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, which renounces Japan's right to declare war or use military force in international disputes.[134] The military is governed by the Ministry of Defense, and primarily consists of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. The deployment of troops to Iraq and Afghanistan marked the first overseas use of Japan's military since World War II.[135]

The Government of Japan has been making changes to its security policy which include the establishment of the National Security Council, the adoption of the National Security Strategy, and the development of the National Defense Program Guidelines.[136] In May 2014, Prime Minister Shinzō Abe said Japan wanted to shed the passiveness it has maintained since the end of World War II and take more responsibility for regional security.[137] Recent tensions, particularly with North Korea and China, have reignited the debate over the status of the JSDF and its relation to Japanese society.[138][139]

Domestic law enforcement

 
The headquarters of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department

Domestic security in Japan is provided mainly by the prefectural police departments, under the oversight of the National Police Agency.[140] As the central coordinating body for the Prefectural Police Departments, the National Police Agency is administered by the National Public Safety Commission.[141] The Special Assault Team comprises national-level counter-terrorism tactical units that cooperate with territorial-level Anti-Firearms Squads and Counter-NBC Terrorism Squads.[142] The Japan Coast Guard guards territorial waters surrounding Japan and uses surveillance and control countermeasures against smuggling, marine environmental crime, poaching, piracy, spy ships, unauthorized foreign fishing vessels, and illegal immigration.[143]

The Firearm and Sword Possession Control Law strictly regulates the civilian ownership of guns, swords and other weaponry.[144][145] According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, among the member states of the UN that report statistics as of 2018, the incidence rates of violent crimes such as murder, abduction, sexual violence and robbery are very low in Japan.[146][147][148][149]

Economy

 
Skyscrapers in Nakanoshima, Osaka; a major financial centre in Japan

Japan has the world's third-largest economy by nominal GDP, after that of the United States and China; and the fourth-largest economy by PPP. As of 2020, Japan's labor force is the world's eighth-largest, and consists of 66.5 million workers.[3] As of 2021, Japan has a low unemployment rate of around 2.8%.[150] Its poverty rate is the second-highest among the G7 nations,[151] and exceeds 15.7% of the population.[152] Japan has the highest ratio of public debt to GDP among advanced economies,[153] with national debt estimated at 248% relative to GDP as of 2022.[154] The Japanese yen is the world's third-largest reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro.[155]

Japan was the world's fourth-largest exporter and importer in 2021.[156][157] Its exports amounted to 15.6% of its total GDP in 2020.[158] As of 2019, Japan's main export markets were the United States (19.8 percent) and China (19.1 percent).[109] Its main exports are motor vehicles, iron and steel products, semiconductors and auto parts.[3] Japan's main import markets as of 2019 were China (23.5 percent), the United States (11 percent), and Australia (6.3 percent).[109] Japan's main imports are machinery and equipment, fossil fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, and raw materials for its industries.[109]

The Japanese variant of capitalism has many distinct features: keiretsu enterprises are influential, and lifetime employment and seniority-based career advancement are common in the Japanese work environment.[159][160] Japan has a large cooperative sector, with three of the world's ten largest cooperatives, including the largest consumer cooperative and the largest agricultural cooperative as of 2018.[161] It ranks highly for competitiveness and economic freedom. Japan ranked sixth in the Global Competitiveness Report in 2019.[162] It attracted 31.9 million international tourists in 2019,[163] and was ranked eleventh in the world in 2019 for inbound tourism.[164] The 2021 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report ranked Japan first in the world out of 117 countries.[165] Its international tourism receipts in 2019 amounted to $46.1 billion.[164]

Agriculture and fishery

The Japanese agricultural sector accounts for about 1.2% of the total country's GDP as of 2018.[109] Only 11.5% of Japan's land is suitable for cultivation.[166] Because of this lack of arable land, a system of terraces is used to farm in small areas.[167] This results in one of the world's highest levels of crop yields per unit area, with an agricultural self-sufficiency rate of about 50% as of 2018.[168] Japan's small agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected.[169] There has been a growing concern about farming as farmers are aging with a difficult time finding successors.[170]

Japan ranked seventh in the world in tonnage of fish caught and captured 3,167,610 metric tons of fish in 2016, down from an annual average of 4,000,000 tons over the previous decade.[171] Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch,[3] prompting critiques that Japan's fishing is leading to depletion in fish stocks such as tuna.[172] Japan has sparked controversy by supporting commercial whaling.[173]

Industry and services

 
A plug-in hybrid car manufactured by Toyota. Japan is the third-largest maker of motor vehicles in the world.[174]

Japan has a large industrial capacity and is home to some of the "largest and most technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemical substances, textiles, and processed foods".[3] Japan's industrial sector makes up approximately 27.5% of its GDP.[3] The country's manufacturing output is the third highest in the world as of 2019.[175]

Japan is the third-largest automobile producer in the world as of 2017 and is home to Toyota, the world's largest automobile company.[174][176] The Japanese shipbuilding industry faces competition from South Korea and China; a 2020 government initiative identified this sector as a target for increasing exports.[177]

Japan's service sector accounts for about 70% of its total economic output as of 2019.[178] Banking, retail, transportation, and telecommunications are all major industries, with companies such as Toyota, Mitsubishi UFJ, -NTT, ÆON, Softbank, Hitachi, and Itochu listed as among the largest in the world.[179][180]

Science and technology

Japan is a leading nation in scientific research, particularly in the natural sciences and engineering. The country ranks twelfth among the most innovative countries in the 2020 Bloomberg Innovation Index and 13th in the Global Innovation Index in 2022, up from 15th in 2019.[181][182] Relative to gross domestic product, Japan's research and development budget is the second highest in the world,[183] with 867,000 researchers sharing a 19-trillion-yen research and development budget as of 2017.[184] The country has produced twenty-two Nobel laureates in either physics, chemistry or medicine,[185] and three Fields medalists.[186]

Japan leads the world in robotics production and use, supplying 55% of the world's 2017 total.[187] Japan has the second highest number of researchers in science and technology per capita in the world with 14 per 1000 employees.[188]

The Japanese consumer electronics industry, once considered the strongest in the world, is in a state of decline as competition arises in countries like South Korea and China.[189] However, video gaming in Japan remains a major industry. In 2014, Japan's consumer video game market grossed $9.6 billion, with $5.8 billion coming from mobile gaming.[190] By 2015, Japan had become the world's fourth largest PC game market, behind only China, the United States, and South Korea.[191]

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is Japan's national space agency; it conducts space, planetary, and aviation research, and leads development of rockets and satellites.[192] It is a participant in the International Space Station: the Japanese Experiment Module (Kibō) was added to the station during Space Shuttle assembly flights in 2008.[193] The space probe Akatsuki was launched in 2010 and achieved orbit around Venus in 2015.[194] Japan's plans in space exploration include building a moon base and landing astronauts by 2030.[195] In 2007, it launched lunar explorer SELENE (Selenological and Engineering Explorer) from Tanegashima Space Center. The largest lunar mission since the Apollo program, its purpose was to gather data on the moon's origin and evolution. The explorer entered a lunar orbit on October 4, 2007,[196][197] and was deliberately crashed into the Moon on June 11, 2009.[198]

Infrastructure

Transportation

 

Japan has invested heavily in transportation infrastructure.[199] The country has approximately 1,200,000 kilometers (750,000 miles) of roads made up of 1,000,000 kilometers (620,000 miles) of city, town and village roads, 130,000 kilometers (81,000 miles) of prefectural roads, 54,736 kilometers (34,011 miles) of general national highways and 7641 kilometers (4748 miles) of national expressways as of 2017.[200]

Since privatization in 1987,[201] dozens of Japanese railway companies compete in regional and local passenger transportation markets; major companies include seven JR enterprises, Kintetsu, Seibu Railway and Keio Corporation. The high-speed Shinkansen (bullet trains) that connect major cities are known for their safety and punctuality.[202]

There are 175 airports in Japan as of 2013.[3] The largest domestic airport, Haneda Airport in Tokyo, was Asia's second-busiest airport in 2019.[203] The Keihin and Hanshin superport hubs are among the largest in the world, at 7.98 and 5.22 million TEU respectively as of 2017.[204]

Energy

As of 2019, 37.1% of energy in Japan was produced from petroleum, 25.1% from coal, 22.4% from natural gas, 3.5% from hydropower and 2.8% from nuclear power, among other sources. Nuclear power was down from 11.2 percent in 2010.[205] By May 2012 all of the country's nuclear power plants had been taken offline because of ongoing public opposition following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in March 2011, though government officials continued to try to sway public opinion in favor of returning at least some to service.[206] The Sendai Nuclear Power Plant restarted in 2015,[207] and since then several other nuclear power plants have been restarted.[208] Japan lacks significant domestic reserves and has a heavy dependence on imported energy.[209] The country has therefore aimed to diversify its sources and maintain high levels of energy efficiency.[210]

Water supply and sanitation

Responsibility for the water and sanitation sector is shared between the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, in charge of water supply for domestic use; the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, in charge of water resources development as well as sanitation; the Ministry of the Environment, in charge of ambient water quality and environmental preservation; and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, in charge of performance benchmarking of utilities.[211] Access to an improved water source is universal in Japan. About 98% of the population receives piped water supply from public utilities.[212]

Demographics

 
View of Tokyo from the top of the Tokyo Skytree. The Greater Tokyo Area is ranked as the most populous metropolitan area in the world.

Japan has a population of 125.4 million, of which 122.8 million are Japanese nationals (2021 estimates).[213] A small population of foreign residents makes up the remainder.[214] In 2019, 92% of the total Japanese population lived in cities.[215] The capital city Tokyo has a population of 13.9 million (2022).[216] It is part of the Greater Tokyo Area, the biggest metropolitan area in the world with 38,140,000 people (2016).[217] Japan is an ethnically and culturally homogeneous society,[218] the Japanese people form 98.1% of the country's population.[219] Minority ethnic groups in the country include the indigenous Ainu and Ryukyuan people.[220] Zainichi Koreans,[221] Chinese,[222] Filipinos,[223] Brazilians mostly of Japanese descent,[224] and Peruvians mostly of Japanese descent are also among Japan's small minority groups.[225] Burakumin make up a social minority group.[226]

Japan is the world's fastest aging country and has the highest proportion of elderly citizens of any country, comprising one-third of its total population;[227] this is the result of a post–World War II baby boom, which was followed by an increase in life expectancy and a decrease in birth rates.[228] Japan has a total fertility rate of 1.4, which is below the replacement rate of 2.1, and is among the world's lowest;[229] it has a median age of 48.4, the highest in the world.[230] As of 2020, over 28.7 percent of the population is over 65, or one in four out of the Japanese population.[227] As a growing number of younger Japanese are not marrying or remaining childless,[231][232] Japan's population is expected to drop to around 88 million by 2065.[227]

The changes in demographic structure have created a number of social issues, particularly a decline in workforce population and increase in the cost of social security benefits.[231] The government of Japan projects that there will be almost one elderly person for each person of working age by 2060.[230] Immigration and birth incentives are sometimes suggested as a solution to provide younger workers to support the nation's aging population.[233][234] On April 1, 2019, Japan's revised immigration law was enacted, protecting the rights of foreign workers to help reduce labor shortages in certain sectors.[235]

 
Largest cities or towns in Japan
2015 Census
Rank Name Prefecture Pop. Rank Name Prefecture Pop.
1 Tokyo Tokyo 9,272,740 11 Hiroshima Hiroshima 1,194,034
2 Yokohama Kanagawa 3,724,844 12 Sendai Miyagi 1,082,159
3 Osaka Osaka 2,691,185 13 Chiba Chiba 971,882
4 Nagoya Aichi 2,295,638 14 Kitakyushu Fukuoka 961,286
5 Sapporo Hokkaido 1,952,356 15 Sakai Osaka 839,310
6 Fukuoka Fukuoka 1,538,681 16 Niigata Niigata 810,157
7 Kobe Hyōgo 1,537,272 17 Hamamatsu Shizuoka 797,980
8 Kawasaki Kanagawa 1,475,213 18 Kumamoto Kumamoto 740,822
9 Kyoto Kyoto 1,475,183 19 Sagamihara Kanagawa 720,780
10 Saitama Saitama 1,263,979 20 Okayama Okayama 719,474

Religion

Japan's constitution guarantees full religious freedom.[236] Upper estimates suggest that 84–96 percent of the Japanese population subscribe to Shinto as its indigenous religion.[237] However, these estimates are based on people affiliated with a temple, rather than the number of true believers. Many Japanese people practice both Shinto and Buddhism; they can either identify with both religions or describe themselves as non-religious or spiritual.[238] The level of participation in religious ceremonies as a cultural tradition remains high, especially during festivals and occasions such as the first shrine visit of the New Year.[239] Taoism and Confucianism from China have also influenced Japanese beliefs and customs.[240]

Christianity was first introduced into Japan by Jesuit missions starting in 1549. Today, 1%[241] to 1.5% of the population are Christians.[242] Throughout the latest century, Western customs originally related to Christianity (including Western style weddings, Valentine's Day and Christmas) have become popular as secular customs among many Japanese.[243]

About 90% of those practicing Islam in Japan are foreign-born migrants as of 2016.[244] As of 2018 there were an estimated 105 mosques and 200,000 Muslims in Japan, 43,000 of which were Japanese nationals.[245] Other minority religions include Hinduism, Judaism, and Baháʼí Faith, as well as the animist beliefs of the Ainu.[246]

Languages

 
Kanji and hiragana signs

The Japanese language is Japan's de facto national language and the primary language of most people in the country.[247] Japanese writing uses kanji (Chinese characters) and two sets of kana (syllabaries based on cursive script and radicals used by kanji), as well as the Latin alphabet and Arabic numerals.[248] English has taken a major role in Japan as a business and international link language. As a result, the prevalence of English in the educational system has increased, with English classes becoming mandatory at all levels of the Japanese school system by 2020.[247] Japanese Sign Language is the primary sign language used in Japan and has gained some official recognition, but its usage has been historically hindered by discriminatory policies and a lack of educational support.[247]

Besides Japanese, the Ryukyuan languages (Amami, Kunigami, Okinawan, Miyako, Yaeyama, Yonaguni), part of the Japonic language family, are spoken in the Ryukyu Islands chain.[249] Few children learn these languages,[250] but local governments have sought to increase awareness of the traditional languages.[251] The Ainu language, which is a language isolate, is moribund, with only a few native speakers remaining as of 2014.[252] Additionally, a number of other languages are taught and used by ethnic minorities, immigrant communities, and a growing number of foreign-language students, such as Korean (including a distinct Zainichi Korean dialect), Chinese and Portuguese.[247]

Education

 
Students celebrating after the announcement of the results of the entrance examinations to the University of Tokyo

Since the 1947 Fundamental Law of Education, compulsory education in Japan comprises elementary and junior high school, which together last for nine years.[253] Almost all children continue their education at a three-year senior high school.[254] The two top-ranking universities in Japan are the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University.[255] Starting in April 2016, various schools began the academic year with elementary school and junior high school integrated into one nine-year compulsory schooling program; MEXT plans for this approach to be adopted nationwide.[256]

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) coordinated by the OECD ranks the knowledge and skills of Japanese 15-year-olds as the third best in the world.[257] Japan is one of the top-performing OECD countries in reading literacy, math and sciences with the average student scoring 520 and has one of the world's highest-educated labor forces among OECD countries.[258][257][259] It spent roughly 3.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2018,[260] below the OECD average of 4.9%.[261] In 2020, the country ranked third for the percentage of 25 to 64-year-olds that have attained tertiary education with 52.7%.[262] Approximately 61.5% of Japanese aged 25 to 34 have some form of tertiary education qualification, and bachelor's degrees are held by 31.3% of Japanese aged 25 to 64, the second most in the OECD after South Korea.[262] Japanese females are more highly educated compared to their male counterparts, as 59% of Japanese women possess a university degree, compared to 52% of Japanese men.[263]

Health

Health care in Japan is provided by national and local governments. Payment for personal medical services is offered through a universal health insurance system that provides relative equality of access, with fees set by a government committee. People without insurance through employers can participate in a national health insurance program administered by local governments.[264] Since 1973, all elderly persons have been covered by government-sponsored insurance.[265]

Japan spent 10.74% of its total GDP on healthcare in 2019.[266] In 2020, the overall life expectancy in Japan at birth was 84.62 years (81.64 years for males and 87.74 years for females), the highest in the world;[267] while it had a very low infant mortality rate (2 per 1,000 live births).[268] Since 1981, the principal cause of death in Japan is cancer, which accounted for 27% of the total deaths in 2018—followed by cardiovascular diseases, which led to 15% of the deaths.[269] Japan has one of the world's highest suicide rates, which is considered a major social issue.[270] Another significant public health issue is smoking among Japanese men.[271] However, Japan has the lowest rate of heart disease in the OECD, and the lowest level of dementia among developed countries.[272]

Culture

Contemporary Japanese culture combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America.[273] Traditional Japanese arts include crafts such as ceramics, textiles, lacquerware, swords and dolls; performances of bunraku, kabuki, noh, dance, and rakugo; and other practices, the tea ceremony, ikebana, martial arts, calligraphy, origami, onsen, Geisha and games. Japan has a developed system for the protection and promotion of both tangible and intangible Cultural Properties and National Treasures.[274] Twenty-two sites have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, eighteen of which are of cultural significance.[100] Japan is considered a cultural superpower.[275][276]

Art and architecture

 
Ritsurin Garden, one of the most famous strolling gardens in Japan

The history of Japanese painting exhibits synthesis and competition between native Japanese esthetics and imported ideas.[277] The interaction between Japanese and European art has been significant: for example ukiyo-e prints, which began to be exported in the 19th century in the movement known as Japonism, had a significant influence on the development of modern art in the West, most notably on post-Impressionism.[277]

Japanese architecture is a combination between local and other influences. It has traditionally been typified by wooden or mud plaster structures, elevated slightly off the ground, with tiled or thatched roofs.[278] The Shrines of Ise have been celebrated as the prototype of Japanese architecture.[279] Traditional housing and many temple buildings see the use of tatami mats and sliding doors that break down the distinction between rooms and indoor and outdoor space.[280] Since the 19th century, Japan has incorporated much of Western modern architecture into construction and design.[281] It was not until after World War II that Japanese architects made an impression on the international scene, firstly with the work of architects like Kenzō Tange and then with movements like Metabolism.[282]

Literature and philosophy

The earliest works of Japanese literature include the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki chronicles and the Man'yōshū poetry anthology, all from the 8th century and written in Chinese characters.[283][284] In the early Heian period, the system of phonograms known as kana (hiragana and katakana) was developed.[285] The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is considered the oldest extant Japanese narrative.[286] An account of court life is given in The Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon, while The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu is often described as the world's first novel.[287][288]

During the Edo period, the chōnin ("townspeople") overtook the samurai aristocracy as producers and consumers of literature. The popularity of the works of Saikaku, for example, reveals this change in readership and authorship, while Bashō revivified the poetic tradition of the Kokinshū with his haikai (haiku) and wrote the poetic travelogue Oku no Hosomichi.[289] The Meiji era saw the decline of traditional literary forms as Japanese literature integrated Western influences. Natsume Sōseki and Mori Ōgai were significant novelists in the early 20th century, followed by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, Kafū Nagai and, more recently, Haruki Murakami and Kenji Nakagami. Japan has two Nobel Prize-winning authors – Yasunari Kawabata (1968) and Kenzaburō Ōe (1994).[290]

Japanese philosophy has historically been a fusion of both foreign, particularly Chinese and Western, and uniquely Japanese elements. In its literary forms, Japanese philosophy began about fourteen centuries ago. Confucian ideals remain evident in the Japanese concept of society and the self, and in the organization of the government and the structure of society.[291] Buddhism has profoundly impacted Japanese psychology, metaphysics, and esthetics.[292]

Performing arts

 
Noh performance at a Shinto shrine

Japanese music is eclectic and diverse. Many instruments, such as the koto, were introduced in the 9th and 10th centuries. The popular folk music, with the guitar-like shamisen, dates from the 16th century.[293] Western classical music, introduced in the late 19th century, forms an integral part of Japanese culture.[294] Kumi-daiko (ensemble drumming) was developed in postwar Japan and became very popular in North America.[295] Popular music in post-war Japan has been heavily influenced by American and European trends, which has led to the evolution of J-pop.[296] Karaoke is a significant cultural activity.[297]

The four traditional theaters from Japan are noh, kyōgen, kabuki, and bunraku.[298] Noh is one of the oldest continuous theater traditions in the world.[299]

Holidays

 
Young ladies celebrate Coming of Age Day (成人の日, Seijin no Hi) in Harajuku, Tokyo.

Officially, Japan has 16 national, government-recognized holidays. Public holidays in Japan are regulated by the Public Holiday Law (国民の祝日に関する法律, Kokumin no Shukujitsu ni Kansuru Hōritsu) of 1948.[300] Beginning in 2000, Japan implemented the Happy Monday System, which moved a number of national holidays to Monday in order to obtain a long weekend.[301] The national holidays in Japan are New Year's Day on January 1, Coming of Age Day on the second Monday of January, National Foundation Day on February 11, The Emperor's Birthday on February 23, Vernal Equinox Day on March 20 or 21, Shōwa Day on April 29, Constitution Memorial Day on May 3, Greenery Day on May 4, Children's Day on May 5, Marine Day on the third Monday of July, Mountain Day on August 11, Respect for the Aged Day on the third Monday of September, Autumnal Equinox on September 23 or 24, Health and Sports Day on the second Monday of October, Culture Day on November 3, and Labor Thanksgiving Day on November 23.[302]

Cuisine

 
A plate of nigiri-zushi

Japanese cuisine offers a vast array of regional specialties that use traditional recipes and local ingredients.[303] Seafood and Japanese rice or noodles are traditional staples.[304] Japanese curry, since its introduction to Japan from British India, is so widely consumed that it can be termed a national dish, alongside ramen and sushi.[305][306] Traditional Japanese sweets are known as wagashi.[307] Ingredients such as red bean paste and mochi are used. More modern-day tastes includes green tea ice cream.[308]

Popular Japanese beverages include sake, which is a brewed rice beverage that typically contains 14–17% alcohol and is made by multiple fermentation of rice.[309] Beer has been brewed in Japan since the late 17th century.[310] Green tea is produced in Japan and prepared in forms such as matcha, used in the Japanese tea ceremony.[311]

Media

According to the 2015 NHK survey on television viewing in Japan, 79 percent of Japanese watch television daily.[312] Japanese television dramas are viewed both within Japan and internationally;[313] other popular shows are in the genres of variety shows, comedy, and news programs.[314] Many Japanese media franchises such as Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Naruto have gained considerable global popularity and are among the world's highest-grossing media franchises. Pokémon in particular is estimated to be the highest-grossing media franchise of all time. Japanese newspapers are among the most circulated in the world as of 2016.[315]

Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries globally.[316] Ishirō Honda's Godzilla became an international icon of Japan and spawned an entire subgenre of kaiju films, as well as the longest-running film franchise in history.[317][318] Japanese comics, known as manga, developed in the mid-20th century and have become popular worldwide.[319][320] A large number of manga series have become some of the best-selling comics series of all time, rivalling the American comics industry.[321] Japanese animated films and television series, known as anime, were largely influenced by Japanese manga and have become highly popular internationally.[322][323]

Sports

 
Sumo wrestlers form around the referee during the ring-entering ceremony

Traditionally, sumo is considered Japan's national sport.[324] Japanese martial arts such as judo and kendo are taught as part of the compulsory junior high school curriculum.[325] Baseball is the most popular spectator sport in the country.[326] Japan's top professional league, Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), was established in 1936.[327] Since the establishment of the Japan Professional Football League (J.League) in 1992, association football has gained a wide following.[328] The country co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup with South Korea.[329] Japan has one of the most successful football teams in Asia, winning the Asian Cup four times,[330] and the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2011.[331] Golf is also popular in Japan.[332]

In motorsport, Japanese automotive manufacturers have been successful in multiple different categories, with titles and victories in series such as Formula One, MotoGP, and the World Rally Championship.[333][334][335] Drivers from Japan have victories at the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as podium finishes in Formula One, in addition to success in domestic championships.[336][337] Super GT is the most popular national racing series in Japan, while Super Formula is the top-level domestic open-wheel series.[338] The country hosts major races such as the Japanese Grand Prix.[339]

Japan hosted the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 1964 and the Winter Olympics in Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998.[340] The country hosted the official 2006 Basketball World Championship[341] and will co-host the 2023 Basketball World Championship.[342] Tokyo hosted the 2020 Summer Olympics in 2021, making Tokyo the first Asian city to host the Olympics twice.[343] The country gained the hosting rights for the official Women's Volleyball World Championship on five occasions, more than any other nation.[344] Japan is the most successful Asian Rugby Union country[345] and hosted the 2019 IRB Rugby World Cup.[346]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ [ɲippoꜜɴ] ( listen) or [ɲihoꜜɴ] ( listen)
  2. ^ In English, the official name of the country is simply "Japan".[8] In Japanese, the name of the country as it appears on official documents, including the country's constitution, is 日本国 ( Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku), meaning "State of Japan". Despite this, the short-form name 日本 (Nippon or Nihon) is also often used officially.

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japan, nippon, redirect, here, other, uses, disambiguation, nippon, disambiguation, album, 日本, nippon, nihon, formally, 日本国, nihonkoku, island, country, east, asia, situated, northwest, pacific, ocean, bordered, west, while, extending, from, okhotsk, north, to. Nippon and JPN redirect here For other uses see Japan disambiguation Nippon disambiguation and JPN album Japan Japanese 日本 Nippon or Nihon nb 1 and formally 日本国 Nihonkoku nb 2 is an island country in East Asia It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan while 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 6852 islands covering 377 975 square kilometers 145 937 sq mi the five main islands are Hokkaido Honshu the mainland Shikoku Kyushu and Okinawa Tokyo is the nation s capital and largest city followed by Yokohama Osaka Nagoya Sapporo Fukuoka Kobe and Kyoto Japan日本国 Japanese Nippon koku or Nihon kokuFlag Imperial SealAnthem 君が代Kimigayo His Imperial Majesty s Reign source source track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track Government SealTerritory controlled by Japan in dark green territory claimed but not controlled shown in light greenCapitaland largest cityTokyo35 41 N 139 46 E 35 683 N 139 767 E 35 683 139 767Official languagesJapanese de facto Demonym s JapaneseGovernmentUnitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy EmperorNaruhito Prime MinisterFumio KishidaLegislatureNational Diet Upper houseHouse of Councillors Lower houseHouse of RepresentativesFormation Imperial Dynasty establishedFebruary 11 660 BC Meiji constitutionNovember 29 1890 Current constitutionMay 3 1947Area Total377 975 km2 145 937 sq mi 1 62nd Water 1 4 as of 2015 2 Population 2022 estimate124 214 766 3 11th 2020 census126 226 568 4 Density332 km2 859 9 sq mi 24th GDP PPP 2022 estimate Total 6 110 trillion 5 4th Per capita 48 813 5 36th GDP nominal 2022 estimate Total 4 301 trillion 5 3rd Per capita 34 358 5 30th Gini 2018 33 4 6 mediumHDI 2021 0 925 7 very high 19thCurrencyJapanese yen Time zoneUTC 09 00 JST Driving sideleftCalling code 81ISO 3166 codeJPInternet TLD jpJapan is the eleventh most populous country in the world as well as one of the most densely populated and urbanized About three fourths of the country s terrain is mountainous concentrating its population of 123 2 million 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 with more than 35 6 million residents Japan has been inhabited since the Upper Paleolithic period 30 000 BC though the first written mention of the archipelago appears in a Chinese chronicle the Book of Han finished in the 2nd century AD Between the 4th and 9th centuries 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 and began a military alliance with the United States Under the 1947 constitution Japan has maintained a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a bicameral legislature the National Diet Japan is a developed country member of OECD and a great power Its economy is the world s third largest by nominal GDP and the fourth largest by PPP with its per capita income ranking at 36th highest in the world Although Japan has renounced its right to declare war the country maintains Self Defense Forces that rank as one of the world s strongest militaries After World War II Japan experienced record growth in an economic miracle becoming the second largest economy in the world by 1972 but has stagnated since 1995 in what is referred to as the Lost Decades Japan has the world s highest life expectancy though it is experiencing a decline in population A global leader in the automotive robotics and electronics industries the country has made significant contributions to science and technology 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 It is a member of numerous international organizations including the United Nations since 1956 G20 and Group of Seven Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 2 1 Prehistoric to classical history 2 2 Feudal era 2 3 Modern era 3 Geography 3 1 Climate 3 2 Biodiversity 3 3 Environment 4 Government and politics 4 1 Administrative divisions 4 2 Foreign relations 4 3 Military 4 4 Domestic law enforcement 5 Economy 5 1 Agriculture and fishery 5 2 Industry and services 5 3 Science and technology 6 Infrastructure 6 1 Transportation 6 2 Energy 6 3 Water supply and sanitation 7 Demographics 7 1 Religion 7 2 Languages 7 3 Education 7 4 Health 8 Culture 8 1 Art and architecture 8 2 Literature and philosophy 8 3 Performing arts 8 4 Holidays 8 5 Cuisine 8 6 Media 8 7 Sports 9 See also 10 Notes 11 References 12 External linksEtymologyMain article Names of Japan JapanJapanese nameKanji日本国HiraganaにっぽんこくにほんこくKatakanaニッポンコクニホンコクKyujitai日本國TranscriptionsRomanizationNippon kokuNihon kokuThe name for Japan in Japanese is written using the kanji 日本 and is pronounced Nippon or Nihon 9 Before 日本 was adopted in the early 8th century the country was known in China as Wa 倭 changed in Japan around 757 to 和 and in Japan by the endonym Yamato 10 Nippon the original Sino Japanese reading of the characters is favored for official uses including on banknotes and postage stamps 9 Nihon is typically used in everyday speech and reflects shifts in Japanese phonology during the Edo period 10 The characters 日本 mean sun origin 9 which is the source of the popular Western epithet Land of the Rising Sun 11 The name Japan is based on Chinese pronunciations of 日本 and was introduced to European languages through early trade In the 13th century Marco Polo recorded the early Mandarin or Wu Chinese pronunciation of the characters 日本國 as Cipangu 12 The old Malay name for Japan Japang or Japun was borrowed from a southern coastal Chinese dialect and encountered by Portuguese traders in Southeast Asia who brought the word to Europe in the early 16th century 13 The first version of the name in English appears in a book published in 1577 which spelled the name as Giapan in a translation of a 1565 Portuguese letter 14 15 HistoryMain article History of Japan For a chronological guide see Timeline of Japanese history Prehistoric to classical history Legendary Emperor Jimmu 神武天皇 Jinmu tennō A Paleolithic culture from around 30 000 BC constitutes the first known habitation of the islands of Japan 16 This was followed from around 14 500 BC the start of the Jōmon period by a Mesolithic to Neolithic semi sedentary hunter gatherer culture characterized by pit dwelling and rudimentary agriculture 17 Clay vessels from the period are among the oldest surviving examples of pottery 18 From around 700 BC the Japonic speaking Yayoi people began to enter the archipelago from the Korean Peninsula 19 20 21 intermingling with the Jōmon 21 the Yayoi period saw the introduction of practices including wet rice farming 22 a new style of pottery 23 and metallurgy from China and Korea 24 According to legend Emperor Jimmu grandson of Amaterasu founded a kingdom in central Japan in 660 BC beginning a continuous imperial line 25 Japan first appears in written history in the Chinese Book of Han completed in 111 AD Buddhism was introduced to Japan from Baekje a Korean kingdom in 552 but the development of Japanese Buddhism was primarily influenced by China 26 Despite early resistance Buddhism was promoted by the ruling class including figures like Prince Shōtoku and gained widespread acceptance beginning in the Asuka period 592 710 27 The far reaching Taika Reforms in 645 nationalized all land in Japan to be distributed equally among cultivators and ordered the compilation of a household registry as the basis for a new system of taxation 28 The Jinshin War of 672 a bloody conflict between Prince Ōama and his nephew Prince Ōtomo became a major catalyst for further administrative reforms 29 These reforms culminated with the promulgation of the Taihō Code which consolidated existing statutes and established the structure of the central and subordinate local governments 28 These legal reforms created the ritsuryō state a system of Chinese style centralized government that remained in place for half a millennium 29 The Nara period 710 784 marked the emergence of a Japanese state centered on the Imperial Court in Heijō kyō modern Nara The period is characterized by the appearance of a nascent literary culture with the completion of the Kojiki 712 and Nihon Shoki 720 as well as the development of Buddhist inspired artwork and architecture 30 31 A smallpox epidemic in 735 737 is believed to have killed as much as one third of Japan s population 31 32 In 784 Emperor Kanmu moved the capital settling on Heian kyō modern day Kyoto in 794 31 This marked the beginning of the Heian period 794 1185 during which a distinctly indigenous Japanese culture emerged Murasaki Shikibu s The Tale of Genji and the lyrics of Japan s national anthem Kimigayo were written during this time 33 Feudal era Japanese samurai boarding a Mongol vessel during the Mongol invasions of Japan depicted in the Mōko Shurai Ekotoba 1293 Three unifiers of Japan Left to right Oda Nobunaga Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu Japan s feudal era was characterized by the emergence and dominance of a ruling class of warriors the samurai 34 In 1185 following the defeat of the Taira clan in the Genpei War samurai Minamoto no Yoritomo established a military government at Kamakura 35 After Yoritomo s death the Hōjō clan came to power as regents for the shōgun 31 The Zen school of Buddhism was introduced from China in the Kamakura period 1185 1333 and became popular among the samurai class 36 The Kamakura shogunate repelled Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281 but was eventually overthrown by Emperor Go Daigo 31 Go Daigo was defeated by Ashikaga Takauji in 1336 beginning the Muromachi period 1336 1573 37 The succeeding Ashikaga shogunate failed to control the feudal warlords daimyō and a civil war began in 1467 opening the century long Sengoku period Warring States 38 During the 16th century Portuguese traders and Jesuit missionaries reached Japan for the first time initiating direct commercial and cultural exchange between Japan and the West 31 39 Oda Nobunaga used European technology and firearms to conquer many other daimyō 40 his consolidation of power began what was known as the Azuchi Momoyama period 41 After the death of Nobunaga in 1582 his successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified the nation in the early 1590s and launched two unsuccessful invasions of Korea in 1592 and 1597 31 Tokugawa Ieyasu served as regent for Hideyoshi s son Toyotomi Hideyori and used his position to gain political and military support 42 When open war broke out Ieyasu defeated rival clans in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 He was appointed shōgun by Emperor Go Yōzei in 1603 and established the Tokugawa shogunate at Edo modern Tokyo 43 The shogunate enacted measures including buke shohatto as a code of conduct to control the autonomous daimyō 44 and in 1639 the isolationist sakoku closed country policy that spanned the two and a half centuries of tenuous political unity known as the Edo period 1603 1868 43 45 Modern Japan s economic growth began in this period resulting in roads and water transportation routes as well as financial instruments such as futures contracts banking and insurance of the Osaka rice brokers 46 The study of Western sciences rangaku continued through contact with the Dutch enclave in Nagasaki 43 The Edo period gave rise to kokugaku national studies the study of Japan by the Japanese 47 Modern era Emperor Meiji 明治天皇 Meiji tennō 1852 1912 The Japanese Empire in 1942 In 1854 Commodore Matthew C Perry and the Black Ships of the United States Navy forced the opening of Japan to the outside world with the Convention of Kanagawa 43 Subsequent similar treaties with other Western countries brought economic and political crises 43 The resignation of the shōgun led to the Boshin War and the establishment of a centralized state nominally unified under the emperor the Meiji Restoration 48 Adopting Western political judicial and military institutions the Cabinet organized the Privy Council introduced the Meiji Constitution 29 November 1890 and assembled the Imperial Diet 49 During the Meiji period 1868 1912 the Empire of Japan emerged as the most developed nation in Asia and as an industrialized world power that pursued military conflict to expand its sphere of influence 50 51 52 After victories in the First Sino Japanese War 1894 1895 and the Russo Japanese War 1904 1905 Japan gained control of Taiwan Korea and the southern half of Sakhalin 53 49 The Japanese population doubled from 35 million in 1873 to 70 million by 1935 with a significant shift to urbanization 54 55 The early 20th century saw a period of Taishō democracy 1912 1926 overshadowed by increasing expansionism and militarization 56 57 World War I allowed Japan which joined the side of the victorious Allies to capture German possessions in the Pacific and in China 57 The 1920s saw a political shift towards statism a period of lawlessness following the 1923 Great Tokyo Earthquake the passing of laws against political dissent and a series of attempted coups 55 58 59 This process accelerated during the 1930s spawning a number of radical nationalist groups that shared a hostility to liberal democracy and a dedication to expansion in Asia In 1931 Japan invaded and occupied Manchuria following international condemnation of the occupation it resigned from the League of Nations two years later 60 In 1936 Japan signed the Anti Comintern Pact with Nazi Germany the 1940 Tripartite Pact made it one of the Axis Powers 55 Japan s imperial ambitions ended on September 2 1945 with the country s surrender to the Allies The Empire of Japan invaded other parts of China in 1937 precipitating the Second Sino Japanese War 1937 1945 61 In 1940 the Empire invaded French Indochina after which the United States placed an oil embargo on Japan 55 62 On December 7 8 1941 Japanese forces carried out surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor as well as on British forces in Malaya Singapore and Hong Kong among others beginning World War II in the Pacific 63 Throughout areas occupied by Japan during the war numerous abuses were committed against local inhabitants with many forced into sexual slavery 64 After Allied victories during the next four years which culminated in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 Japan agreed to an unconditional surrender 65 The war cost Japan its colonies and millions of lives 55 The Allies led by the United States repatriated millions of Japanese settlers from their former colonies and military camps throughout Asia largely eliminating the Japanese Empire and its influence over the territories it conquered 66 67 The Allies convened the International Military Tribunal for the Far East to prosecute Japanese leaders for war crimes 67 In 1947 Japan adopted a new constitution emphasizing liberal democratic practices 67 The Allied occupation ended with the Treaty of San Francisco in 1952 68 and Japan was granted membership in the United Nations in 1956 67 A period of record growth propelled Japan to become the second largest economy in the world 67 this ended in the mid 1990s after the popping of an asset price bubble beginning the Lost Decade 69 On March 11 2011 Japan suffered one of the largest earthquakes in its recorded history triggering the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster 70 On May 1 2019 after the historic abdication of Emperor Akihito his son Naruhito became Emperor beginning the Reiwa era 71 GeographyMain articles Geography of Japan and Geology of Japan The Japanese archipelago Japan comprises 6852 islands extending along the Pacific coast of Asia It stretches over 3000 km 1900 mi northeast southwest from the Sea of Okhotsk to the East China Sea 72 73 The country s five main islands from north to south are Hokkaido Honshu Shikoku Kyushu and Okinawa 74 The Ryukyu Islands which include Okinawa are a chain to the south of Kyushu The Nanpō Islands are south and east of the main islands of Japan Together they are often known as the Japanese archipelago 75 As of 2019 update Japan s territory is 377 975 24 km2 145 937 06 sq mi 1 Japan has the sixth longest coastline in the world at 29 751 km 18 486 mi Because of its far flung outlying islands Japan has the eighth largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the world covering 4 470 000 km2 1 730 000 sq mi 3 76 The Japanese archipelago is 67 forests and 14 agricultural 77 The primarily rugged and mountainous terrain is restricted for habitation 78 Thus the habitable zones mainly in the coastal areas have very high population densities Japan is the 40th most densely populated country 79 80 Honshu has the highest population density at 450 persons km2 1200 sq mi as of 2010 update while Hokkaido has the lowest density of 64 5 persons km2 as of 2016 update 81 As of 2014 update approximately 0 5 of Japan s total area is reclaimed land umetatechi 82 Lake Biwa is an ancient lake and the country s largest freshwater lake 83 Japan is substantially prone to earthquakes tsunami and volcanic eruptions because of its location along the Pacific Ring of Fire 84 It has the 17th highest natural disaster risk as measured in the 2016 World Risk Index 85 Japan has 111 active volcanoes 86 Destructive earthquakes often resulting in tsunami occur several times each century 87 the 1923 Tokyo earthquake killed over 140 000 people 88 More recent major quakes are the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake which triggered a large tsunami 70 Climate Main article Geography of Japan Climate Mount Fuji in Spring view from Arakurayama Sengen Park The climate of Japan is predominantly temperate but varies greatly from north to south The northernmost region Hokkaido has a humid continental climate with long cold winters and very warm to cool summers Precipitation is not heavy but the islands usually develop deep snowbanks in the winter 89 In the Sea of Japan region on Honshu s west coast northwest winter winds bring heavy snowfall during winter In the summer the region sometimes experiences extremely hot temperatures because of the foehn 90 The Central Highland has a typical inland humid continental climate with large temperature differences between summer and winter The mountains of the Chugoku and Shikoku regions shelter the Seto Inland Sea from seasonal winds bringing mild weather year round 89 The Pacific coast features a humid subtropical climate that experiences milder winters with occasional snowfall and hot humid summers because of the southeast seasonal wind The Ryukyu and Nanpō Islands have a subtropical climate with warm winters and hot summers Precipitation is very heavy especially during the rainy season 89 The main rainy season begins in early May in Okinawa and the rain front gradually moves north In late summer and early autumn typhoons often bring heavy rain 91 According to the Environment Ministry heavy rainfall and increasing temperatures have caused problems in the agricultural industry and elsewhere 92 The highest temperature ever measured in Japan 41 1 C 106 0 F was recorded on July 23 2018 93 and repeated on August 17 2020 94 Biodiversity Main article Wildlife of Japan Japan has nine forest ecoregions which reflect the climate and geography of the islands They range from subtropical moist broadleaf forests in the Ryukyu and Bonin Islands to temperate broadleaf and mixed forests in the mild climate regions of the main islands to temperate coniferous forests in the cold winter portions of the northern islands 95 Japan has over 90 000 species of wildlife as of 2019 update 96 including the brown bear the Japanese macaque the Japanese raccoon dog the small Japanese field mouse and the Japanese giant salamander 97 A large network of national parks has been established to protect important areas of flora and fauna as well as 52 Ramsar wetland sites 98 99 Four sites have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for their outstanding natural value 100 Environment Main articles Environmental issues in Japan and Climate change in Japan Autumn maple leaves momiji at Kongōbu ji on Mount Kōya a UNESCO World Heritage Site In the period of rapid economic growth after World War II environmental policies were downplayed by the government and industrial corporations as a result environmental pollution was widespread in the 1950s and 1960s Responding to rising concern the government introduced environmental protection laws in 1970 101 The oil crisis in 1973 also encouraged the efficient use of energy because of Japan s lack of natural resources 102 Japan ranks 20th in the 2018 Environmental Performance Index which measures a nation s commitment to environmental sustainability 103 Japan is the world s fifth largest emitter of carbon dioxide 92 As the host and signatory of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol Japan is under treaty obligation to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions and to take other steps to curb climate change 104 In 2020 the government of Japan announced a target of carbon neutrality by 2050 105 Environmental issues include urban air pollution NOx suspended particulate matter and toxics waste management water eutrophication nature conservation climate change chemical management and international co operation for conservation 106 Government and politicsMain articles Government of Japan Politics of Japan and Law of Japan Emperor Naruhito current head of state and Empress Masako participated in the Imperial Procession by motorcar after the Ceremony of the Enthronement in Tokyo on 10 November 2019 Japan is a unitary state and constitutional monarchy in which the power of the Emperor is limited to a ceremonial role 107 Executive power is instead wielded by the Prime Minister of Japan and his Cabinet whose sovereignty is vested in the Japanese people 108 Naruhito is the Emperor of Japan having succeeded his father Akihito upon his accession to the Chrysanthemum Throne in 2019 107 The National Diet Building Japan s legislative organ is the National Diet a bicameral parliament 107 It consists of a lower House of Representatives with 465 seats elected by popular vote every four years or when dissolved and an upper House of Councillors with 245 seats whose popularly elected members serve six year terms 109 There is universal suffrage for adults over 18 years of age 110 with a secret ballot for all elected offices 108 The prime minister as the head of government has the power to appoint and dismiss Ministers of State and is appointed by the emperor after being designated from among the members of the Diet 109 Fumio Kishida is Japan s prime minister he took office after winning the 2021 Liberal Democratic Party leadership election 111 The right wing big tent Liberal Democratic Party has been the dominant party in the country since the 1950s often called the 1955 System 112 Historically influenced by Chinese law the Japanese legal system developed independently during the Edo period through texts such as Kujikata Osadamegaki 113 Since the late 19th century the judicial system has been largely based on the civil law of Europe notably Germany In 1896 Japan established a civil code based on the German Burgerliches Gesetzbuch which remains in effect with post World War II modifications 114 The Constitution of Japan adopted in 1947 is the oldest unamended constitution in the world 115 Statutory law originates in the legislature and the constitution requires that the emperor promulgate legislation passed by the Diet without giving him the power to oppose legislation The main body of Japanese statutory law is called the Six Codes 113 Japan s court system is divided into four basic tiers the Supreme Court and three levels of lower courts 116 Administrative divisions Main articles Administrative divisions of Japan and Prefectures of Japan Japan is divided into 47 prefectures each overseen by an elected governor and legislature 107 In the following table the prefectures are grouped by region 117 Prefectures of Japan with colored regions Hokkaido 1 Hokkaido Tōhoku 2 Aomori 3 Iwate 4 Miyagi 5 Akita 6 Yamagata 7 Fukushima Kantō 8 Ibaraki 9 Tochigi 10 Gunma 11 Saitama 12 Chiba 13 Tokyo 14 Kanagawa Chubu 15 Niigata 16 Toyama 17 Ishikawa 18 Fukui 19 Yamanashi 20 Nagano 21 Gifu 22 Shizuoka 23 Aichi Kansai 24 Mie 25 Shiga 26 Kyoto 27 Osaka 28 Hyōgo 29 Nara 30 Wakayama Chugoku 31 Tottori 32 Shimane 33 Okayama 34 Hiroshima 35 Yamaguchi Shikoku 36 Tokushima 37 Kagawa 38 Ehime 39 Kōchi Kyushu 40 Fukuoka 41 Saga 42 Nagasaki 43 Kumamoto 44 Ōita 45 Miyazaki 46 Kagoshima 47 Okinawa Foreign relations Main article Foreign relations of Japan Japan is a member of both the G7 and the G20 A member state of the United Nations since 1956 Japan is one of the G4 nations seeking reform of the Security Council 118 Japan is a member of the G7 APEC and ASEAN Plus Three and is a participant in the East Asia Summit 119 It is the world s fifth largest donor of official development assistance donating US 9 2 billion in 2014 120 In 2019 Japan had the fourth largest diplomatic network in the world 121 Japan has close economic and military relations with the United States with which it maintains a security alliance 122 The United States is a major market for Japanese exports and a major source of Japanese imports and is committed to defending the country with military bases in Japan 122 Japan is also a member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue more commonly the Quad a multilateral security collaboration reformed in 2017 aiming to limit Chinese influence in the Indo Pacific region along with the United States Australia and India reflecting existing relations and patterns of cooperation 123 124 Japan s relationship with South Korea had historically been strained because of Japan s treatment of Koreans during Japanese colonial rule particularly over the issue of comfort women In 2015 Japan agreed to settle the comfort women dispute with South Korea by issuing a formal apology and paying money to the surviving comfort women 125 As of 2019 update Japan is a major importer of Korean music K pop television K dramas and other cultural products 126 127 Japan is engaged in several territorial disputes with its neighbors Japan contests Russia s control of the Southern Kuril Islands which were occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945 128 South Korea s control of the Liancourt Rocks is acknowledged but not accepted as they are claimed by Japan 129 Japan has strained relations with China and Taiwan over the Senkaku Islands and the status of Okinotorishima 130 Military Main article Japan Self Defense Forces JMSDF Kongō class destroyer Japan is the second highest ranked Asian country in the 2022 Global Peace Index after Singapore 131 It spent 1 of its total GDP on its defence budget in 2020 132 and maintains the ninth largest military budget in the world 133 The country s military the Japan Self Defense Forces is restricted by Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution which renounces Japan s right to declare war or use military force in international disputes 134 The military is governed by the Ministry of Defense and primarily consists of the Japan Ground Self Defense Force the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force and the Japan Air Self Defense Force The deployment of troops to Iraq and Afghanistan marked the first overseas use of Japan s military since World War II 135 The Government of Japan has been making changes to its security policy which include the establishment of the National Security Council the adoption of the National Security Strategy and the development of the National Defense Program Guidelines 136 In May 2014 Prime Minister Shinzō Abe said Japan wanted to shed the passiveness it has maintained since the end of World War II and take more responsibility for regional security 137 Recent tensions particularly with North Korea and China have reignited the debate over the status of the JSDF and its relation to Japanese society 138 139 Domestic law enforcement Main articles Law enforcement in Japan and Crime in Japan The headquarters of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Domestic security in Japan is provided mainly by the prefectural police departments under the oversight of the National Police Agency 140 As the central coordinating body for the Prefectural Police Departments the National Police Agency is administered by the National Public Safety Commission 141 The Special Assault Team comprises national level counter terrorism tactical units that cooperate with territorial level Anti Firearms Squads and Counter NBC Terrorism Squads 142 The Japan Coast Guard guards territorial waters surrounding Japan and uses surveillance and control countermeasures against smuggling marine environmental crime poaching piracy spy ships unauthorized foreign fishing vessels and illegal immigration 143 The Firearm and Sword Possession Control Law strictly regulates the civilian ownership of guns swords and other weaponry 144 145 According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime among the member states of the UN that report statistics as of 2018 update the incidence rates of violent crimes such as murder abduction sexual violence and robbery are very low in Japan 146 147 148 149 EconomyMain article Economy of Japan Skyscrapers in Nakanoshima Osaka a major financial centre in Japan Japan has the world s third largest economy by nominal GDP after that of the United States and China and the fourth largest economy by PPP As of 2020 update Japan s labor force is the world s eighth largest and consists of 66 5 million workers 3 As of 2021 update Japan has a low unemployment rate of around 2 8 150 Its poverty rate is the second highest among the G7 nations 151 and exceeds 15 7 of the population 152 Japan has the highest ratio of public debt to GDP among advanced economies 153 with national debt estimated at 248 relative to GDP as of 2022 update 154 The Japanese yen is the world s third largest reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro 155 Japan was the world s fourth largest exporter and importer in 2021 156 157 Its exports amounted to 15 6 of its total GDP in 2020 158 As of 2019 update Japan s main export markets were the United States 19 8 percent and China 19 1 percent 109 Its main exports are motor vehicles iron and steel products semiconductors and auto parts 3 Japan s main import markets as of 2019 update were China 23 5 percent the United States 11 percent and Australia 6 3 percent 109 Japan s main imports are machinery and equipment fossil fuels foodstuffs chemicals and raw materials for its industries 109 The Japanese variant of capitalism has many distinct features keiretsu enterprises are influential and lifetime employment and seniority based career advancement are common in the Japanese work environment 159 160 Japan has a large cooperative sector with three of the world s ten largest cooperatives including the largest consumer cooperative and the largest agricultural cooperative as of 2018 update 161 It ranks highly for competitiveness and economic freedom Japan ranked sixth in the Global Competitiveness Report in 2019 162 It attracted 31 9 million international tourists in 2019 163 and was ranked eleventh in the world in 2019 for inbound tourism 164 The 2021 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report ranked Japan first in the world out of 117 countries 165 Its international tourism receipts in 2019 amounted to 46 1 billion 164 Agriculture and fishery Main article Agriculture forestry and fishing in Japan A rice paddy in Aizu Fukushima Prefecture The Japanese agricultural sector accounts for about 1 2 of the total country s GDP as of 2018 update 109 Only 11 5 of Japan s land is suitable for cultivation 166 Because of this lack of arable land a system of terraces is used to farm in small areas 167 This results in one of the world s highest levels of crop yields per unit area with an agricultural self sufficiency rate of about 50 as of 2018 update 168 Japan s small agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected 169 There has been a growing concern about farming as farmers are aging with a difficult time finding successors 170 Japan ranked seventh in the world in tonnage of fish caught and captured 3 167 610 metric tons of fish in 2016 down from an annual average of 4 000 000 tons over the previous decade 171 Japan maintains one of the world s largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15 of the global catch 3 prompting critiques that Japan s fishing is leading to depletion in fish stocks such as tuna 172 Japan has sparked controversy by supporting commercial whaling 173 Industry and services Main articles Manufacturing in Japan Trade and services in Japan Electronics industry in Japan and Automotive industry in Japan A plug in hybrid car manufactured by Toyota Japan is the third largest maker of motor vehicles in the world 174 Japan has a large industrial capacity and is home to some of the largest and most technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles machine tools steel and nonferrous metals ships chemical substances textiles and processed foods 3 Japan s industrial sector makes up approximately 27 5 of its GDP 3 The country s manufacturing output is the third highest in the world as of 2019 update 175 Japan is the third largest automobile producer in the world as of 2017 update and is home to Toyota the world s largest automobile company 174 176 The Japanese shipbuilding industry faces competition from South Korea and China a 2020 government initiative identified this sector as a target for increasing exports 177 Japan s service sector accounts for about 70 of its total economic output as of 2019 update 178 Banking retail transportation and telecommunications are all major industries with companies such as Toyota Mitsubishi UFJ NTT AEON Softbank Hitachi and Itochu listed as among the largest in the world 179 180 Science and technology Main articles History of science and technology in Japan Science and technology in Japan Video gaming in Japan and List of Japanese inventions and discoveries The Japanese Experiment Module Kibō at the International Space Station Japan is a leading nation in scientific research particularly in the natural sciences and engineering The country ranks twelfth among the most innovative countries in the 2020 Bloomberg Innovation Index and 13th in the Global Innovation Index in 2022 up from 15th in 2019 181 182 Relative to gross domestic product Japan s research and development budget is the second highest in the world 183 with 867 000 researchers sharing a 19 trillion yen research and development budget as of 2017 update 184 The country has produced twenty two Nobel laureates in either physics chemistry or medicine 185 and three Fields medalists 186 Japan leads the world in robotics production and use supplying 55 of the world s 2017 total 187 Japan has the second highest number of researchers in science and technology per capita in the world with 14 per 1000 employees 188 The Japanese consumer electronics industry once considered the strongest in the world is in a state of decline as competition arises in countries like South Korea and China 189 However video gaming in Japan remains a major industry In 2014 Japan s consumer video game market grossed 9 6 billion with 5 8 billion coming from mobile gaming 190 By 2015 Japan had become the world s fourth largest PC game market behind only China the United States and South Korea 191 The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is Japan s national space agency it conducts space planetary and aviation research and leads development of rockets and satellites 192 It is a participant in the International Space Station the Japanese Experiment Module Kibō was added to the station during Space Shuttle assembly flights in 2008 193 The space probe Akatsuki was launched in 2010 and achieved orbit around Venus in 2015 194 Japan s plans in space exploration include building a moon base and landing astronauts by 2030 195 In 2007 it launched lunar explorer SELENE Selenological and Engineering Explorer from Tanegashima Space Center The largest lunar mission since the Apollo program its purpose was to gather data on the moon s origin and evolution The explorer entered a lunar orbit on October 4 2007 196 197 and was deliberately crashed into the Moon on June 11 2009 198 InfrastructureTransportation Main article Transport in Japan Japan Airlines the flag carrier of Japan Japan has invested heavily in transportation infrastructure 199 The country has approximately 1 200 000 kilometers 750 000 miles of roads made up of 1 000 000 kilometers 620 000 miles of city town and village roads 130 000 kilometers 81 000 miles of prefectural roads 54 736 kilometers 34 011 miles of general national highways and 7641 kilometers 4748 miles of national expressways as of 2017 update 200 Since privatization in 1987 201 dozens of Japanese railway companies compete in regional and local passenger transportation markets major companies include seven JR enterprises Kintetsu Seibu Railway and Keio Corporation The high speed Shinkansen bullet trains that connect major cities are known for their safety and punctuality 202 There are 175 airports in Japan as of 2013 update 3 The largest domestic airport Haneda Airport in Tokyo was Asia s second busiest airport in 2019 203 The Keihin and Hanshin superport hubs are among the largest in the world at 7 98 and 5 22 million TEU respectively as of 2017 update 204 Energy Main article Energy in Japan The Kashiwazaki Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant As of 2019 update 37 1 of energy in Japan was produced from petroleum 25 1 from coal 22 4 from natural gas 3 5 from hydropower and 2 8 from nuclear power among other sources Nuclear power was down from 11 2 percent in 2010 205 By May 2012 all of the country s nuclear power plants had been taken offline because of ongoing public opposition following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in March 2011 though government officials continued to try to sway public opinion in favor of returning at least some to service 206 The Sendai Nuclear Power Plant restarted in 2015 207 and since then several other nuclear power plants have been restarted 208 Japan lacks significant domestic reserves and has a heavy dependence on imported energy 209 The country has therefore aimed to diversify its sources and maintain high levels of energy efficiency 210 Water supply and sanitation Main article Water supply and sanitation in Japan Responsibility for the water and sanitation sector is shared between the Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare in charge of water supply for domestic use the Ministry of Land Infrastructure Transport and Tourism in charge of water resources development as well as sanitation the Ministry of the Environment in charge of ambient water quality and environmental preservation and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in charge of performance benchmarking of utilities 211 Access to an improved water source is universal in Japan About 98 of the population receives piped water supply from public utilities 212 DemographicsMain articles Demographics of Japan Japanese people Ethnic groups of Japan List of metropolitan areas in Japan and List of cities in Japan View of Tokyo from the top of the Tokyo Skytree The Greater Tokyo Area is ranked as the most populous metropolitan area in the world Japan has a population of 125 4 million of which 122 8 million are Japanese nationals 2021 estimates 213 A small population of foreign residents makes up the remainder 214 In 2019 92 of the total Japanese population lived in cities 215 The capital city Tokyo has a population of 13 9 million 2022 216 It is part of the Greater Tokyo Area the biggest metropolitan area in the world with 38 140 000 people 2016 217 Japan is an ethnically and culturally homogeneous society 218 the Japanese people form 98 1 of the country s population 219 Minority ethnic groups in the country include the indigenous Ainu and Ryukyuan people 220 Zainichi Koreans 221 Chinese 222 Filipinos 223 Brazilians mostly of Japanese descent 224 and Peruvians mostly of Japanese descent are also among Japan s small minority groups 225 Burakumin make up a social minority group 226 Japan is the world s fastest aging country and has the highest proportion of elderly citizens of any country comprising one third of its total population 227 this is the result of a post World War II baby boom which was followed by an increase in life expectancy and a decrease in birth rates 228 Japan has a total fertility rate of 1 4 which is below the replacement rate of 2 1 and is among the world s lowest 229 it has a median age of 48 4 the highest in the world 230 As of 2020 update over 28 7 percent of the population is over 65 or one in four out of the Japanese population 227 As a growing number of younger Japanese are not marrying or remaining childless 231 232 Japan s population is expected to drop to around 88 million by 2065 227 The changes in demographic structure have created a number of social issues particularly a decline in workforce population and increase in the cost of social security benefits 231 The government of Japan projects that there will be almost one elderly person for each person of working age by 2060 230 Immigration and birth incentives are sometimes suggested as a solution to provide younger workers to support the nation s aging population 233 234 On April 1 2019 Japan s revised immigration law was enacted protecting the rights of foreign workers to help reduce labor shortages in certain sectors 235 vte Largest cities or towns in Japan 2015 CensusRank Name Prefecture Pop Rank Name Prefecture Pop 1 Tokyo Tokyo 9 272 740 11 Hiroshima Hiroshima 1 194 0342 Yokohama Kanagawa 3 724 844 12 Sendai Miyagi 1 082 1593 Osaka Osaka 2 691 185 13 Chiba Chiba 971 8824 Nagoya Aichi 2 295 638 14 Kitakyushu Fukuoka 961 2865 Sapporo Hokkaido 1 952 356 15 Sakai Osaka 839 3106 Fukuoka Fukuoka 1 538 681 16 Niigata Niigata 810 1577 Kobe Hyōgo 1 537 272 17 Hamamatsu Shizuoka 797 9808 Kawasaki Kanagawa 1 475 213 18 Kumamoto Kumamoto 740 8229 Kyoto Kyoto 1 475 183 19 Sagamihara Kanagawa 720 78010 Saitama Saitama 1 263 979 20 Okayama Okayama 719 474 Religion Main article Religion in Japan The torii of Itsukushima Shinto Shrine near Hiroshima Japan s constitution guarantees full religious freedom 236 Upper estimates suggest that 84 96 percent of the Japanese population subscribe to Shinto as its indigenous religion 237 However these estimates are based on people affiliated with a temple rather than the number of true believers Many Japanese people practice both Shinto and Buddhism they can either identify with both religions or describe themselves as non religious or spiritual 238 The level of participation in religious ceremonies as a cultural tradition remains high especially during festivals and occasions such as the first shrine visit of the New Year 239 Taoism and Confucianism from China have also influenced Japanese beliefs and customs 240 Christianity was first introduced into Japan by Jesuit missions starting in 1549 Today 1 241 to 1 5 of the population are Christians 242 Throughout the latest century Western customs originally related to Christianity including Western style weddings Valentine s Day and Christmas have become popular as secular customs among many Japanese 243 About 90 of those practicing Islam in Japan are foreign born migrants as of 2016 update 244 As of 2018 update there were an estimated 105 mosques and 200 000 Muslims in Japan 43 000 of which were Japanese nationals 245 Other minority religions include Hinduism Judaism and Bahaʼi Faith as well as the animist beliefs of the Ainu 246 Languages Main article Languages of Japan Kanji and hiragana signs The Japanese language is Japan s de facto national language and the primary language of most people in the country 247 Japanese writing uses kanji Chinese characters and two sets of kana syllabaries based on cursive script and radicals used by kanji as well as the Latin alphabet and Arabic numerals 248 English has taken a major role in Japan as a business and international link language As a result the prevalence of English in the educational system has increased with English classes becoming mandatory at all levels of the Japanese school system by 2020 247 Japanese Sign Language is the primary sign language used in Japan and has gained some official recognition but its usage has been historically hindered by discriminatory policies and a lack of educational support 247 Besides Japanese the Ryukyuan languages Amami Kunigami Okinawan Miyako Yaeyama Yonaguni part of the Japonic language family are spoken in the Ryukyu Islands chain 249 Few children learn these languages 250 but local governments have sought to increase awareness of the traditional languages 251 The Ainu language which is a language isolate is moribund with only a few native speakers remaining as of 2014 update 252 Additionally a number of other languages are taught and used by ethnic minorities immigrant communities and a growing number of foreign language students such as Korean including a distinct Zainichi Korean dialect Chinese and Portuguese 247 Education Main article Education in Japan Students celebrating after the announcement of the results of the entrance examinations to the University of Tokyo Since the 1947 Fundamental Law of Education compulsory education in Japan comprises elementary and junior high school which together last for nine years 253 Almost all children continue their education at a three year senior high school 254 The two top ranking universities in Japan are the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University 255 Starting in April 2016 various schools began the academic year with elementary school and junior high school integrated into one nine year compulsory schooling program MEXT plans for this approach to be adopted nationwide 256 The Programme for International Student Assessment PISA coordinated by the OECD ranks the knowledge and skills of Japanese 15 year olds as the third best in the world 257 Japan is one of the top performing OECD countries in reading literacy math and sciences with the average student scoring 520 and has one of the world s highest educated labor forces among OECD countries 258 257 259 It spent roughly 3 1 of its total GDP on education as of 2018 update 260 below the OECD average of 4 9 261 In 2020 the country ranked third for the percentage of 25 to 64 year olds that have attained tertiary education with 52 7 262 Approximately 61 5 of Japanese aged 25 to 34 have some form of tertiary education qualification and bachelor s degrees are held by 31 3 of Japanese aged 25 to 64 the second most in the OECD after South Korea 262 Japanese females are more highly educated compared to their male counterparts as 59 of Japanese women possess a university degree compared to 52 of Japanese men 263 Health Main articles Health in Japan and Health care system in Japan Health care in Japan is provided by national and local governments Payment for personal medical services is offered through a universal health insurance system that provides relative equality of access with fees set by a government committee People without insurance through employers can participate in a national health insurance program administered by local governments 264 Since 1973 all elderly persons have been covered by government sponsored insurance 265 Japan spent 10 74 of its total GDP on healthcare in 2019 266 In 2020 the overall life expectancy in Japan at birth was 84 62 years 81 64 years for males and 87 74 years for females the highest in the world 267 while it had a very low infant mortality rate 2 per 1 000 live births 268 Since 1981 the principal cause of death in Japan is cancer which accounted for 27 of the total deaths in 2018 followed by cardiovascular diseases which led to 15 of the deaths 269 Japan has one of the world s highest suicide rates which is considered a major social issue 270 Another significant public health issue is smoking among Japanese men 271 However Japan has the lowest rate of heart disease in the OECD and the lowest level of dementia among developed countries 272 CultureMain article Culture of Japan See also Japanese popular culture Contemporary Japanese culture combines influences from Asia Europe and North America 273 Traditional Japanese arts include crafts such as ceramics textiles lacquerware swords and dolls performances of bunraku kabuki noh dance and rakugo and other practices the tea ceremony ikebana martial arts calligraphy origami onsen Geisha and games Japan has a developed system for the protection and promotion of both tangible and intangible Cultural Properties and National Treasures 274 Twenty two sites have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List eighteen of which are of cultural significance 100 Japan is considered a cultural superpower 275 276 Art and architecture Main article Japanese art Further information Japanese architecture Japanese garden Japanese esthetics Japanese painting and Japanese sculpture Hokusai s 19th century ukiyo e woodblock print The Great Wave off Kanagawa Ritsurin Garden one of the most famous strolling gardens in Japan The history of Japanese painting exhibits synthesis and competition between native Japanese esthetics and imported ideas 277 The interaction between Japanese and European art has been significant for example ukiyo e prints which began to be exported in the 19th century in the movement known as Japonism had a significant influence on the development of modern art in the West most notably on post Impressionism 277 Japanese architecture is a combination between local and other influences It has traditionally been typified by wooden or mud plaster structures elevated slightly off the ground with tiled or thatched roofs 278 The Shrines of Ise have been celebrated as the prototype of Japanese architecture 279 Traditional housing and many temple buildings see the use of tatami mats and sliding doors that break down the distinction between rooms and indoor and outdoor space 280 Since the 19th century Japan has incorporated much of Western modern architecture into construction and design 281 It was not until after World War II that Japanese architects made an impression on the international scene firstly with the work of architects like Kenzō Tange and then with movements like Metabolism 282 Literature and philosophy Main articles Japanese literature Japanese poetry and Japanese philosophy 12th century illustrated handscroll of The Tale of Genji a National Treasure The earliest works of Japanese literature include the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki chronicles and the Man yōshu poetry anthology all from the 8th century and written in Chinese characters 283 284 In the early Heian period the system of phonograms known as kana hiragana and katakana was developed 285 The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is considered the oldest extant Japanese narrative 286 An account of court life is given in The Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon while The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu is often described as the world s first novel 287 288 During the Edo period the chōnin townspeople overtook the samurai aristocracy as producers and consumers of literature The popularity of the works of Saikaku for example reveals this change in readership and authorship while Bashō revivified the poetic tradition of the Kokinshu with his haikai haiku and wrote the poetic travelogue Oku no Hosomichi 289 The Meiji era saw the decline of traditional literary forms as Japanese literature integrated Western influences Natsume Sōseki and Mori Ōgai were significant novelists in the early 20th century followed by Ryunosuke Akutagawa Jun ichirō Tanizaki Kafu Nagai and more recently Haruki Murakami and Kenji Nakagami Japan has two Nobel Prize winning authors Yasunari Kawabata 1968 and Kenzaburō Ōe 1994 290 Japanese philosophy has historically been a fusion of both foreign particularly Chinese and Western and uniquely Japanese elements In its literary forms Japanese philosophy began about fourteen centuries ago Confucian ideals remain evident in the Japanese concept of society and the self and in the organization of the government and the structure of society 291 Buddhism has profoundly impacted Japanese psychology metaphysics and esthetics 292 Performing arts Main articles Music of Japan and Theatre of Japan Noh performance at a Shinto shrine Japanese music is eclectic and diverse Many instruments such as the koto were introduced in the 9th and 10th centuries The popular folk music with the guitar like shamisen dates from the 16th century 293 Western classical music introduced in the late 19th century forms an integral part of Japanese culture 294 Kumi daiko ensemble drumming was developed in postwar Japan and became very popular in North America 295 Popular music in post war Japan has been heavily influenced by American and European trends which has led to the evolution of J pop 296 Karaoke is a significant cultural activity 297 The four traditional theaters from Japan are noh kyōgen kabuki and bunraku 298 Noh is one of the oldest continuous theater traditions in the world 299 Holidays Main articles Public holidays in Japan and Japanese festivals Young ladies celebrate Coming of Age Day 成人の日 Seijin no Hi in Harajuku Tokyo Officially Japan has 16 national government recognized holidays Public holidays in Japan are regulated by the Public Holiday Law 国民の祝日に関する法律 Kokumin no Shukujitsu ni Kansuru Hōritsu of 1948 300 Beginning in 2000 Japan implemented the Happy Monday System which moved a number of national holidays to Monday in order to obtain a long weekend 301 The national holidays in Japan are New Year s Day on January 1 Coming of Age Day on the second Monday of January National Foundation Day on February 11 The Emperor s Birthday on February 23 Vernal Equinox Day on March 20 or 21 Shōwa Day on April 29 Constitution Memorial Day on May 3 Greenery Day on May 4 Children s Day on May 5 Marine Day on the third Monday of July Mountain Day on August 11 Respect for the Aged Day on the third Monday of September Autumnal Equinox on September 23 or 24 Health and Sports Day on the second Monday of October Culture Day on November 3 and Labor Thanksgiving Day on November 23 302 Cuisine Main article Japanese cuisine A plate of nigiri zushi Japanese cuisine offers a vast array of regional specialties that use traditional recipes and local ingredients 303 Seafood and Japanese rice or noodles are traditional staples 304 Japanese curry since its introduction to Japan from British India is so widely consumed that it can be termed a national dish alongside ramen and sushi 305 306 Traditional Japanese sweets are known as wagashi 307 Ingredients such as red bean paste and mochi are used More modern day tastes includes green tea ice cream 308 Popular Japanese beverages include sake which is a brewed rice beverage that typically contains 14 17 alcohol and is made by multiple fermentation of rice 309 Beer has been brewed in Japan since the late 17th century 310 Green tea is produced in Japan and prepared in forms such as matcha used in the Japanese tea ceremony 311 Media Main articles Cinema of Japan Manga Anime and Media of Japan According to the 2015 NHK survey on television viewing in Japan 79 percent of Japanese watch television daily 312 Japanese television dramas are viewed both within Japan and internationally 313 other popular shows are in the genres of variety shows comedy and news programs 314 Many Japanese media franchises such as Dragon Ball One Piece and Naruto have gained considerable global popularity and are among the world s highest grossing media franchises Pokemon in particular is estimated to be the highest grossing media franchise of all time Japanese newspapers are among the most circulated in the world as of 2016 update 315 Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries globally 316 Ishirō Honda s Godzilla became an international icon of Japan and spawned an entire subgenre of kaiju films as well as the longest running film franchise in history 317 318 Japanese comics known as manga developed in the mid 20th century and have become popular worldwide 319 320 A large number of manga series have become some of the best selling comics series of all time rivalling the American comics industry 321 Japanese animated films and television series known as anime were largely influenced by Japanese manga and have become highly popular internationally 322 323 Sports Main article Sport in Japan Sumo wrestlers form around the referee during the ring entering ceremony Traditionally sumo is considered Japan s national sport 324 Japanese martial arts such as judo and kendo are taught as part of the compulsory junior high school curriculum 325 Baseball is the most popular spectator sport in the country 326 Japan s top professional league Nippon Professional Baseball NPB was established in 1936 327 Since the establishment of the Japan Professional Football League J League in 1992 association football has gained a wide following 328 The country co hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup with South Korea 329 Japan has one of the most successful football teams in Asia winning the Asian Cup four times 330 and the FIFA Women s World Cup in 2011 331 Golf is also popular in Japan 332 In motorsport Japanese automotive manufacturers have been successful in multiple different categories with titles and victories in series such as Formula One MotoGP and the World Rally Championship 333 334 335 Drivers from Japan have victories at the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as podium finishes in Formula One in addition to success in domestic championships 336 337 Super GT is the most popular national racing series in Japan while Super Formula is the top level domestic open wheel series 338 The country hosts major races such as the Japanese Grand Prix 339 Japan hosted the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 1964 and the Winter Olympics in Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998 340 The country hosted the official 2006 Basketball World Championship 341 and will co host the 2023 Basketball World Championship 342 Tokyo hosted the 2020 Summer Olympics in 2021 making Tokyo the first Asian city to host the Olympics twice 343 The country gained the hosting rights for the official Women s Volleyball World Championship on five occasions more than any other nation 344 Japan is the most successful Asian Rugby Union country 345 and hosted the 2019 IRB Rugby World Cup 346 See also Asia portal Japan portal Islands portal Index of Japan related articles Outline of JapanNotes ɲippoꜜɴ listen or ɲihoꜜɴ listen In English the official name of the country is simply Japan 8 In Japanese the name of the country as it appears on official documents including the country s constitution is 日本国 Nippon koku or Nihon koku meaning State of Japan Despite this the short form name 日本 Nippon or Nihon is also often used officially References a b 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 prefectures and municipalities ranked according to area as of 1 October 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 a b c d e f g h World Factbook Japan CIA Retrieved September 24 2022 2020 Population Census Preliminary Tabulation Statistics Bureau of Japan Retrieved June 26 2021 a b c d World Economic Outlook database October 2022 International Monetary Fund October 2022 Inequality Income inequality OECD Data OECD Retrieved July 25 2021 Human Development Report 2021 2022 PDF United Nations Development Programme September 8 2022 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 a b c Schreiber Mark November 26 2019 You say Nihon I say Nippon or let s call the whole thing Japan The Japan Times a b Carr Michael March 1992 Wa Wa Lexicography International Journal of Lexicography 5 1 1 31 doi 10 1093 ijl 5 1 1 via Oxford Academic Piggott Joan R 1997 The Emergence of Japanese Kingship Stanford University Press pp 143 144 ISBN 978 0 8047 2832 4 Hoffman Michael July 27 2008 Cipangu s landlocked isles The Japan Times Archived from the original on August 25 2018 Lach Donald 2010 Asia in the Making of Europe Vol I University of Chicago Press p 157 Mancall Peter C 2006 Of the Ilande of Giapan 1565 Travel Narratives from the Age of Discovery an anthology Oxford University Press pp 156 157 Batchelor Robert K 2014 London The Selden Map and the Making of a Global City 1549 1689 University of Chicago Press pp 76 79 ISBN 978 0 226 08079 6 Ono Akira Sato Hiroyuki Tsutsumi Takashi Kudo Yuichiro 2002 Radiocarbon Dates and Archaeology of the Late Pleistocene in the Japanese Islands Radiocarbon 44 2 477 494 doi 10 1017 S0033822200031854 Habu Junko 2004 Ancient Jomon of Japan Cambridge University Press p 43 ISBN 978 0 521 77670 7 Jōmon Culture ca 10 500 ca 300 B C Metropolitan Museum of Art Retrieved August 28 2020 Wade Nicholas May 4 2011 Finding on Dialects Casts New Light on the Origins of the Japanese People The New York Times Vovin Alexander 2017 Origins of the Japanese Language Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 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California Press p 42 ISBN 978 0 520 22560 2 a b Sansom George 1961 A History of Japan 1334 1615 Stanford University Press pp 57 68 ISBN 978 0 8047 0525 7 a b Totman Conrad 2002 A History of Japan Blackwell pp 107 108 ISBN 978 1 4051 2359 4 Totman Conrad 2002 A History of Japan Blackwell pp 64 79 ISBN 978 1 4051 2359 4 a b c d e f g Henshall Kenneth 2012 Of Courtiers and Warriors Early and Medieval History 710 1600 A History of Japan From Stone Age to Superpower Palgrave Macmillan pp 24 52 ISBN 978 0 230 36918 4 Hays J N 2005 Epidemics and pandemics their impacts on human history ABC CLIO p 31 ISBN 978 1 85109 658 9 Totman Conrad 2002 A History of Japan Blackwell pp 79 87 122 123 ISBN 978 1 4051 2359 4 Leibo Steven A 2015 East and Southeast Asia 2015 2016 Rowman amp Littlefield Publishers pp 99 104 ISBN 978 1 4758 1875 8 Middleton John 2015 World Monarchies and Dynasties Routledge p 616 Totman Conrad 2005 A History of Japan 2nd ed Blackwell pp 106 112 ISBN 978 1 4051 2359 4 Shirane Haruo 2012 Traditional Japanese Literature An Anthology Beginnings to 1600 Columbia University Press p 409 ISBN 978 0 231 15730 8 Sansom George 1961 A History of Japan 1334 1615 Stanford University Press pp 42 217 ISBN 978 0 8047 0525 7 Lidin Olof 2005 Tanegashima Taylor amp Francis ISBN 0 203 47957 2 Brown Delmer May 1948 The impact of firearms on Japanese warfare 1543 98 The Far Eastern Quarterly 7 3 236 253 doi 10 2307 2048846 JSTOR 2048846 Azuchi Momoyama period 1573 1603 Dallas Museum of Art Retrieved October 3 2020 Turnbull Stephen 2011 Toyotomi Hideyoshi Osprey Publishing p 61 ISBN 978 1 84603 960 7 a b c d e Henshall Kenneth 2012 The Closed Country the Tokugawa Period 1600 1868 A History of Japan From Stone Age to Superpower Palgrave Macmillan pp 53 74 ISBN 978 0 230 36918 4 Totman Conrad 2005 A History of Japan 2nd ed Blackwell pp 142 143 ISBN 978 1 4051 2359 4 Toby Ronald P 1977 Reopening the Question of Sakoku Diplomacy in the Legitimation of the Tokugawa Bakufu Journal of Japanese Studies 3 2 323 363 doi 10 2307 132115 JSTOR 132115 Howe Christopher 1996 The Origins of Japanese Trade Supremacy Hurst amp Company pp 58ff ISBN 978 1 85065 538 1 Ohtsu M Imanari Tomio 1999 Japanese National Values and Confucianism Japanese Economy 27 2 45 59 doi 10 2753 JES1097 203X270245 Totman Conrad 2005 A History of Japan 2nd ed Blackwell pp 289 296 ISBN 978 1 4051 2359 4 a b Henshall Kenneth 2012 Building a Modern Nation the Meiji Period 1868 1912 A History of Japan From Stone Age to Superpower Palgrave Macmillan pp 75 107 ISBN 978 0 230 36918 4 McCargo Duncan 2000 Contemporary Japan Macmillan pp 18 19 ISBN 978 0 333 71000 5 Baran Paul 1962 The Political Economy of Growth Monthly Review Press p 160 Totman Conrad 2005 A History of Japan 2nd ed Blackwell pp 312 314 ISBN 978 1 4051 2359 4 Matsusaka Y Tak 2009 The Japanese Empire In Tsutsui William M ed Companion to Japanese History Blackwell pp 224 241 ISBN 978 1 4051 1690 9 Hiroshi Shimizu Hitoshi Hirakawa 1999 Japan and Singapore in the world economy Japan s economic advance into Singapore 1870 1965 Routledge p 17 ISBN 978 0 415 19236 1 a b c d e Henshall Kenneth 2012 The Excesses of Ambition the Pacific War and its Lead Up A History of Japan From Stone Age to Superpower Palgrave Macmillan pp 108 141 ISBN 978 0 230 36918 4 Tsuzuki Chushichi 2011 Taisho Democracy and the First World War The Pursuit of Power in Modern Japan 1825 1995 Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 acprof oso 9780198205890 001 0001 ISBN 978 0 19 820589 0 a b Ramesh S 2020 The Taisho Period 1912 1926 Transition from Democracy to a Military Economy China s Economic Rise Palgrave Macmillan pp 173 209 ISBN 978 3 030 49811 5 Burnett M Troy ed 2020 Nationalism Today Extreme Political Movements around the World ABC CLIO p 20 Weber Torsten 2018 Embracing Asia in China and Japan Palgrave Macmillan p 268 The Japanese Nation It has a history of feudalism nationalism war and now defeat LIFE September 17 1945 pp 109 111 Paine S C M 2012 The Wars for Asia 1911 1949 Cambridge University Press pp 123 125 ISBN 978 1 139 56087 0 Worth Roland H Jr 1995 No Choice But War the United States Embargo Against Japan and the Eruption of War in the Pacific McFarland pp 56 86 ISBN 978 0 7864 0141 3 Bailey Beth Farber David 2019 Introduction December 7 8 1941 Beyond Pearl Harbor A Pacific History University Press of Kansas pp 1 8 Yōko Hayashi 1999 2000 Issues Surrounding the Wartime Comfort Women Review of Japanese Culture and Society 11 12 Special Issue 54 65 JSTOR 42800182 Pape Robert A 1993 Why Japan Surrendered International Security 18 2 154 201 doi 10 2307 2539100 JSTOR 2539100 Watt Lori 2010 When Empire Comes Home Repatriation and Reintegration in Postwar Japan Harvard University Press pp 1 4 ISBN 978 0 674 05598 8 a b c d e Henshall Kenneth 2012 A Phoenix from the Ashes Postwar Successes and Beyond A History of Japan From Stone Age to Superpower Palgrave Macmillan pp 142 180 ISBN 978 0 230 36918 4 Coleman Joseph March 6 2007 52 coup 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