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Japan

日本国 (Japanese)
Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku
Anthem: 
君が代
Kimigayo
"His Imperial Majesty's Reign"
Government Seal
Seal of the Office of the Prime Minister and the Government of Japan
Projection of Asia with Japan's Area colored green
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 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
• Imperial Dynasty established
February 11, 660 BC
• Meiji Constitution
November 29, 1890
May 3, 1947
Area
• Total
377,975 km2 (145,937 sq mi) (62nd)
• Water (%)
1.4 (2015)
Population
• 2022 estimate
Neutral decrease 124,840,000 (11th)
• 2020 census
126,226,568
• Density
330/km2 (854.7/sq mi) (44th)
GDP (PPP) 2022 estimate
• Total
Increase $6.139 trillion (4th)
• Per capita
Increase $49,044 (36th)
GDP (nominal) 2022 estimate
• Total
Decrease $4.234 trillion (3rd)
• Per capita
Decrease $33,822 (28th)
Gini (2018)  33.4
medium
HDI (2021) Increase 0.925
very high · 19th
Currency Japanese yen (¥)
Time zone UTC+09:00 (JST)
Driving side left
Calling code +81
ISO 3166 code JP
Internet TLD .jp

Japan (Japanese: 日本; Romanised as nihon or nippon) is a country in East Asia. It is a group of many islands close to the east coast of Korea, China and Russia. The Pacific Ocean is to the east of Japan and the Sea of Japan is to the west. Most people in Japan live on one of four of the islands. The biggest of these islands, Honshu, has the most people. Honshu is the 7th largest island in the world. Tokyo is the capital of Japan and its biggest city.

The Japanese people call their country "Nihon" or "Nippon", which means "the origin of the Sun" in Japanese. Japan is a monarchy whose head of state is called the Emperor.

History

Samurai with sword
Samurai with sword

The first people in Japan were the Ainu people and other Jōmon people. They were closer related to Europeans or Arabs. They were later conquered and replaced by the Yayoi people (early Japanese and Ryukyuans). The Yayoi were an ancient ethnic group that migrated to the Japanese archipelago mainly from southeastern China during the Yayoi period (300 BCE–300 CE). Modern Japanese people have primarily Yayoi ancestry at an average of 97%. The indigenous Ryukyuan and Ainu peoples have more Jōmon ancestry on the other hand.

The earliest records on Japan are from Chinese documents. One of those records said there were many small countries (in Japan) which had wars between them and later a country, ruled by a queen, became the strongest, unified others, and brought peace.

The Japanese began to write their own history after the 5th and 6th centuries, when people from Korea and China taught Japan about the Chinese writing system. Japan's neighbours also taught them Buddhism. The Japanese changed Buddhism in many ways. For example, Japanese Buddhists used ideas such as Zen more than other Buddhists.

Japan had some contact with the Europeans in the 16th century. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to visit Japan. Later, the Spanish and Dutch came to Japan to trade. Also, they brought Christianity. Japan's leaders welcomed them at first, but because Europeans had conquered many places in the world, the Japanese were scared they would conquer Japan too. So the Japanese did not let the Europeans come into Japan anymore, except in a small area in Nagasaki city. Many Christians were killed. Only the Chinese, Korean and Dutch people were allowed to visit Japan, in the end, and they were under careful control of the Japanese government. Japan was opened for visitors again in 1854 by Commodore Matthew Perry, when the Americans wanted to use Japanese ports for American whale boats. Perry brought steamships with guns, which scared the Japanese into making an agreement with him.

This new contact with Europeans and Americans changed the Japanese culture. The Meiji Restoration of 1868 stopped some old ways and added many new ones. The Empire of Japan was created, and it became a very powerful nation and tried to invade the countries next to it. It invaded and annexed Ryukyu Kingdom, Taiwan, and Korea. It had wars with China and Russia: the First Sino-Japanese War, the Boxer Rebellion, the Russo-Japanese War, and the Second Sino-Japanese War, which grew to become a part of World War II when Japan became allies with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.

Umezu
Japanese officials surrendering to the Allies on September 2, 1945, in Tokyo Bay, ending World War II

In 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, a water base of the United States, and destroyed or damaged many ships and airplanes. This started the United States' involvement in World War II. American and Japanese forces fought each other in the Pacific. Once airbases were established within range of the Japanese mainland, America began to win, and started dropping bombs on Japanese cities. America was able to bomb most of the important cities and quickly brought Japan close to defeat. To make Japan surrender, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing 150,000 Japanese citizens. Soon after this the Soviet Union began to fight against Japan, and the Japanese army in Manchuria lost. Japan surrendered and gave up all the places it took from other countries, accepting the Potsdam Proclamation. The United States occupied Japan and forced it to write a new constitution, in which it promised to never go to war again.

Geography

Mountfujijapan
Mount Fuji with cherry blossom trees and a shinkansen in the foreground—all three are iconic of Japan

Japan is a group of islands in the Western Pacific, off the coast of China. The four biggest islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku, and Kyushu, and there are about 6,000 smaller islands there. Japan is separated from the Asian continent by the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. Honshu, which means 'Mainland' in the Japanese language, is the biggest island. Hokkaido is the island north of Honshu. Kyushu is the island west of Honshu. Shikoku is the island to the south-west of Honshu.

In the middle of Japan there are mountains. They cover the middle of the islands and leave a very narrow strip of flat land on most coasts. Many of the mountains are extinct volcanoes, but some are still active. The highest of these mountains is the beautiful, volcano-shaped Mt Fuji (3776m or 12,389 feet high). Japan has many earthquakes, in fact there are about 1500 of these every year. The most recent big earthquake was in 2011 - called '2011 Tohoku Earthquake'. It caused great damage to several power plants forcing Japan to shut down all its nuclear plants. There was nuclear core meltdown which caused a serious health risk to nearby villages and cities.

90% of the people living in Japan live in just 10% of the land, near the coast. The other 10% of the people in Japan live away from the coast. Over 10 cities have more than a million people in them. The biggest city in Japan is Tokyo, which is the capital.

Climate

Chuurei-tou Fujiyoshida 17025277650 c59733d6ba o
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.

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. 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.

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. 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. According to the Environment Ministry, heavy rainfall and increasing temperatures have caused problems in the agricultural industry and elsewhere. The highest temperature ever measured in Japan, 41.1 °C (106.0 °F), was recorded on July 23, 2018, and repeated on August 17, 2020.

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. Japan has over 90,000 species of wildlife as of 2019, including the brown bear, the Japanese macaque, the Japanese raccoon dog, the small Japanese field mouse, and the Japanese giant salamander.

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

Economy

Japan is the third largest national economy in the world, after the United States and China, in terms of nominal GDP, and the fourth largest national economy in the world, after the United States, China and India, in terms of purchasing power parity.

As of 2017, Japan's labor force consisted of some 65 million workers.

Japan's main exports are transportation equipment, motor vehicles, iron and steel products, semiconductors and auto parts.

Agriculture and fishery

The Japanese agricultural sector accounts for about 1.4% of the total country's GDP. Only 12% of Japan's land is suitable for cultivation. Because of this lack of arable land, a system of terraces is used to farm in small areas. This results in one of the world's highest levels of crop yields per unit are.

In 1996, Japan ranked fourth in the world in tonnage of fish caught. Japan ranked seventh and captured 3,167,610 metric tons of fish in 2016. Some claim that Japan's fishing is leading to a depletion in fish stocks such as tuna. Japan has also sparked controversy by supporting quasi-commercial whaling.

Industry

2017 Toyota Camry TRD
A plug-in hybrid car manufactured by Toyota, one of the world's largest carmakers – Japan is the third-largest maker of automobiles in the world.

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.

Some major Japanese industrial companies include Canon Inc., Toshiba and Nippon Steel. The country's manufacturing output is the third highest in the world.

Japan is the third largest automobile producer in the world and is home to Toyota, the world's largest automobile company.

Tourism

Japan attracted 24.03 million international tourists in 2016.

Science and technology

USA - California - Dysneyland - Asimo Robot
Asimo Robot

Japan is a leading nation in scientific research, particularly in the natural sciences and engineering.

Japanese scientists and engineers have contributed to the advancement of agricultural sciences, electronics, industrial robotics, optics, chemicals, semiconductors, life sciences and various fields of engineering. Japan leads the world in robotics production and use.

Kibo PM and ELM-PS
The Japanese Experiment Module (Kibō) at the International Space Station

As of 2009, $6 billion of Japan's $20 billion gaming market is generated from arcades, which represent the largest sector of the Japanese video game market, followed by home console games and mobile games at $3.5 billion and $2 billion, respectively. Japan is now the world's largest market for mobile games; in 2014, Japan's consumer video game market grossed $9.6 billion, with $5.8 billion coming from mobile gaming.

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.

Languages

豚骨らーめん 博多天神 いらっしゃい 2010 (5023366778)
Kanji and hiragana signs

The Japanese language is Japan's de facto national language. It also the primary written and spoken language of most people in the country. Japanese writing uses kanji (Chinese characters) and two sets of kana (syllabaries based on cursive script and radicals used by kanji). Along with this, the Latin alphabet and Arabic numerals are used.

English has taken a major role in Japan as a business and international link language. As a result, English classes has become mandatory at all levels of the Japanese school system.

Besides Japanese, the Ryukyuan languages (Amami, Kunigami, Okinawan, Miyako, Yaeyama, Yonaguni), part of the Japonic language family, are spoken in the Ryukyu Islands chain. Few children learn these languages, but local governments have sought to increase awareness of the traditional languages. The Ainu language has only a few native speakers remaining as of 2014.

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.

Society and culture

Acer palmatum-Bonsai
Bonsai tree

Many things in Japanese culture originated in China, like Go and bonsai.

Japan's traditional food is seafood, rice, miso soup, and vegetables. Noodles and tofu are also common. Sushi, a Japanese food made of cooked rice with vinegar with other ingredients such as raw fish, is popular around the world.

The religion in Japan is mostly Shinto and Buddhist. Due to the tolerant nature of the two main Japanese religions, and the resulting intermixing mixing of the two, many Japanese identify as both Shinto and Buddhist at the same time. There are small numbers of Christians and Muslims, and a few Jews.

Cities

Night in Shinjuku 3
Night in Shinjuku, Tokyo
Hiroshima Castle
Hiroshima Castle
NagasakiNightView01
Nagasaki night view
Chinatown Nagasaki Japan01s5
Chinatown Nagasaki
Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto, November 2016 -01
Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto, Japan, part of UNESCO World Heritage Site

The biggest cities in Japan are:

In Japan there are eight traditional regions:

Territorial problem

Senkaku Islands by Al Jazeera English (1)
Senkaku Islands

Since Japan is an island nation, Japan has several problems over territory because maritime boundaries can be hard to protect. These days, Japan is competing for at least 4 different territories. It cannot agree with some neighbouring countries on whether the land belongs to Japan or the other country.

Public transportation

JR Central Shinkansen 700
High speed Shinkansen or Bullet trains are a common form of transportation in Japan

There are several important international airports in Japan. Narita is the major international airport in the Tokyo area. Kansai International Airport serves as the main airport for Osaka, Kobe, and Kyoto. Chūbu Centrair International Airport near Nagoya is the newest of the three. Haneda Airport is close to central Tokyo and is the largest domestic airport in the country.

The Shinkansen is one of the fastest trains in the world and connects cities in Honshu and Kyushu. Networks of public and private railways are almost all over the country. People mostly travel between cities in buses.

Sports

Sumo ceremony
Sumo fighters give a circle around the referee in the opening ceremony

Japan has many traditional sports such as sumo, judo, karate, kyudo, aikido, iaido and kendo. Also, there are sports which were imported from the West such as baseball, soccer, rugby, golf and skiing.

Japan has taken part in the Olympic Games since 1912. It hosted the Olympic Games in 1964, 1972 and 1998. From 1912 until now, Japanese sportspeople have won 398 medals in total.

Professional sports are also popular and many sports such as baseball (see Pacific League and Central League), soccer (see List of Japanese football teams), sumo, American football, basketball and volleyball, are played professionally.

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See also

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