Japan | |
|---|---|
| Anthem: 君が代 ("Kimigayo") "His Imperial Majesty's Reign" | |
| State Seal: 大日本國璽 (Dai Nihon Kokuji) "National Seal of Greater Japan"  | |
.svg) Location of Japan
| |
| Capital and largest city | Tokyo 35°41′N 139°46′E / 35.683°N 139.767°E |
| Official languages | Japanese (de facto) |
| Demonym(s) | Japanese |
| Government | Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
• Emperor | Naruhito |
| Fumio Kishida | |
| Legislature | National Diet |
| House of Councillors | |
| House of Representatives | |
| Formation | |
| November 29, 1890 | |
| May 3, 1947 | |
| Area | |
• Total | 377,975 km2 (145,937 sq mi)[1] (62nd) |
• Water (%) | 1.4[2] |
| Population | |
• March 1, 2024 estimate |  123,970,000[3] (11th) |
• 2020 census | 126,226,568[4] |
• Density | 330/km2 (854.7/sq mi) (44th) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2024 estimate |
• Total |  $6.721 trillion[5] (4th) |
• Per capita | $54,184[5] (34th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2024 estimate |
• Total |  $4.110 trillion[5] (4th) |
• Per capita | $33,138[5] (30th) |
| Gini (2018) |  33.4[6]medium |
| HDI (2022) | 0.920[7] very high (24th) |
| Currency | Japanese yen (¥) |
| Time zone | UTC+09:00 (JST) |
| Driving side | left |
| Calling code | +81 |
| ISO 3166 code | JP |
| Internet TLD | .jp |
Japan[a] is an island country in East Asia, located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asian mainland. It is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. The Japanese archipelago consists of four major islands—Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu—and thousands of smaller islands, covering around 380,000 square kilometres (150,000 sq mi). With a population of more than 125 million as of 2020, Japan is the 11th most populous country. Tokyo is its capital and largest city.
Japan is divided into 47 administrative prefectures and eight traditional regions. About three-quarters of the country's terrain is mountainous and heavily forested, concentrating its agriculture and highly urbanized population along its eastern coastal plains. Greater Tokyo is the world's most populous metropolitan area, with more than 38 million inhabitants as of 2016. Part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, Japan's islands are prone to destructive earthquakes and tsunamis.
The first known habitation of the archipelago dates to the Japanese Paleolithic (circa 30,000 BC). Between the fourth and sixth centuries, its kingdoms were united under an emperor in Nara, and later Heian-kyō. From the 12th century, actual power was held by military dictators (shōgun) and feudal lords (daimyō), and enforced by warrior nobility (samurai). After rule by the Kamakura and Ashikaga shogunates and a century of warring states, Japan was unified in 1600 by the Tokugawa shogunate, which implemented an isolationist foreign policy. In 1853, 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 pursued rapid industrialization and modernization, as well as militarism and overseas colonization. In 1937, Japan invaded China, and in 1941 attacked the United States and European colonial powers, entering World War II as an Axis power. After suffering defeat in the Pacific War and two atomic bombings, Japan surrendered in 1945 and came under Allied occupation. After the war, the country underwent rapid economic growth, although its economy has stagnated since 1990.
Japan is a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral legislature, the National Diet. A great power and the only Asian member of the G7, Japan has constitutionally renounced its right to declare war, but maintains one of the world's strongest militaries. A highly developed country with one of the world's largest economies, Japan is a global leader in science and technology and the automotive, robotics, and electronics industries. It has one of the world's longest life expectancies, though is undergoing population decline. Japan's culture is well known around the world, including its art, cuisine, film, music, and popular culture, which includes prominent comics, animation, and video game industries.
- ^ 令和元年全国都道府県市区町村別面積調 (10月1日時点) [Reiwa 1 nationwide area survey by prefectures and municipalities (as of October 1)] (in Japanese). Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. December 26, 2019. Archived from the original on April 15, 2020.
- ^ "Surface water and surface water change". OECD. Archived from the original on March 24, 2021. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
- ^ "Population Estimates Monthly Report". Statistics Bureau. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ "2020 Population Census Preliminary Tabulation". Statistics Bureau of Japan. Archived from the original on June 26, 2021. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
- ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, April 2024 Edition. (Japan)". www.imf.org. International Monetary Fund. April 16, 2024. Archived from the original on May 16, 2024. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
- ^ Inequality – Income inequality – OECD Data. OECD. Archived from the original on July 1, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
- ^ "Human Development Report 2023/2024" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. March 13, 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 13, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
- ^ "Official Names of Member States (UNTERM)" (PDF). UN Protocol and Liaison Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 5, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
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