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This article is about the country. For other uses, see Japan (disambiguation).

State of Japan
Shinjitai : 日本国
Kyujitai: 日本國
Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku
Anthem: 

Kimigayo (君が代)
Government Seal:
Seal of the Office of the Prime Minister and the Government of Japan
Paulownia (五七桐, Go-Shichi no Kiri)
Location of Japan
Capital
and largest city
Tokyo (de facto)
Official languagesNone[1]
Recognised regional languagesAynu itak, Eastern Japanese, Western Japanese, Ryukyuan, and several other Japanese dialects
National language

National Scripts

Japanese

Kanji
Hiragana
Katakana
Ethnic groups
98.5% Japanese, 0.5% Korean, 0.4% Chinese, 0.6% other[2]
Demonym(s)Japanese
GovernmentUnitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy
• Emperor
Akihito
Naoto Kan (DPJ)
LegislatureNational Diet
• Upper house
House of Councillors
• Lower house
House of Representatives
Formation
February 11, 660 BC[3]
November 29, 1890
May 3, 1947

April 28, 1952
Area
• Total
377,944 km2 (145,925 sq mi)[4] (61st)
• Water (%)
0.8
Population
• 2010 estimate
127,360,000[5] (10th)
• 2004 census
127,333,002
• Density
337.1/km2 (873.1/sq mi) (36th)
GDP (PPP)2010 estimate
• Total
$4.267 trillion[6] (3rd)
• Per capita
$33,478[6] (23rd)
GDP (nominal)2010 estimate
• Total
$5.273 trillion[6] (2nd)
• Per capita
$41,366[6] (17th)
Gini38.1 (2002)[7]
Error: Invalid Gini value
HDI (2007)Increase 0.884[8]
Error: Invalid HDI value (11th)
CurrencyInternational Symbol ¥ Pronounced (Yen)
Japanese Symbol 円 (or 圓 in Traditional Kanji) Pronounced (En) (JPY)
Time zoneUTC+9 (JST)
• Summer (DST)
not observed
Date formatyyyy-mm-dd
yyyy年m月d日
Era yy年m月d日 (CE−1988)
Drives onleft
Calling code81
ISO 3166 codeJP
Internet TLD.jp

Japan (/dʒəˈpæn/ ⓘ; Template:Lang-ja Nihon or Nippon), officially the State of Japan (日本国 Nippon-kokuⓘ or Nihon-koku), is an island nation in East Asia.[9] Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".

Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands.[10] The four largest islands are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for 97 percent of Japan's land area. Most of the islands are mountainous, many volcanic; for example, Japan’s highest peak, Mount Fuji, is a volcano. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.

Archaeological research indicates that people were living on the islands of Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan begins with brief appearances in Chinese history texts from the 1st century A.D. Influence from the outside world followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. Since adopting its constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament called the Diet.

A major economic power,[11] Japan has the world's second-largest economy by nominal GDP (though recent government numbers from China claim China is now second)[12] and the third largest in purchasing power parity. It is also the world's fourth largest exporter and fifth largest importer. It is currently serving as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. Although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern and extensive military force in self-defense and peacekeeping roles. It is a developed country with very high living standards (tenth highest HDI). After Singapore, Japan has the lowest homicide (including attempted homicide) rate in the world.[13] Japan has the highest life expectancy of any country (according to both the UN and WHO estimates) and the third lowest infant mortality rate.[14][15]

Etymology

Main article: Names of Japan
Further information: [[:Wiktionary etymology for the word "Japan"]]

The English word Japan is an exonym. The Japanese names for Japan are Nippon (にっぽん), listenⓘ, and Nihon (にほん), listenⓘ. They are both written in Japanese using the kanji 日本. The Japanese name Nippon is used for most official purposes, including on Japanese money, postage stamps, and for many international sporting events. Nihon is a more casual term and the most frequently used in contemporary speech. Japanese people refer to themselves as Nihonjin (日本人) and to their language as Nihongo (日本語).

Both Nippon and Nihon literally mean "sun's origin" and are often translated as the Land of the Rising Sun. This nomenclature comes from Imperial correspondence with the Chinese Sui Dynasty and refers to Japan's eastward position relative to China. Before Nihon came into official use, Japan was known as Wa (倭) or Wakoku (倭国).[16]

The English word for Japan came to the West via early trade routes. The early Mandarin or possibly Wu Chinese (吳語) word for Japan was recorded by Marco Polo as Cipangu. In modern Shanghainese, a Wu dialect, the pronunciation of characters 日本 'Japan' is Zeppen [zəʔpən]; in Wu, the character 日 has two pronunciations, informal (白讀) [niʔ] and formal (文讀) [zəʔ]. (In some southern Wu dialects, 日本 is pronounced [niʔpən], similar to its pronunciation in Japanese.) The old Malay word for Japan, Jepang, was borrowed from a Chinese language, and this Malay word was encountered by Portuguese traders in Malacca in the 16th century. It is thought the Portuguese traders were the first to bring the word to Europe. It was first recorded in English in a 1565 letter, spelled Giapan.[17]

History

Main article: History of Japan
Jōmon Pottery is an ancient pottery which was made during Jōmon period in Japan.

The first signs of occupation on the Japanese Archipelago appeared with a Paleolithic culture around 30,000 BC, followed from around 14,000 BC by the Jōmon period, a Mesolithic to Neolithic semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer (possibly ancestors of the Ainu)[18] culture of pit dwelling and a rudimentary form of agriculture. Decorated clay vessels from this period, often with plaited patterns, are some of the oldest surviving examples of pottery in the world. The Yayoi period, starting around 500 BC, saw the introduction of many new practices, such as wet-rice farming,[19] a new style of pottery[20] and metallurgy[21] brought by migrants from China and Korea.

The Japanese first appear in written history in China’s Book of Han. According to the Chinese Records of Three Kingdoms, the most powerful kingdom on the archipelago during the 3rd century was called Yamataikoku. Buddhism was first introduced to Japan from Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, but the subsequent development of Japanese Buddhism and Buddhist sculptures were primarily influenced by China.[22] Despite early resistance, Buddhism was promoted by the ruling class and eventually gained growing acceptance beginning in the Asuka period.[23]

Daibutsu of Tōdai-ji in the city of Nara.

The Nara period of the 8th century marked the emergence of a strong Japanese state, centered on an imperial court in the city of Heijō-kyō, or modern-day Nara. In addition to the continuing adoption of Chinese administrative practices, the Nara period is characterized by the appearance of a nascent written literature with the completion of the massive chronicles Kojiki (712) and Nihon Shoki (720).[24] The smallpox epidemic of 735–737 is believed to have killed as much as one-third of Japan's population.[25]

In 784, Emperor Kammu moved the capital from Nara to Nagaoka-kyō for a ten-year period before relocating it to Heian-kyō (modern-day Kyoto) in 794, where it remained for more than a millennium.[26] This marked the beginning of the Heian period, during which time a distinctly indigenous Japanese culture emerged, noted for its art, poetry and literature. Lady Murasaki's The Tale of Genji and the lyrics of modern Japan's national anthem Kimi ga Yo were written during this time.[27]

Japan's feudal era was characterized by the emergence of a ruling class of warriors, the samurai. In 1185, following the defeat of the rival Taira clan, Minamoto no Yoritomo was appointed Shogun and established a base of power in Kamakura. After Yoritomo's death, the Hōjō clan came to rule as regents for the shoguns. Zen Buddhism was introduced from China in the Kamakura period (1185–1333) and became popular among the samurai class.

An illustration of the Battle of Kōan. The Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281 were successfully defeated.

The Kamakura shogunate repelled Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281, aided by a storm that the Japanese interpreted as a kamikaze, or Divine Wind. The Kamakura shogunate was eventually overthrown by Emperor Go-Daigo, who was soon himself defeated by Ashikaga Takauji in 1336.[28] The succeeding Ashikaga shogunate failed to control the feudal warlords (daimyō), and a civil war erupted (the Ōnin War) in 1467 which opened a century-long Sengoku (“Warring States”) period.[29]

During the 16th century, traders and Jesuit missionaries from Portugal reached Japan for the first time, initiating active commercial and cultural exchange between Japan and the West (Nanban trade). Oda Nobunaga conquered numerous other daimyo by using European technology and firearms, and had almost unified the nation when he was assassinated in 1582. Toyotomi Hideyoshi succeeded Nobunaga and united the nation in 1590. Hideyoshi invaded Korea twice, but following several defeats by Korean and Ming Chinese forces and Hideyoshi's death, Japanese troops were withdrawn in 1598.[30]

Tokugawa Ieyasu, established the Tokugawa shogunate.

Tokugawa Ieyasu served as regent for Hideyoshi's son Toyotomi Hideyori, using his position to gain political and military support. When open war broke out, he defeated rival clans in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Ieyasu was appointed shōgun in 1603 and established the Tokugawa shogunate at Edo (modern Tokyo).[31] The Tokugawa shogunate enacted a variety of measures such as Buke shohatto to control the autonomous daimyo.

In 1639, the shogunate began the isolationist sakoku ("closed country") policy that spanned the two and a half centuries of tenuous political unity known as the Edo period. The study of Western sciences, known as rangaku, continued during this period through contact with the Dutch enclave at Dejima in Nagasaki. The Edo period also gave rise to kokugaku ("national studies"), the study of Japan by the Japanese themselves.[32] According to one authority, there were at least 130 famines during the Edo period, of which 21 were particularly serious.[33]

The Meiji emperor (1867–1912)
The Meiji Restoration led to enormous changes in Japan's political and social structure.

On March 31, 1854, Commodore Matthew Perry and the "Black Ships" of the United States Navy forced the opening of Japan to the outside world with the Convention of Kanagawa. Subsequent similar treaties with the Western countries in the Bakumatsu period brought Japan into economic and political crises. The resignation of the shogunate led to the Boshin War and the establishment of a centralized state unified under the name of the Emperor (Meiji Restoration).

Adopting Western political, judicial and military institutions, the Cabinet organized the Privy Council, introduced the Meiji Constitution, and assembled the Imperial Diet. The Meiji Restoration transformed the Empire of Japan into an industrialized world power that embarked on a number of military conflicts to expand the nation's sphere of influence. 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.[34] Japan's population increased from 35 million in 1873 to 70 million in 1935.[35]

20th century

The early 20th century saw a brief period of "Taishō democracy" overshadowed by the rise of expansionism and militarization. World War I enabled Japan, which joined the side of the victorious Allies, to expand its influence and territorial holdings. Japan continued its expansionist policy by occupying Manchuria in 1931. As a result of international condemnation for this occupation, Japan resigned from the League of Nations two years later. In 1935, local assemblies were established in Taiwan.[36] In 1936, Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Nazi Germany, joining the Axis powers in 1941.[37] In 1941, Japan signed the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact with the Soviet Union, respecting both Manchukuo and Mongolian People's Republic territories.

Atomic bomb mushroom clouds over Hiroshima (left) and Nagasaki (right)

In 1937, the Empire of Japan invaded other parts of China, precipitating the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). In 1940, the Empire then invaded French Indochina, after which the United States placed an oil embargo on Japan.[38] On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the United States naval base in Pearl Harbor and declared war on the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. This act brought the United States into World War II and, on December 8, these three countries declared war on Japan.[39][40] After the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, along with the Soviet Union joining the war against it, Japan agreed to an unconditional surrender of all Japanese forces on August 15 (Victory over Japan Day).[41]

Yoshida and members of the Japanese delegation sign the Treaty of San Francisco.

The war cost Japan and the other countries of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere millions of lives and left much of the nation's industry and infrastructure destroyed. The Allied powers repatriated millions of ethnic Japanese from colonies throughout Asia.[42] The International Military Tribunal for the Far East was convened by the Allies on May 3, 1946 to prosecute some Japanese leaders for war crimes. However, all members of the bacteriological research units and members of the imperial family involved in the conduct of the war were exonerated from criminal prosecutions by the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces.

In 1947, Japan adopted a new pacifist constitution emphasizing liberal democratic practices. The Allied occupation ended with the Treaty of San Francisco in 1952[43] and Japan was granted membership in the United Nations in 1956. Japan later achieved spectacular growth to become the second-largest economy in the world, with an annual growth rate averaging 10 percent for four decades. This ended in the mid-1990s when Japan suffered a major recession. Positive growth in the early 21st century has signaled a gradual recovery.[44]

Government and politics

Main articles: Government of Japan and Politics of Japan
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko. Japan has the oldest continuous hereditary monarchy in world history.[45]
National Diet Building of Japan

Japan is a constitutional monarchy where the power of the Emperor is very limited. As a ceremonial figurehead, he is defined by the constitution as "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people". Power is held chiefly by the Prime Minister of Japan and other elected members of the Diet, while sovereignty is vested in the Japanese people.[46] The Emperor effectively acts as the head of state on diplomatic occasions. Akihito is the current Emperor of Japan; Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan, stands as next in line to the throne.

Japan's legislative organ is the National Diet, a bicameral parliament. The Diet consists of a House of Representatives with 480 seats, elected by popular vote every four years or when dissolved, and a House of Councillors of 242 seats, whose popularly elected members serve six-year terms. There is universal suffrage for adults over 20 years of age,[11] with a secret ballot for all elected offices.[46] In 2009, the social liberal Democratic Party of Japan took power after 54 years of the liberal conservative Liberal Democratic Party's rule.

The Prime Minister of Japan is the head of government. The Prime Minister is appointed by the Emperor after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office. The Prime Minister is the head of the Cabinet (the literal translation of his Japanese title is "Prime Minister of the Cabinet") and appoints and dismisses the Ministers of State, a majority of whom must be Diet members. Naoto Kan was designated by the Diet to replace Yukio Hatoyama as the Prime Minister of Japan on June 2, 2010.[47] Although the Prime Minister is formally appointed by the Emperor, the Constitution of Japan explicitly requires the Emperor to appoint whoever is designated by the Diet. Emperor Akihito formally appointed Kan as the country's 94th Prime Minister on June 8.

Historically influenced by Chinese law[citation needed], the Japanese legal system developed independently during the Edo period through texts such as Kujikata Osadamegaki. However, since the late 19th century, the judicial system has been largely based on the civil law of Europe, notably France and Germany. For example, in 1896, the Japanese government established a civil code based on a draft of the German civil code. With post-World War II modifications, the code remains in effect in present-day Japan.[48] Statutory law originates in Japan's legislature, the National Diet of Japan, with the rubber stamp approval of the Emperor. The current constitution requires that the Emperor promulgates legislation passed by the Diet, without specifically giving him the power to oppose the passing of the legislation.[46] Japan's court system is divided into four basic tiers: the Supreme Court and three levels of lower courts.[49] The main body of Japanese statutory law is a collection called the Six Codes.[48]

Foreign relations and military

Main articles: Foreign relations of Japan, Japan Self-Defense Forces, and Ministry of Defense (Japan)
JDS Kongō (DDG-173) launching a Standard Missile 3 anti-ballistic missile

Japan maintains one of the largest military budgets of any country in the world.[50] Japan has close economic and military relations with the United States, with the U.S.-Japan security alliance serving as the cornerstone of the nations's foreign policy.[51] A member state of the United Nations since 1956, Japan has served as a non-permanent Security Council member for a total of 19 years, most recently for 2009 and 2010. It is also one of the G4 nations seeking permanent membership in the Security Council.[52]

Japan is a member of the G8, APEC, and "ASEAN Plus Three", and a participant in the East Asia Summit. Japan signed a security pact with Australia in March 2007[53] and with India in October 2008.[54] It is the world's third largest donor of official development assistance after the United States and France, donating US$9.48 billion in 2009.[55] Japan contributed non-combatant troops to the Iraq War but subsequently withdrew its forces from Iraq.[56] The Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force is a regular participant in RIMPAC maritime exercises.

Japan is engaged in several territorial disputes with its neighbors: with Russia over the South Kuril Islands, with South Korea over the Liancourt Rocks, with the People's Republic of China and Republic of China (Taiwan) over the Senkaku Islands, and with the PRC over the EEZ around Okinotorishima. Japan also faces an ongoing dispute with North Korea over its abduction of Japanese citizens and its nuclear weapons and missile program (see also Six-party talks).

Japan's military is restricted by the Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, which renounces Japan's right to declare war or use military force as a means of settling international disputes. Japan's military is governed by the Ministry of Defense, and primarily consists of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). The forces have been recently used in peacekeeping operations; the deployment of Japanese troops to Iraq marked the first overseas use of its military since World War II.[56] Nippon Keidanren has called on the government to lift the ban on arms exports so that Japan can join multinational projects such as the Joint Strike Fighter.[57] Japan helped develop the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System.

Administrative divisions

Map of the prefectures of Japan in ISO 3166-2:JP order and the regions of Japan
Main articles: Prefectures of Japan, Cities of Japan, Towns of Japan, Villages of Japan, and List of Japanese cities by population

Japan consists of forty-seven prefectures, each overseen by an elected governor, legislature and administrative bureaucracy. Each prefecture is further divided into cities, towns and villages.

Hokkaidō

1. Hokkaidō

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

Chūbu

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

Chūgoku

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

Shikoku

36. Tokushima
37. Kagawa
38. Ehime
39. Kōchi

Kyūshū and Okinawa

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

The nation is currently undergoing administrative reorganization by merging many of the cities, towns and villages with each other. This process will reduce the number of sub-prefecture administrative regions and is expected to cut administrative costs.[58]

Geography

Main article: Geography of Japan
A satellite image of Japan

Japan has over three thousand islands extending along the Pacific coast of Asia. The main islands, from north to south, are Hokkaidō, Honshū, Shikoku and Kyūshū. The Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa, are a chain of islands south of Kyushū. Together they are often known as the Japanese Archipelago.

About 70 to 80 percent of the country is forested, mountainous,[59][60] and unsuitable for agricultural, industrial, or residential use. This is because of the generally steep elevations, climate and risk of landslides caused by earthquakes, soft ground and heavy rain. As a result, the habitable zones, mainly located in coastal areas, have extremely high population densities. Japan is one of the most densely populated countries in the world.[61]

Geology

Main article: Geology of Japan

The islands of Japan are located in a volcanic zone on the Pacific Ring of Fire. They are primarily the result of several large oceanic movements occurring over hundreds of millions of years from the mid-Silurian to the Pleistocene as a result of the subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate beneath the continental Amurian Plate and Okinawa Plate to the south, and subduction of the Pacific Plate under the Okhotsk Plate to the north. Destructive earthquakes, often resulting in tsunamis, occur several times each century.[62] The 1923 Tokyo earthquake killed over 140,000 people.[63] The most recent major quakes are the 2004 Chūetsu earthquake and the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995. Hot springs are numerous and have been developed as resorts.[64]

Japan was originally attached to eastern coast of the Eurasian continent. The subducting plates, being deeper than the Eurasian plate, pulled Japan eastward, opening the Sea of Japan around 15 million years ago.[65] The Strait of Tartary and the Korea Strait opened much later.

Climate

Main article: Climate of Japan
Okinawa has a subtropical climate with warm winters and hot summers.

The climate of Japan is predominantly temperate, but varies greatly from north to south.[66] Japan's geographical features divide it into six principal climatic zones: Hokkaidō, Sea of Japan, Central Highland, Seto Inland Sea, Pacific Ocean, and Ryukyu Islands. The northernmost zone, Hokkaidō, has a temperate climate with long, cold winters and cool summers. Precipitation is not heavy, but the islands usually develop deep snow banks in the winter. In the Sea of Japan zone on Honshū's west coast, the northwest wind in the wintertime brings heavy snowfall. In the summer, the region is cooler than the Pacific area, though it sometimes experiences extremely hot temperatures, because of the foehn wind phenomenon. The Central Highland is a typical inland climate, with large temperature differences between summer and winter, and between day and night. Precipitation is light. The mountains of the Chūgoku and Shikoku regions shelter the Seto Inland Sea from the seasonal winds, bringing mild weather throughout the year. The Pacific east coast experiences cold winters with little snowfall and hot, humid summers because of the southeast seasonal wind. The Ryukyu Islands have a subtropical climate, with warm winters and hot summers. Precipitation is very heavy, especially during the rainy season. Typhoons are common.

The highest temperature ever measured in Japan—40.9 °C (105.6 °F)—was recorded on August 16, 2007.[67] The main rainy season begins in early May in Okinawa, and the stationary rain front gradually works its way north until it dissipates in northern Japan before reaching Hokkaidō in late July. In most of Honshū, the rainy season begins before the middle of June and lasts about six weeks. In late summer and early autumn, typhoons often bring heavy rain.[66]

Ecology

See also: 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 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.[68]

Environment

Main article: Environmental issues in Japan
Ikata Nuclear Power Plant

In the period of rapid economic growth after World War II, environmental policies were downplayed by the government and industrial corporations. As an inevitable consequence, environmental pollution occurred in the 1950s and 1960s. Responding to rising concern over the problem, the government introduced many environmental protection laws[69] in 1970 and established the Ministry of the Environment in 1971.

The oil crisis in 1973 also encouraged the efficient use of energy due to Japan's lack of natural resources.[70] Current priority environmental issues include urban air pollution (NOx, suspended particulate matter, toxics), waste management, water eutrophication, nature conservation, climate change, chemical management and international co-operation for environmental conservation.[71]

Today, Japan is one of the world's leaders in the development of new environment-friendly technologies. Honda and Toyota hybrid electric vehicles were named to have the highest fuel economy and lowest emissions.[72] This is due to the use of advanced hybrid systems, biofuels, lighter-weight material, and specialized engineering techniques.

As a signatory of the Kyoto Protocol, and host of the 1997 conference which created it, Japan is under treaty obligations to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions and to take other steps related to curbing climate change. The Cool Biz campaign introduced under former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was targeted at reducing energy use through the reduction of air conditioning in government offices. Japan is preparing to force industry to make cuts in greenhouse gases, taking the lead in a country struggling to meet its Kyoto Protocol obligations.[73] Japan is ranked 20th best in the world in the 2010 Environmental Performance Index.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Japan
The Tokyo Stock Exchange is the world's second largest stock exchange.[citation needed]

From 1868, the Meiji period launched economic expansion. Meiji rulers embraced the concept of a free market economy and adopted British and North American forms of free enterprise capitalism. Japanese studied overseas and Western scholars were hired to teach in Japan. Many of today's enterprises were founded at the time. Japan emerged as the most developed nation in Asia.

The period of overall real economic growth from the 1960s to the 1980s has been called a "Japanese miracle": it averaged 10 percent in the 1960s, 5 percent in the 1970s and 4 percent in the 1980s.[74] Growth slowed markedly in the 1990s during what the Japanese call the Lost Decade, largely because of the after-effects of the Japanese asset price bubble and domestic policies intended to wring speculative excesses from the stock and real estate markets. Government efforts to revive economic growth met with little success and were further hampered by the global slowdown in 2000.[75] The economy showed strong signs of recovery after 2005. GDP growth for that year was 2.8 percent, with an annualized fourth quarter expansion of 5.5 percent, surpassing the growth rates of the US and European Union during the same period.[76]

As of 2009, Japan is the second largest economy in the world,[77] after the United States, at around US$5 trillion in terms of nominal GDP[77] and third after the United States and China in terms of purchasing power parity.[78] As of 2009 Japan's public debt was 193 percent of its annual gross domestic product.[79] Banking, insurance, real estate, retailing, transportation, telecommunications and construction are all major industries.[80] Japan has a large industrial capacity and is home to some of the largest and most technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles and processed foods.[75] The service sector accounts for three quarters of the gross domestic product.

As of 2001, Japan's shrinking labor force consisted of some 67 million workers.[81] Japan has a low unemployment rate of around 4 percent. Almost one in six Japanese, or 20 million people, lived in poverty in 2007.[82] Japan's GDP per hour worked is the world's 19th highest as of 2007.[83]

Toyota, one of the world's largest automaker. Japan is the second-largest producer of automobiles in the world.[84]

The Big Mac Index shows that Japanese workers get the highest salary per hour in the world. Some of the largest enterprises in Japan include Toyota, Nintendo, NTT DoCoMo, Canon, Honda, Takeda Pharmaceutical, Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, Sharp, Nippon Steel, Nippon Oil, Japan Tobacco, Tepco, Mitsubishi, 711,[85] Hitachi, Nissan, Æon, Toyota Tsusho, Fujitsu, and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone. It is home to some of the world's largest banks, and the Tokyo Stock Exchange (known for its Nikkei 225 and Topix indices) stands as the second largest in the world by market capitalization.[86] Japan is home to 326 companies from the Forbes Global 2000 or 16.3 percent (as of 2006).

Japan ranks 12th of 178 countries in the 2008 Ease of Doing Business Index and has one of the smallest tax revenues of the developed world. The Japanese variant of capitalism has many distinct features. Keiretsu enterprises are influential. Lifetime employment and seniority-based career advancement are relatively common in the Japanese work environment.[87][88] Japanese companies are known for management methods like "The Toyota Way". Shareholder activism is rare.[89] Recently, Japan has moved away from some of these norms.[90][91] In the Index of Economic Freedom, Japan is the fifth most laissez-faire of 30 Asian countries.[92]

Japan's exports amounted to 4,210 U.S. dollars per capita in 2005. Japan's main export markets are China (18.88 percent), the United States (16.42 percent), South Korea (8.13 percent), Taiwan (6.27 percent) and Hong Kong (5.49 percent) as of 2009. Japan's main exports are transportation equipment, motor vehicles, electronics, electrical machinery and chemicals.[75] Japan's main import markets are China (22.2 percent), the U.S. (10.96 percent), Australia (6.29 percent), Saudi Arabia (5.29 percent), UAE (4.12 percent), South Korea (3.98 percent) and Indonesia (3.95 percent) as of 2009. Japan's main imports are machinery and equipment, fossil fuels, foodstuffs (in particular beef), chemicals, textiles and raw materials for its industries.[93] By market share measures, domestic markets are the least open of any OECD country.[88] Junichiro Koizumi's administration began some pro-competition reforms and foreign investment in Japan has soared recently.[94]

Japan's business culture has many indigenous concepts such as the nemawashi, the nenko system, the salaryman, and the office lady. Japan's housing market is characterized by limited land supply in urban areas. This is particularly true for Tokyo, the world's largest urban agglomeration. More than half of all Japanese live in suburbs or more rural areas, where detached houses are the dominant housing type. Agricultural businesses in Japan often utilize a system of terrace farming and crop yields are high. 13 percent of Japan's land is cultivated. Japan accounts for nearly 15 percent of the global fish catch, second only to China.[75] Japan's agricultural sector is protected at high cost.[95]

Science and technology

Main article: Science and technology in Japan
File:Asimo marche.png
The most recent Honda ASIMO model. Japan is the world's leading producer of robots.[96]

Japan is a leading nation in scientific research, particularly technology, machinery and biomedical research. Nearly 700,000 researchers share a US$130 billion research and development budget, the third largest in the world.[97] Japan is a world leader in fundamental scientific research, having produced fifteen Nobel laureates in either physics, chemistry or medicine,[98] three Fields medalists [99] and one Gauss Prize laureate.[100]

Some of Japan's more prominent technological contributions are found in the fields of electronics, automobiles, machinery, earthquake engineering, industrial robotics, optics, chemicals, semiconductors and metals. Japan leads the world in robotics production and use, possessing more than half (402,200 of 742,500) of the world's industrial robots used for manufacturing.[101] It also produced QRIO, ASIMO and AIBO. Japan is the world's largest producer of automobiles,[102] and home to four of the world's fifteen largest automobile manufacturers and seven of the world's twenty largest semiconductor sales leaders as of today.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is Japan's space agency; it conducts space and planetary research, aviation research, and development of rockets and satellites. It is a participant in the International Space Station: the Japanese Experiment Module (Kibo) was added to the International Space Station during Space Shuttle assembly flights in 2008.[103] It has plans in space exploration, such as launching a space probe to Venus, Akatsuki, in 2010,[104][105] developing the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter to be launched in 2013,[106][107] and building a moon base by 2030.[108]

On September 14, 2007, it launched lunar orbit explorer "SELENE" (Selenological and Engineering Explorer) on an H-IIA (Model H2A2022) carrier rocket from Tanegashima Space Center. SELENE is also known as Kaguya, the lunar princess of the ancient folktale The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.[109] Kaguya is the largest lunar probe mission since the Apollo program. Its mission is to gather data on the moon's origin and evolution. It entered into a lunar orbit on October 4,[110][111] flying in a lunar orbit at an altitude of about 100 km (62 mi).[112]

Infrastructure

Main articles: Energy in Japan and Transportation in Japan
Shinkansen or Bullet trains are a popular form of transport in Japan. During the Shinkansen's 45-year, 7 billion-passenger history, there has not been a single passenger fatality due to derailments or accidents.[113]
An All Nippon Airways Pokémon Jet

As of 2005, one half of energy in Japan is produced from petroleum, a fifth from coal, and 14 percent from natural gas.[114] Nuclear power produces a quarter of Japan's electricity.[115]

Japan's road spending has been extensive.[116] Its 1.2 million kilometers of paved road are the main means of transportation.[117] Japan has left-hand traffic. A single network of high-speed, divided, limited-access toll roads connects major cities and is operated by toll-collecting enterprises. New and used cars are inexpensive; car ownership fees and fuel levies are used to promote energy efficiency. However, at just 50 percent of all distance travelled, car usage is the lowest of all G8 countries.[118]

Dozens of Japanese railway companies compete in regional and local passenger transportation markets; for instance, seven JR enterprises, Kintetsu Corporation, Seibu Railway and Keio Corporation. Some 250 high-speed Shinkansen trains connect major cities. Japanese trains are known for their punctuality.[119]

There are 173 airports in Japan, and flying is a popular way to travel between cities. The largest domestic airport, Haneda Airport, is Asia's second busiest airport.[120] The largest international gateways are Narita International Airport (Tokyo area), Kansai International Airport (Osaka/Kobe/Kyoto area) and Chūbu Centrair International Airport (Nagoya area). The largest ports include Nagoya Port.

Demographics

Main articles: Demographics of Japan, Japanese people, Aging of Japan, and Racial issues in Japan

Japan's population is estimated at around 127.3 million.[121] Japanese society is linguistically and culturally homogeneous with small populations of foreign workers.[122] Zainichi Koreans,[123] Zainichi Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese Brazilians,[124] and Japanese Peruvians are amongst the small minority groups resident in Japan.[125] In 2003, there were about 136,000 Western expatriates in Japan.[126] The most dominant native ethnic group is the Yamato people; the primary minority groups include the indigenous Ainu[127] and Ryukyuan, as well as social minority groups like the burakumin.[128]

Japan has one of the highest life expectancy rates in the world, at 81.25 years of age as of 2006.[129] The Japanese population is rapidly aging, the effect of a post-war baby boom followed by a decrease in births in the latter part of the 20th century. In 2004, about 19.5 percent of the population was over the age of 65.[130]

The changes in demographic structure have created a number of social issues, particularly a potential decline in workforce population and increases in the cost of social security benefits such as the public pension plan. Many Japanese youth are increasingly preferring not to marry or have families as adults.[131] Japan's population is expected to drop to 100 million by 2050 and to 64 million by 2100.[130] Demographers and government planners are currently in a heated debate over how to cope with this problem.[131] Immigration and birth incentives are sometimes suggested as a solution to provide younger workers to support the nation's aging population.[132][133] According to the UNHCR, in 2007 Japan accepted just 41 refugees for resettlement, while the United States took in 50,000.[134]

Japan suffers from a high suicide rate.[135][136] In 2009, the number of suicides exceeded 30,000 for the twelfth straight year.[137] Suicide is the leading cause of death for people under 30.[138]

Template:Infobox largest cities

Religion

Main article: Religion in Japan
Shinto Itsukushima Shrine UNESCO World Heritage Site

The highest estimates for the number of Buddhists and Shintoists in Japan is 84–96 percent, representing a large number of believers in a syncretism of both religions.[11][139] However, these estimates are based on people associated with a temple, rather than the number of people truly following the religion.[140] Professor Robert Kisala (Nanzan University) suggests that only 30 percent of the population identify themselves as belonging to a religion.[140]

Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism from China have also influenced Japanese beliefs and customs[citation needed]. Religion in Japan tends to be syncretic in nature, resulting in a variety of practices, such as parents and children celebrating Shinto rituals, students praying before exams, couples holding a wedding at a Christian church, and funerals being held at Buddhist temples. Less than one percent of Japanese profess Christianity,[141][142] and possibly less than one-half of one percent.[143] The CIA World Fact Book claims two percent (2.4 million).[144] In addition, since the mid-19th century, numerous religious sects (Shinshūkyō) have emerged in Japan; some of the largest are Seicho-no-Ie at 3 million,[145] Tenrikyo at 2 million,[146] Pl Kyodan at 1 million,[147] Sekai Kyuseikyo at 1 million,[145] Sukyo Mahikari at 1 million,[148] Honmichi at 0.9 million,[149] Konkokyo at 0.5 million,[145] Tensho Kotai Jingukyo at 0.4 million,[150] Ennokyo at 0.3 million (as of 1978),[151] Kurozumikyo at 0.25 million,[152] and Oomoto at 0.15 million.[145]

Languages

Main article: Japanese language

More than 99 percent of the population speaks Japanese as their first language.[121] It is an agglutinative language distinguished by a system of honorifics reflecting the hierarchical nature of Japanese society, with verb forms and particular vocabulary indicating the relative status of speaker and listener. According to a Japanese dictionary Shinsen-kokugojiten, Chinese-based words make up 49.1 percent of the total vocabulary, indigenous words are 33.8 percent and other loanwords are 8.8 percent.[153]

The writing system uses kanji (Chinese characters) and two sets of kana (syllabaries based on simplified Chinese characters), as well as the Latin alphabet and Arabic numerals. The Ryukyuan languages, also part of the Japonic language family to which Japanese belongs, are spoken in Okinawa, but few children learn these languages.[154] The Ainu language is moribund, with only a few elderly native speakers remaining in Hokkaidō.[155] Most public and private schools require students to take courses in both Japanese and English.[156]

Education and health

Main articles: Education in Japan and Health care in Japan
The Yasuda Auditorium of University of Tokyo

Primary schools, secondary schools and universities were introduced into Japan in 1872 as a result of the Meiji Restoration.[157] Since 1947, compulsory education in Japan comprises elementary school and middle school, which lasts for nine years (from age 6 to age 15). Almost all children continue their education at a three-year senior high school, and, according to the MEXT, as of 2005 about 75.9 percent of high school graduates attend a university, junior college, trade school, or other post-secondary institution.[158]

Japan's education system is very competitive,[159] especially for entrance to institutions of higher education. The two top-ranking universities in Japan are the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University.[160][161] The Programme for International Student Assessment coordinated by the OECD, currently ranks the knowledge and skills of Japanese 15-year-olds as the sixth best in the world.[162]

In Japan, health care services are provided by national and local governments. Payment for personal medical services is offered through a universal health care 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. Since 1973, all elderly persons have been covered by government-sponsored insurance.[163] Patients are free to select physicians or facilities of their choice.[164]

Culture and recreation

See also: Culture of Japan, Traditional Japanese music, Japanese folklore, Japanese aesthetics, Japanese ceramics, Japanese literature, Japanese art, and Japanese architecture
Hinamatsuri is held on March 3.

Japanese culture has evolved greatly over the years, from the country's original Jōmon culture to its contemporary culture, which combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America. Traditional Japanese arts include crafts (ikebana, origami, ukiyo-e, dolls, lacquerware, pottery), performances (bunraku, dance, kabuki, noh, rakugo), traditions (games, tea ceremony, Budō, architecture, gardens, swords) and cuisine. The fusion of traditional woodblock printing and Western art led to the creation of manga, a typically Japanese comic book format that is now popular within and outside Japan.[165] Manga-influenced animation for television and film is called anime. Japanese-made video game consoles have been popular since the 1980s.[166]

Japanese music is eclectic, borrowing instruments, scales and styles from neighboring cultures. Many instruments, such as the koto, were introduced in the 9th and 10th centuries. The accompanied recitative of the Noh drama dates from the 14th century and the popular folk music, with the guitar-like shamisen, from the sixteenth.[167] Western classical music, introduced in the late 19th century, now forms an integral part of the culture. Post-war Japan has been heavily influenced by American and European modern music, which has led to the evolution of popular band music called J-pop.[168]

The Temple of the Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-ji)

Karaoke is the most widely practiced cultural activity. A November 1993 survey by the Cultural Affairs Agency found that more Japanese had sung karaoke that year than had participated in traditional cultural pursuits such as flower arranging or tea ceremonies.[169]

The earliest works of Japanese literature include two history books, the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki, and the 8th century poetry book Man'yōshū, all written in Chinese characters.[170] In the early days of the Heian period, the system of transcription known as kana (Hiragana and Katakana) was created as phonograms. The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is considered the oldest Japanese narrative.[171] An account of Heian court life is given by The Pillow Book written by Sei Shōnagon, while The Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki is often described as the world's first novel.

During the Edo period, literature became not so much the field of the samurai aristocracy as that of the chōnin, the ordinary people. Yomihon, for example, became popular and reveals this profound change in the readership and authorship.[171] The Meiji era saw the decline of traditional literary forms, during which Japanese literature integrated Western influences. Natsume Sōseki and Mori Ōgai were the first "modern" novelists of Japan, followed by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, Yasunari Kawabata, Yukio Mishima and, more recently, Haruki Murakami. Japan has two Nobel Prize-winning authors—Yasunari Kawabata (1968) and Kenzaburo Oe (1994).[171]

Sports

Main article: Sport in Japan
A sumo tournament at the Grand Tournament in Osaka
All-Japan Judo Championships, 2007 men's final

Traditionally, sumo is considered Japan's national sport.[172] Martial arts such as judo, karate and modern kendō are also widely practiced and enjoyed by spectators in the country. After the Meiji Restoration, many Western sports were introduced in Japan and began to spread through the education system.[173]

The professional baseball league in Japan was established in 1936.[174] Today baseball is the most popular spectator sport in the country. One of the most famous Japanese baseball players is Ichiro Suzuki, who, having won Japan's Most Valuable Player award in 1994, 1995, and 1996, now plays for the Seattle Mariners. Prior to that, Sadaharu Oh was well-known outside Japan, having hit more home runs during his career in Japan than his contemporary, Hank Aaron, did in the United States.

Since the establishment of the Japan Professional Football League in 1992, association football (soccer) has also gained a wide following.[175] Japan was a venue of the Intercontinental Cup from 1981 to 2004 and co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup with South Korea. Japan has one of the most successful soccer teams in Asia, winning the Asian Cup three times.

Golf is also popular in Japan,[176] as are forms of auto racing, such as the Super GT sports car series and Formula Nippon formula racing.[177] Twin Ring Motegi was completed in 1997 by Honda in order to bring IndyCar racing to Japan.

Japan hosted the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 1964. Japan has hosted the Winter Olympics twice: Nagano in 1998 and Sapporo in 1972.

See also

Main article: Outline of Japan

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Further reading

  • Christopher, Robert C., The Japanese Mind: the Goliath Explained, Linden Press/Simon and Schuster, 1983 (ISBN 0-330-28419-3)
  • De Mente, The Japanese Have a Word For It, McGraw-Hill, 1997 (ISBN 0-8442-8316-9)
  • Flath, The Japanese Economy, Oxford University Press, 2000 (ISBN 0-19-877503-2)
  • Free, Early Japanese Railways 1853–1914: Engineering Triumphs That Transformed Meiji-era Japan, Tuttle Publishing, 2008 (ISBN 4-8053-1006-5)
  • Henshall, A History of Japan, Palgrave Macmillan, 2001 (ISBN 0-312-23370-1)
  • Hood, Shinkansen: From Bullet Train to Symbol of Modern Japan, Routledge, 2006, (ISBN 0-415-32052-6)
  • Ikegami, Bonds Of Civility: Aesthetic Networks And The Political Origins Of Japanese Culture, Cambridge University Press, 2005 (ISBN 0-521-60115-0)
  • Ito et al., Reviving Japan's Economy: Problems and Prescriptions, MIT Press, 2005 (ISBN 0-262-09040-6)
  • Iwabuchi, Recentering Globalization: Popular Culture and Japanese Transnationalism, Duke University Press, 2002 (ISBN 0-8223-2891-7)
  • Jansen, The Making of Modern Japan, Belknap, 2000 (ISBN 0-674-00334-9)
  • Johnson, Japan: Who Governs?, W.W. Norton & Company, 1996 (ISBN 0-393-31450-2)
  • Kato et al., A History of Japanese Literature: From the Man'Yoshu to Modern Times, Japan Library, 1997 (ISBN 1-873410-48-4)
  • Macwilliams, Japanese Visual Culture: Explorations in the World of Manga and Anime, M.E. Sharpe, 2007 (ISBN 0-7656-1602-5)
  • McDonald, Reading a Japanese Film: Cinema in Context, University of Hawaii Press, 2005 (ISBN 0-8248-2993-X)
  • Ono et al., Shinto: The Kami Way, Tuttle Publishing, 2004 (ISBN 0-8048-3557-8)
  • Pyle, Japan Rising: The Resurgence of Japanese Power and Purpose, Public Affairs, 2007 (ISBN 1-58648-567-9)
  • Reischauer, Japan: The Story of a Nation, McGraw-Hill, 1989 (ISBN 0-07-557074-2)
  • Samuels, Securing Japan: Tokyo's Grand Strategy and the Future of East Asia, Cornell University Press, 2008 (ISBN 0-8014-7490-6)
  • Silverberg, Erotic Grotesque Nonsense: The Mass Culture of Japanese Modern Times, University of California Press, 2007 (ISBN 0-520-22273-3)
  • Shinoda, Koizumi Diplomacy: Japan’s Kantei Approach to Foreign and Defense Affairs, University of Washington Press, 2007 (ISBN 0-295-98699-9)
  • Stevens, Japanese Popular Music: Culture, Authenticity and Power, Routledge, 2007 (ISBN 0-415-38057-X)
  • Sugimoto et al., An Introduction to Japanese Society, Cambridge University Press, 2003 (ISBN 0-521-52925-5)
  • Van Wolferen, The Enigma of Japanese Power, Vintage, 1990 (ISBN 0-679-72802-3)
  • Varley, Japanese Culture, University of Hawaii Press, 2000 (ISBN 0-8248-2152-1)
All links are to sites in English unless otherwise specified.
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