Discover Japan

Japan: An Island Country in East Asia

• Japan is an island country located in East Asia, situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean and bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north toward the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, and Taiwan in the south.

• The country spans an archipelago of 14,125 islands, with the five main islands being Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa, and Tokyo is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Kobe, and Kyoto.

• Japan is the eleventh most populous country in the world, and about three-fourths of the country's terrain is mountainous, concentrating its highly urbanized population on narrow coastal plains.

• Japan has a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a bicameral legislature, the National Diet, and is a developed country and a great power, with memberships in numerous international organizations, including the United Nations, G20, OECD, and the Group of Seven.

• The country's 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.

• Japan has a strong military, the Self-Defense Forces, which ranks as one of the world's strongest militaries, although the country has renounced its right to declare war.

• Japan has a long and rich history, with human habitation dating back to the Upper Paleolithic period (30,000 BC). 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. Japan invaded China in 1937 and entered World War II as an Axis power in 1941, suffering defeat in the Pacific War and two atomic bombings, and surrendered in 1945 under Allied occupation, during which it adopted a new constitution.

• Japan is considered a cultural superpower as the culture of Japan is well known around the world, including its art, cuisine, film, music, and popular culture, which encompasses prominent manga, anime, and video game industries.

• The name for Japan in Japanese is written using the kanji 日本 and is pronounced Nippon or Nihon. The characters 日本 mean "sun origin", which is the source of the popular Western epithet "Land of the Rising Sun".

• Japan comprises 14,125 islands extending along the Pacific coast of Asia, with the country's five main islands being Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, KySummary Title: Japan's Geography, Climate, Biodiversity, Politics, Military, Economy, and Agriculture

• Japan is an archipelago consisting of four main islands: Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku, and several smaller islands.

• Japan has the sixth-longest coastline in the world and the eighth-largest exclusive economic zone, covering 4,470,000 km2.

• Japan has high population densities in the coastal areas due to the rugged and mountainous terrain, with Honshu having the highest population density.

• Japan is prone to natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunami, and volcanic eruptions due to its location along the Pacific Ring of Fire.

• Japan's climate varies greatly from north to south, with Hokkaido having a humid continental climate and the Ryukyu and Nanpō Islands having a subtropical climate.

• Japan has nine forest ecoregions and over 90,000 species of wildlife, including the brown bear and the Japanese giant salamander.

• Japan has made efforts to address environmental issues, and its environmental performance ranks 20th in the world.

• Japan is a unitary state and constitutional monarchy with a bicameral parliament, the National Diet, and a prime minister as the head of government.

• Japan has close economic and military relations with the United States and participates in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue.

• Japan's economy is the third-largest in the world by nominal GDP, and its main exports are motor vehicles, iron and steel products, semiconductors, and auto parts.

• Japan's agricultural sector accounts for about 1.2% of the total country's GDP, and its fishing industry is one of the largest in the world.

• Japan's poverty rate is the second-highest among the G7 nations, and its national debt is estimated at 248% relative to GDP as of 2022.Japan: A Detailed Overview

• Japan is home to some of the world's largest and most technologically advanced producers of a range of goods, and its manufacturing output is the third highest in the world as of 2019.

• The country's service sector accounts for about 70% of its total economic output as of 2019, with banking, retail, transportation, and telecommunications being major industries.

• Japan is a leading nation in scientific research, with a high research and development budget and a significant number of Nobel laureates and Fields medalists.

• Japan leads the world in robotics production and use, and video gaming is a major industry.

• Japan has invested heavily in transportation infrastructure, with a network of roads, railways, and airports, including the high-speed Shinkansen bullet trains.

• Japan has a heavy dependence on imported energy, with petroleum being its primary source of energy as of 2019.

• Access to an improved water source is universal in Japan, and the country has a shared responsibility for the water and sanitation sector.

• Japan is the world's fastest aging country, with the highest proportion of elderly citizens of any country, and a declining workforce population.

• Japan's constitution guarantees full religious freedom, with Shinto being the indigenous religion, and Christianity and Islam being minority religions.

• The Japanese language is the primary written and spoken language, and the country has a strong education system with high levels of literacy and tertiary education attainment.

• Health care in Japan is provided by national and local governments, with a universal health insurance system.

• Contemporary Japanese culture combines influences from Asia, Europe, and North America, and traditional Japanese arts include crafts, performances, and practices such as the tea ceremony and martial arts.Overview of Japanese Culture

• Japanese architecture is known for traditional features like tatami mats and sliding doors, as well as incorporating Western modern architecture since the 19th century.

• Japanese literature includes ancient works like the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki chronicles, as well as more recent authors like Haruki Murakami and Kenji Nakagami.

• Japanese philosophy is a fusion of foreign and Japanese elements, with Confucian and Buddhist ideals remaining evident to this day.

• Japanese music includes traditional instruments like the koto, as well as Western classical music and contemporary J-pop.

• Japanese theater includes noh, kyōgen, kabuki, and bunraku, with noh being one of the oldest continuous theater traditions in the world.

• There are 16 national holidays in Japan, with the Happy Monday System implemented in 2000 to move some holidays to Mondays for longer weekends.

• Japanese cuisine offers a variety of regional specialties, with seafood and rice or noodles being traditional staples, and dishes like curry, ramen, and sushi being popular.

• Popular Japanese beverages include sake, beer, and green tea, while Japanese newspapers are among the most circulated in the world.

• Japanese television dramas and variety shows are popular both within Japan and internationally, and franchises like Pokémon have gained considerable global popularity.

• Japan has a thriving film industry, with Godzilla and manga being globally recognized, and anime becoming highly popular internationally.

• Sumo is considered Japan's national sport, with baseball, football, golf, and motorsport also being popular.

• Japan has hosted the Olympics three times and has a successful rugby team.