Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an

island country An island country, island state or an island nation is a country whose primary territory consists of one or more islands or parts of islands. Approximately 25% of all independent countries are island countries. Island countries are historicall ...

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...

. It is situated in the northwest

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

, and is bordered on the west by the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

, while extending from the

Sea of Okhotsk The Sea of Okhotsk ( rus, Охо́тское мо́ре, Ohótskoye móre ; ja, オホーツク海, Ohōtsuku-kai) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands ...

in the north toward the East China Sea,

Philippine Sea The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean east of the Philippine archipelago (hence the name), the largest in the world, occupying an estimated surface area of . The Philippine Sea Plate forms the floor of the sea. Its ...

, and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...

in the south. Japan is a part of the

Ring of Fire The Ring of Fire (also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Rim of Fire, the Girdle of Fire or the Circum-Pacific belt) is a region around much of the rim of the Pacific Ocean where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. The Ring ...

, and spans an archipelago of 6852 islands covering ; the five main islands are

Hokkaido is Japan, Japan's Japanese archipelago, second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost Prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own List of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; th ...

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island ...

(the "mainland"),

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), ...

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

, and

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of ...

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most p ...

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous ci ...

Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center ...

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, w ...

, and

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ...

. Japan is the eleventh most populous country in the world, as well as one of the most densely populated and

urbanized ''Urbanized'' is a documentary film directed by Gary Hustwit and released on 26 October 2011. It is considered the third of a three-part series on design known as the Design Trilogy; the first being '' Helvetica'', about the typeface, and the s ...

. 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 The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, consisting of the Kantō region of Japan (including Tokyo Metropolis and the prefectures of Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Tochigi) as well as th ...

is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, with more than 35.6 million residents. Japan has been inhabited since the

Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coi ...

period (30,000 BC), though the first written mention of the archipelago appears in a Chinese chronicle (the ''

Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' or ''History of the Former Han'' (Qián Hàn Shū,《前汉书》) is a history of China finished in 111AD, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. ...

'') 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 Heian-kyō was one of several former names for the city now known as Kyoto. It was the official capital of Japan for over one thousand years, from 794 to 1868 with an interruption in 1180. Emperor Kanmu established it as the capital in 794, m ...

. Beginning in the 12th century, political power was held by a series of military dictators () and feudal lords () and enforced by a class of warrior nobility (

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of History of Japan#Medieval Japan (1185–1573/1600), medieval and Edo period, early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retai ...

). After a century-long period of civil war, the country was reunified in 1603 under the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in ...

, 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 is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

, the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent for ...

adopted a Western-modeled constitution and pursued a program of

industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econ ...

and

modernization Modernization theory is used to explain the process of modernization within societies. The "classical" theories of modernization of the 1950s and 1960s drew on sociological analyses of Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and a partial reading of Max Weber, ...

. Amidst a rise in militarism and overseas colonization, Japan invaded China in 1937 and entered

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

as an Axis power in 1941. After suffering defeat in the Pacific War and two atomic bombings, Japan

surrendered Surrender, in military terms, is the relinquishment of control over territory, combatants, fortifications, ships or armament to another power. A surrender may be accomplished peacefully or it may be the result of defeat in battle. A sovereign ...

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 A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies di ...

with a

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single gro ...

legislature, the National Diet. Japan is a

developed country A developed country (or industrialized country, high-income country, more economically developed country (MEDC), advanced country) is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy and advanced technological infrastru ...

, member of

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate ...

, and a

great power A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power inf ...

. Its

economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with t ...

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 Robotics is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist human ...

and electronics industries, the country has made significant contributions to science and technology. The

culture of Japan The culture of Japan has changed greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period, to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia and other regions of the world. Historical overview The ances ...

is well known around the world, including its art,

cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, customs, and ingredients combine to ...

, film,

music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact definition of music, definitions of mu ...

, and

popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in ...

, which encompasses prominent

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is use ...

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

and

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

industries. It is a member of numerous international organizations, including the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

(since 1956),

G20 The G20 or Group of Twenty is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union (EU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigation ...

and

Group of Seven The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non-enumerated member". It is official ...

Etymology

The name for Japan in Japanese is written using the

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subse ...

and is pronounced or . Before was adopted in the early 8th century, the country was known in China as (, changed in Japan around 757 to ) and in Japan by the

endonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, o ...

. , the original Sino-Japanese reading of the characters, is favored for official uses, including on banknotes and postage stamps. is typically used in everyday speech and reflects shifts in

Japanese phonology The phonology of Japanese features about 15 consonant phonemes, the cross-linguistically typical five-vowel system of , and a relatively simple phonotactic distribution of phonemes allowing few consonant clusters. It is traditionally describ ...

during the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional ''daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

. The characters mean "sun origin", which is the source of the popular Western

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

"Land of the Rising Sun". The name "Japan" is based on Chinese pronunciations of and was introduced to European languages through early trade. In the 13th century, Marco Polo recorded the early

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

Wu Chinese The Wu languages (; Wu romanization and IPA: ''wu6 gniu6'' [] ( Shanghainese), ''ng2 gniu6'' [] (Suzhounese), Mandarin pinyin and IPA: ''Wúyǔ'' []) is a major group of Sinitic languages spoken primarily in Shanghai, Zhejiang, Zhejiang Provi ...

pronunciation of the characters as . The old Malay name for Japan, or , was borrowed from a southern coastal Chinese dialect and encountered by Portuguese traders in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

, who brought the word to Europe in the early 16th century. 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.

History

Prehistoric to classical history

A Paleolithic culture from around 30,000 BC constitutes the first known habitation of the islands of Japan. This was followed from around 14,500 BC (the start of the

Jōmon period The is the time in Japanese history, traditionally dated between 6,000–300 BCE, during which Japan was inhabited by a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united through a common Jōmon culture, which reached a ...

) by a

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymo ...

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several part ...

semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer culture characterized by

pit dwelling A pit-house (or ''pit house'', ''pithouse'') is a house built in the ground and used for shelter. Besides providing shelter from the most extreme of weather conditions, these structures may also be used to store food (just like a pantry, a larder ...

and rudimentary agriculture. Clay vessels from the period are among the oldest surviving examples of pottery. From around 700 BC, the Japonic-speaking

Yayoi people The were an ancient ethnicity that migrated to the Japanese archipelago from Korea and China during the Yayoi period (300 BCE–300 CE). Although highly controversial, a single study that utilized radiometric dating techniques inconclusively ...

began to enter the archipelago from the Korean Peninsula, intermingling with the Jōmon; the

Yayoi period The started at the beginning of the Neolithic in Japan, continued through the Bronze Age, and towards its end crossed into the Iron Age. Since the 1980s, scholars have argued that a period previously classified as a transition from the Jōmon p ...

saw the introduction of practices including wet-rice farming, a new style of pottery, and metallurgy from China and Korea. According to legend,

Emperor Jimmu was the legendary first emperor of Japan according to the '' Nihon Shoki'' and ''Kojiki''. His ascension is traditionally dated as 660 BC.Kelly, Charles F"Kofun Culture"Amaterasu) founded

a kingdom A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''ae ...

in central Japan in 660 BC, beginning a continuous imperial line. Japan first appears in written history in the Chinese ''

'', completed in 111 AD.

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

was introduced to Japan from

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo of Baekje, Onjo, the third son of Gogurye ...

(a Korean kingdom) in 552, but the development of

Japanese Buddhism Buddhism has been practiced in Japan since about the 6th century CE. Japanese Buddhism () created many new Buddhist schools, and some schools are original to Japan and some are derived from Chinese Buddhist schools. Japanese Buddhism has had ...

was primarily influenced by China. Despite early resistance, Buddhism was promoted by the ruling class, including figures like

Prince Shōtoku , also known as or , was a semi-legendary regent and a politician of the Asuka period in Japan who served under Empress Suiko. He was the son of Emperor Yōmei and his consort, Princess Anahobe no Hashihito, who was also Yōmei's younger hal ...

, and gained widespread acceptance beginning in the

Asuka period The was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710 (or 592 to 645), although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period. The Yamato polity evolved greatly during the Asuka period, which is named after t ...

(592–710). The far-reaching

Taika Reform The were a set of doctrines established by Emperor Kōtoku (孝徳天皇 ''Kōtoku tennō'') in the year 645. They were written shortly after the death of Prince Shōtoku and the defeat of the Soga clan (蘇我氏 ''Soga no uji''), uniting Jap ...

s 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. The Jinshin War of 672, a bloody conflict between Prince Ōama and his nephew Prince Ōtomo, became a major catalyst for further administrative reforms. These reforms culminated with the promulgation of the

Taihō Code The was an administrative reorganisation enacted in 703 in Japan, at the end of the Asuka period. It was historically one of the . It was compiled at the direction of Prince Osakabe, Fujiwara no Fuhito and Awata no Mahito. Nussbaum, Louis ...

, which consolidated existing statutes and established the structure of the central and subordinate local governments. These legal reforms created the state, a system of Chinese-style centralized government that remained in place for half a millennium. The

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara, Nara, Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remai ...

(710–784) marked the emergence of a Japanese state centered on the Imperial Court in

Heijō-kyō was the Capital of Japan during most of the Nara period, from 710 to 740 and again from 745 to 784. The imperial palace is a listed UNESCO World Heritage together with other places in the city of Nara (cf. Historic Monuments of Ancient ...

(modern

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

). The period is characterized by the appearance of a nascent

literary culture Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

with the completion of the (712) and (720), as well as the development of Buddhist-inspired artwork and

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

. A smallpox epidemic in 735–737 is believed to have killed as much as one-third of Japan's population. In 784,

Emperor Kanmu , or Kammu, was the 50th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 桓武天皇 (50) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Kanmu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the sco ...

moved the capital, settling on

(modern-day

) in 794. This marked the beginning of the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...

(794–1185), during which a distinctly indigenous Japanese culture emerged.

Murasaki Shikibu was a Japanese novelist, poet and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial court in the Heian period. She is best known as the author of '' The Tale of Genji,'' widely considered to be one of the world's first novels, written in Japanese between abou ...

's '' The Tale of Genji'' and the lyrics of Japan's national anthem were written during this time.

Feudal era

Japan's feudal era was characterized by the emergence and dominance of a ruling class of warriors, the

. In 1185, following the defeat of the

Taira clan The Taira was one of the four most important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian, Kamakura and Muromachi Periods of Japanese history – the others being the Fujiwara, the Tachibana, and the Minamoto. The clan is divi ...

in the

Genpei War The was a national civil war between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the downfall of the Taira and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto no Yoritomo, who appointed hi ...

, samurai

Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1192 until 1199.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent ('' shikken'') after h ...

established a

military government A military government is generally any form of government that is administered by military forces, whether or not this government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue, and whether this government is formed by natives or by an occup ...

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kama ...

. After Yoritomo's death, the

Hōjō clan The was a Japanese samurai family who controlled the hereditary title of ''shikken'' (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate between 1203 and 1333. Despite the title, in practice the family wielded actual political power in Japan during this period ...

came to power as regents for the . The

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

school of Buddhism was introduced from China in the

Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first '' shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...

(1185–1333) and became popular among the samurai class. The

Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Yo ...

repelled Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281 but was eventually overthrown by

Emperor Go-Daigo Emperor Go-Daigo (後醍醐天皇 ''Go-Daigo-tennō'') (26 November 1288 – 19 September 1339) was the 96th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')後醍醐天皇 (96) retrieved 2013-8-28. according to the traditional order ...

. Go-Daigo was defeated by

Ashikaga Takauji was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate."Ashikaga Takauji" in '' The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromac ...

in 1336, beginning the

Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by ...

(1336–1573). The succeeding

Ashikaga shogunate The , also known as the , was the feudal military government of Japan during the Muromachi period from 1336 to 1573.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Muromachi-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 669. The Ashikaga shogunate was establis ...

failed to control the feudal warlords () and a civil war began in 1467, opening the century-long

Sengoku period The was a period in Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the feudal system of Japan under the Ashikaga shogunate. Variou ...

("Warring States"). During the 16th century, Portuguese traders and Jesuit missionaries reached Japan for the first time, initiating direct

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

and

cultural Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tylor ...

exchange between Japan and the West.

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese '' daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unif ...

used European technology and firearms to conquer many other ; his consolidation of power began what was known as the

Azuchi–Momoyama period The was the final phase of the in Japanese history from 1568 to 1600. After the outbreak of the Ōnin War in 1467, the power of the Ashikaga Shogunate effectively collapsed, marking the start of the chaotic Sengoku period. In 1568, Oda Nobu ...

. After the death of Nobunaga in 1582, his successor,

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and '' daimyō'' ( feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the C ...

, unified the nation in the early 1590s and launched two unsuccessful invasions of Korea in 1592 and 1597.

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fel ...

served as

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...

for Hideyoshi's son

Toyotomi Hideyori was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who first united all of Japan. His mother, Yodo-dono, was the niece of Oda Nobunaga. Early life Born in 1593, he was Hideyoshi's second son. The birth of Hideyori cr ...

and used his position to gain political and military support. When open war broke out, Ieyasu defeated rival clans in the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara ( Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 ( Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

in 1600. He was appointed by

Emperor Go-Yōzei was the 107th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Go-Yōzei's reign spanned the years 1586 through to his abdication in 1611, corresponding to the transition between the Azuchi–Momoyama period and the Edo period ...

in 1603 and established the

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

(modern Tokyo). The shogunate enacted measures including , as a code of conduct to control the autonomous , and in 1639 the isolationist ("closed country") policy that spanned the two and a half centuries of tenuous political unity known as the

(1603–1868). Modern Japan's economic growth began in this period, resulting in

roads A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

and water transportation routes, as well as financial instruments such as

futures contract In finance, a futures contract (sometimes called a futures) is a standardized legal contract to buy or sell something at a predetermined price for delivery at a specified time in the future, between parties not yet known to each other. The asset ...

s, banking and insurance of the Osaka rice brokers. The study of Western sciences () continued through contact with the Dutch enclave in

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in th ...

. The Edo period gave rise to ("national studies"), the study of Japan by the Japanese.

Modern era

In 1854, Commodore Matthew C. Perry and the " Black Ships" of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

forced the opening of Japan to the outside world with the

Convention of Kanagawa The Convention of Kanagawa, also known as the Kanagawa Treaty (, ''Kanagawa Jōyaku'') or the Japan–US Treaty of Peace and Amity (, ''Nichibei Washin Jōyaku''), was a treaty signed between the United States and the Tokugawa Shogunate on March ...

. Subsequent similar treaties with other Western countries brought economic and political crises. The resignation of the led to the Boshin War and the establishment of a centralized state nominally unified under the emperor (the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were r ...

). Adopting Western political, judicial, and military institutions, the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

organized the Privy Council, introduced the

Meiji Constitution The Constitution of the Empire of Japan (Kyūjitai: ; Shinjitai: , ), known informally as the Meiji Constitution (, ''Meiji Kenpō''), was the constitution of the Empire of Japan which was proclaimed on February 11, 1889, and remained in for ...

(29 November 1890), and assembled the Imperial Diet. During the

(1868–1912), the

emerged as the most developed nation in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

and as an industrialized world power that pursued military conflict to expand its sphere of influence. After victories in the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the p ...

(1894–1895) and the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

(1904–1905), Japan gained control of Taiwan, Korea and the southern half of

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh: ...

. The Japanese population doubled from 35 million in 1873 to 70 million by 1935, with a significant shift to urbanization. The early 20th century saw a period of Taishō democracy (1912–1926) overshadowed by increasing

expansionism Expansionism refers to states obtaining greater territory through military empire-building or colonialism. In the classical age of conquest moral justification for territorial expansion at the direct expense of another established polity (who o ...

and militarization.

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

allowed Japan, which joined the side of the victorious Allies of World War I, Allies, to capture German colonial empire, German possessions in the Pacific and in China. The 1920s saw a political shift towards Statism in Shōwa Japan, statism, a period of lawlessness following the 1923 Great Tokyo Earthquake, the passing of Peace Preservation Law, laws against political dissent, and a series of May 15 Incident, attempted coups. 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 Japanese invasion of Manchuria, invaded and occupied Manchuria; following Lytton Report, international condemnation of the occupation, it resigned from the League of Nations two years later. In 1936, Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Nazi Germany; the 1940 Tripartite Pact made it one of the Axis Powers. The Empire of Japan invaded other parts of China in 1937, precipitating the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). In 1940, the Empire Japanese invasion of French Indochina, invaded French Indochina, after which the United States placed an oil embargo on Japan. On December 7–8, 1941, Japanese forces carried out surprise Attack on Pearl Harbor, attacks on Pearl Harbor, as well as on British forces in Battle of Malaya, Malaya, Bombing of Singapore (1941), Singapore, and Battle of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, among others, beginning Pacific War, World War II in the Pacific. Throughout areas occupied by Japan during the war, numerous abuses were committed against local inhabitants, with many forced into Comfort women, sexual slavery. After Allies of World War II, 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 Surrender of Japan, an unconditional surrender. The war cost Japan Territorial conquests of the Empire of Japan, its colonies and millions of lives. The Allies (led by the United States) repatriated millions of Japanese diaspora, Japanese settlers from their former colonies and military camps throughout Asia, largely eliminating the Japanese Empire and its influence over the territories it conquered. The Allies convened the International Military Tribunal for the Far East to prosecute Japanese leaders for Japanese war crimes, war crimes. In 1947, Japan adopted Constitution of Japan, a new constitution emphasizing liberal democratic practices. The Allied occupation ended with the Treaty of San Francisco in 1952, and Japan was granted membership in the

in 1956. A Japanese economic miracle, period of record growth propelled Japan to become the second-largest economy in the world; this ended in the mid-1990s after the popping of an Japanese asset price bubble, asset price bubble, beginning the Lost Decade (Japan), "Lost Decade". On March 11, 2011, Japan suffered one of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, largest earthquakes in its recorded history, triggering the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. On May 1, 2019, after the historic abdication of Emperor Akihito, his son Naruhito became Emperor, beginning the Reiwa era.

Geography

Japan comprises 6852 islands extending along the Pacific coast of Asia. It stretches over northeast–southwest from the

to the East China Sea. The country's five main islands, from north to south, are

and

. 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. , Japan's territory is . Japan has the sixth-longest List of countries by length of coastline, coastline in the world at . Because of its far-flung outlying islands, Japan has the eighth largest Exclusive economic zone of Japan, Exclusive Economic Zone in the world, covering . The Japanese archipelago is 67% forests and 14% agricultural. The primarily rugged and mountainous terrain is restricted for habitation. Thus the habitable zones, mainly in the coastal areas, have very high population densities: Japan is the 40th List of countries by population density, most densely populated country.

has the highest population density at 450 persons/km² (1200/sq mi) , while

has the lowest density of 64.5 persons/km² . , approximately 0.5% of Japan's total area is land reclamation, reclaimed land (). Lake Biwa is an ancient lake and the country's largest freshwater lake. Japan is substantially prone to earthquakes, tsunami and Types of volcanic eruptions, volcanic eruptions because of its location along the Pacific Ring of Fire. It has the List of countries by natural disaster risk, 17th highest natural disaster risk as measured in the 2016 World Risk Index. Japan has 111 active volcanoes. Destructive earthquakes, often resulting in tsunami, occur several times each century; the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, 1923 Tokyo earthquake killed over 140,000 people. More recent major quakes are the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, which triggered a large tsunami.

Climate

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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 (meteorology), Precipitation is not heavy, but the islands usually develop deep snowbanks in the winter. In the

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 wind, foehn. The Central Highland (Japan), Central Highland has a typical inland humid continental climate, with large temperature differences between summer and winter. The mountains of the Chūgoku region, 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 subtropics, subtropical climate, with warm winters and hot summers. Precipitation is very heavy, especially during the rainy season. The main East Asian rainy season, 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, , was recorded on July 23, 2018, and repeated on August 17, 2020.

Biodiversity

Japan has nine forest Ecoregions in Japan, ecoregions which reflect the climate and geography of the islands. They range from Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, 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 of Japan, wildlife , 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 List of national parks of Japan, national parks has been established to protect important areas of flora and fauna as well as 52 Ramsar sites in Japan, Ramsar wetland sites. World Heritage Sites in Japan, Four sites have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for their outstanding natural value.

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, Four Big Pollution Diseases of Japan, environmental pollution was widespread in the 1950s and 1960s. Responding to rising concern, the government introduced environmental protection laws in 1970. The 1973 oil crisis, oil crisis in 1973 also encouraged the efficient use of energy because of Japan's lack of natural resources. Japan ranks 20th in the 2018 Environmental Performance Index, which measures a nation's commitment to environmental sustainability. Japan is the world's fifth largest emitter of carbon dioxide. 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. In 2020 the government of Japan announced a target of carbon neutrality, carbon-neutrality by 2050. Environmental issues include urban air pollution (NOx, suspended particulate matter, and toxics), waste management, water eutrophication, nature conservation, Climate change in Japan, climate change, chemical management and international co-operation for conservation.

Government and politics

Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako cropped Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako 20191110 1

Japan is a unitary state and

in which the power of the Emperor of Japan, Emperor is limited to a ceremonial role. Executive power is instead wielded by the Prime Minister of Japan and his

, whose sovereignty is vested in the Japanese people. Naruhito is the Emperor of Japan, having succeeded his father Akihito upon his accession to the Chrysanthemum Throne in 2019. Diet of Japan Kokkai 2009

Japan's legislative organ is the National Diet, a

parliament. It consists of a lower House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives with 465 seats, elected by popular vote every four years or when dissolved, and an upper House of Councillors (Japan), House of Councillors with 245 seats, whose popularly-elected members serve six-year terms. There is universal suffrage for adults over 18 years of age, with a secret ballot for all elected offices. The prime minister as the head of government has the power to appoint and dismiss Ministers of State, and is Imperial Investiture, appointed by the emperor after being designated from among the members of the Diet. Fumio Kishida is Japan's prime minister; he took office after winning the 2021 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) leadership election, 2021 Liberal Democratic Party leadership election. The right-wing politics, right-wing big tent Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), Liberal Democratic Party has been the Dominant-party system, dominant party in the country since the 1950s, often called the 1955 System. Historically influenced by Chinese law, the Law of Japan, Japanese legal system developed independently during the Edo period through texts such as . Since the late 19th century, the judicial system of Japan, judicial system has been largely based on the civil law (legal system), 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. The Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947, is the oldest unamended constitution in the world. 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. Japan's court system is divided into four basic tiers: the Supreme Court of Japan, Supreme Court and three levels of lower courts.

Administrative divisions

Japan is divided into Prefectures of Japan, 47 prefectures, each overseen by an elected Governor (Japan), governor and legislature. In the following table, the prefectures are grouped by List of regions of Japan, region:

Foreign relations

A member state of the United Nations since 1956, Japan is one of the G4 nations seeking reform of the United Nations Security Council, Security Council. Japan is a member of the Group of Seven, G7, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, APEC, and "ASEAN Free Trade Area#ASEAN Plus Three, ASEAN Plus Three", and is a participant in the East Asia Summit. It is the world's fifth largest donor of official development assistance, donating US$9.2 billion in 2014. In 2019, Japan had the fourth-largest diplomatic network in the world. Japan has close economic and military relations with the United States, with which it maintains a Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan, security alliance. 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. 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. Japan's relationship with South Korea had historically been strained because of Japan's treatment of Koreans during Korea under Japanese rule, 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. Japan is a major importer of Korean music (K-pop), television (Korean drama, K-dramas), and other cultural products. Japan is engaged in several territorial disputes with its neighbors. Japan contests Russia's control of the Kuril Islands dispute, Southern Kuril Islands, which were occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945. South Korea's control of the Liancourt Rocks is acknowledged but not accepted as they are claimed by Japan. Japan has strained relations with China and Taiwan over the Senkaku Islands and the status of Okinotorishima.

Military

Japan is the second-highest-ranked Asian country in the 2022 Global Peace Index, after Singapore. It spent 1% of its total GDP on its military budget, defence budget in 2020, and maintains the List of countries by military expenditures, ninth-largest military budget in the world. 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. The military is governed by the Ministry of Defense (Japan), 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 Japanese Iraq Reconstruction and Support Group, deployment of troops to Iraq and Afghanistan marked the first overseas use of Japan's military since World War II. The Government of Japan has been making changes to its security policy which include the establishment of the National Security Council (Japan), National Security Council, the adoption of the National Security Strategy, and the development of the National Defense Program Guidelines. In May 2014, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, 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. Recent tensions, particularly with North Korea and China, have reignited the debate over the status of the JSDF and its relation to Japanese society.

Domestic law enforcement

Domestic security in Japan is provided mainly by the prefectural police departments, under the oversight of the National Police Agency (Japan), National Police Agency. As the central coordinating body for the Prefectural Police Departments, the National Police Agency is administered by the National Public Safety Commission (Japan), National Public Safety Commission. The Special Assault Team comprises national-level counter-terrorism tactical units that cooperate with territorial-level Riot Police Unit#Specialist squads, Anti-Firearms Squads and Counter-NBC Terrorism Squads. 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. The Firearm and Sword Possession Control Law strictly regulates the civilian ownership of guns, swords and other weaponry. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, among the member states of the UN that report statistics , the incidence rates of violent crimes such as murder, abduction, sexual violence and robbery are very low in Japan.

Economy

Japan has the world's List of countries by GDP (nominal), third-largest economy by nominal GDP, after that of the United States and China; and the List of countries by GDP (PPP), fourth-largest economy by Purchasing power parity, PPP. , Japan's Labor market of Japan, labor force is the world's List of countries by labour force, eighth-largest, and consists of 66.5 million workers. , Japan has a List of countries by unemployment rate, low unemployment rate of around 2.8%. Its Poverty in Japan, poverty rate is the second-highest among the G7 nations, and exceeds 15.7% of the population. Japan has the highest ratio of National debt of Japan, public debt to GDP among advanced economies, with national debt estimated at 248% relative to GDP . The Japanese yen is the world's third-largest reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro. Japan was the world's fourth-largest List of countries by exports, exporter and List of countries by imports, importer in 2021. Its exports amounted to 15.6% of its total GDP in 2020. , Japan's main export markets were the United States (19.8 percent) and China (19.1 percent). Its main exports are motor vehicles, iron and steel products, semiconductors and auto parts. Japan's main import markets were China (23.5 percent), the United States (11 percent), and Australia (6.3 percent). Japan's main imports are machinery and equipment, fossil fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, and raw materials for its industries. The Japanese variant of capitalism has many distinct features: keiretsu enterprises are influential, and Permanent employment, lifetime employment and seniority-based career advancement are common in the Japanese work environment. 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 . It ranks highly for Competition (companies), competitiveness and economic freedom. Japan ranked sixth in the Global Competitiveness Report in 2019. It attracted 31.9 million international tourists in 2019, and was World Tourism rankings, ranked eleventh in the world in 2019 for inbound tourism. The 2021 ''Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report'' ranked Japan first in the world out of 117 countries. Its international tourism receipts in 2019 amounted to $46.1 billion.

Agriculture and fishery

The Japanese agricultural sector accounts for about 1.2% of the total country's GDP . Only 11.5% of Japan's land is suitable for cultivation. Because of this lack of arable land, a system of Terrace (earthworks), terraces is used to farm in small areas. 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% . Japan's small agricultural sector is highly subsidized and Agricultural Protectionism in Japan, protected. There has been a growing concern about farming as farmers are aging with a difficult time finding successors. Japan ranked seventh in the world in fishing industry by country, 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. Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch, prompting critiques that Japan's fishing is leading to depletion in fish stocks such as tuna. Japan has sparked controversy by supporting commercial whaling in Japan, whaling.

Industry and services

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 food processing, processed foods". Japan's industrial sector makes up approximately 27.5% of its GDP. 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. The Japanese shipbuilding industry faces competition from South Korea and China; a 2020 government initiative identified this sector as a target for increasing exports. Japan's service sector accounts for about 70% of its total economic output . Banking, retail, transportation in Japan, transportation, and telecommunications are all major industries, with companies such as Toyota, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mitsubishi UFJ, -Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, NTT, ÆON (company), ÆON, Softbank, Hitachi, and Itochu listed as among the largest in the world.

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. Relative to gross domestic product, Japan's research and development budget is the List of countries by research and development spending, second highest in the world, with 867,000 researchers sharing a 19-trillion-yen research and development budget . The country has produced twenty-two Nobel Prize, Nobel laureates in either physics, chemistry or medicine, and three Fields Medal, Fields medalists. Japan leads the world in robotics production and use, supplying 55% of the world's 2017 total. Japan has the second highest number of researchers in science and technology per capita in the world with 14 per 1000 employees. 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. 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. By 2015, Japan had become the world's fourth largest PC game market, behind only China, the United States, and South Korea. 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. 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. The space probe ''Akatsuki (spacecraft), Akatsuki'' was launched in 2010 and achieved orbit around Venus in 2015. Japan's plans in space exploration include building a colonization of the Moon, moon base and landing astronauts by 2030. 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#Formation, moon's origin and evolution. The explorer entered a lunar orbit on October 4, 2007, and was deliberately crashed into the Moon on June 11, 2009.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Japan Airlines, Boeing 787-9 JA861J NRT (19455285040)

Japan has invested heavily in transportation infrastructure. The country has approximately of roads made up of of city, town and village roads, of prefectural roads, of general national highways and of national Expressways of Japan, expressways . Since privatization in 1987, List of railway companies in Japan, dozens of Japanese railway companies compete in regional and local passenger transportation markets; major companies include seven Japan Railways Group, JR enterprises, Kintetsu Railway, Kintetsu, Seibu Railway and Keio Corporation. The high-speed Shinkansen (bullet trains) that connect major cities are known for their safety and punctuality. There are 175 airports in Japan . The largest domestic airport, Haneda Airport in Tokyo, was World's busiest airports by passenger traffic, Asia's second-busiest airport in 2019. The Keihin and Hanshin superport hubs are among the largest in the world, at 7.98 and 5.22 million twenty-foot equivalent unit, TEU respectively .

Energy

Kashiwazaki-Kariwa 04780017 (8388173865)

, 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 in Japan, nuclear power, among other sources. Nuclear power was down from 11.2 percent in 2010. 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. The Sendai Nuclear Power Plant restarted in 2015, and since then several other nuclear power plants have been restarted. Japan lacks significant domestic reserves and has a heavy dependence on List of countries by oil imports, imported energy. The country has therefore aimed to diversify its sources and maintain high levels of energy efficiency.

Water supply and sanitation

Responsibility for the water and sanitation sector is shared between the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Japan), Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, in charge of water supply for domestic use; the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (Japan), Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, in charge of water resources development as well as sanitation; the Ministry of the Environment (Japan), 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. Access to an improved water source is universal in Japan. About 98% of the population receives piped water supply from public utilities.

Demographics

Japan has a population of 125.4 million, of which 122.8 million are Japanese nationals (2021 estimates). A small population of foreign residents makes up the remainder. In 2019, 92% of the total Japanese population lived in cities. The capital city Tokyo has a population of 13.9 million (2022). It is part of the

, the biggest List of metropolitan areas by population, metropolitan area in the world with 38,140,000 people (2016). Japan is an ethnically and culturally List of countries ranked by ethnic and cultural diversity level, homogeneous society, the Japanese people form 98.1% of the country's population. Minority ethnic groups in the country include the indigenous Ainu people, Ainu and Ryukyuan people. Koreans in Japan, Zainichi Koreans, Chinese people in Japan, Chinese, Filipinos in Japan, Filipinos, Brazilians mostly Japanese Brazilian, of Japanese descent, and Peruvians mostly Japanese Peruvian, of Japanese descent are also among Japan's small minority groups. ''Burakumin'' make up a social minority group. Japan is the world's Aging of Japan, fastest aging country and has the highest proportion of Elderly people in Japan, elderly citizens of any country, comprising one-third of its total population; 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. Japan has a total fertility rate of 1.4, which is below the Sub-replacement fertility, replacement rate of 2.1, and is among the List of sovereign states and dependencies by total fertility rate, world's lowest; it has a median age of 48.4, the List of countries by median age, highest in the world. , over 28.7 percent of the population is over 65, or one in four out of the Japanese population. As a growing number of younger Japanese are not marrying or remaining childless, Japan's population is expected to drop to around 88 million by 2065. 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. The government of Japan projects that there will be almost one elderly person for each person of working age by 2060. Immigration to Japan, Immigration and birth incentives are sometimes suggested as a solution to provide younger workers to support the nation's aging population. 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.

Religion

Itsukushima Shrine Torii Gate (13890465459)

Japan's constitution guarantees full religious freedom. Upper estimates suggest that 84–96 percent of the Japanese population subscribe to Shinto as its indigenous religion. However, these estimates are based on people Danka system, affiliated with a temple, rather than the number of true believers. Many Japanese people practice both Shinto and

; they can either identify with both religions or describe themselves as non-religious or spiritual. The level of participation in religious ceremonies as a cultural tradition remains high, especially during Japanese festivals, festivals and occasions such as the Hatsumōde, first shrine visit of the Japanese New Year, New Year. Taoism and Confucianism from China have also influenced Japanese beliefs and customs. Christianity was first introduced into Japan by Jesuit missions starting in 1549. Today, 1% to 1.5% of the population are Christianity in Japan, Christians. Throughout the latest century, Western customs originally related to Christianity (including marriage in Japan, Western style weddings, Valentine's Day and Christmas) have become popular as secular customs among many Japanese. About 90% of those practicing Islam in Japan are foreign-born migrants . there were an estimated 105 mosques and 200,000 Muslims in Japan, 43,000 of which were Japanese nationals. Other minority religions include Hinduism in Japan, Hinduism, Judaism, and Baháʼí Faith in Japan, Baháʼí Faith, as well as the animist beliefs of the Ainu.

Languages

The Japanese language is Japan's ''de facto'' national language and the primary language of most people in the country. Japanese writing system, Japanese writing uses

(Chinese characters) and two sets of kana (syllabary, syllabaries based on Cursive script (East Asia), cursive script and Radical (Chinese characters), radicals used by kanji), as well as the Latin alphabet and Arabic numerals. 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. 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. Besides Japanese, the Ryukyuan languages (Amami language, Amami, Kunigami language, Kunigami, Okinawan language, Okinawan, Miyakoan language, Miyako, Yaeyama language, Yaeyama, Yonaguni language, Yonaguni), part of the Japonic languages, 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, which is a language isolate, is moribund language, moribund, with only a few native speakers remaining . 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 language, Korean (including a distinct Zainichi Korean language, Zainichi Korean dialect), Chinese language, Chinese and Portuguese language, Portuguese.

Education

Tokyo University Entrance Exam Results 6

Since the 1947 Fundamental Law of Education, compulsory education in Japan comprises Elementary schools in Japan, elementary and Secondary education in Japan#Junior high school, junior high school, which together last for nine years. Almost all children continue their education at a three-year Secondary education in Japan, senior high school. The two top-ranking universities in Japan are the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University. 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; Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, MEXT plans for this approach to be adopted nationwide. 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. Japan is one of the top-performing

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. It spent roughly 3.1% of its total GDP on education , below the OECD average of 4.9%. In 2020, the country ranked third for the percentage of 25 to 64-year-olds that have attained tertiary education with 52.7%. 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. 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.

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. Since 1973, all elderly persons have been covered by government-sponsored insurance. Japan spent 10.74% of its total GDP on healthcare in 2019. 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 List of countries by life expectancy, highest in the world; while it had a very low infant mortality, infant mortality rate (2 per 1,000 live birth (human), live births). 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. Japan has one of the world's Suicide in Japan, highest suicide rates, which is considered a major social issue. Another significant public health issue is smoking in Japan, smoking among Japanese men. However, Japan has the lowest rate of heart disease in the OECD, and the lowest level of dementia among developed countries.

Culture

Contemporary Japanese culture combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America. Traditional Japanese arts include Japanese handicrafts, crafts such as Japanese pottery and porcelain, ceramics, Kimono, textiles, Japanese lacquerware, lacquerware, Japanese sword, swords and Japanese traditional dolls, dolls; performances of bunraku, kabuki, noh, Japanese traditional dance, dance, and rakugo; and other practices, the Japanese tea ceremony, tea ceremony, ikebana, Japanese martial arts, martial arts, Japanese calligraphy, calligraphy, origami, onsen, Geisha and List of Japanese games, games. Japan has a developed system for the protection and promotion of both tangible and intangible Cultural Properties of Japan, Cultural Properties and National Treasures of Japan, National Treasures. List of World Heritage Sites in Japan, Twenty-two sites have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, eighteen of which are of cultural significance. Japan is considered a Power (international relations)#Power as status, cultural superpower.

Art and architecture

The history of Japanese painting exhibits synthesis and competition between native Japanese esthetics and imported ideas. 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. 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. The Ise Grand Shrine, Shrines of Ise have been celebrated as the prototype of Japanese architecture. Minka, Traditional housing and many Japanese Buddhist architecture, temple buildings see the use of tatami mats and Shōji, sliding doors that break down the distinction between rooms and indoor and outdoor space. Since the 19th century, Japan has incorporated much of Western modern architecture into construction and design. 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 Metabolist Movement, Metabolism.

Literature and philosophy

The earliest works of Japanese literature include the ''Kojiki'' and ''Nihon Shoki'' chronicles and the ''Man'yōshū'' List of Japanese poetry anthologies, poetry anthology, all from the 8th century and written in Chinese characters. In the early Heian period, the system of Phonogram (linguistics), phonograms known as ''kana'' (hiragana and katakana) was developed. ''The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter'' is considered the oldest extant Japanese narrative. An account of court life is given in ''The Pillow Book'' by Sei Shōnagon, while '' The Tale of Genji'' by

is often described as the world's first novel. 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 Matsuo Bashō, Bashō revivified the poetic tradition of the Kokinshū with his haikai (haiku) and wrote the poetic travelogue ''Oku no Hosomichi''. 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 in Literature, Nobel Prize-winning authors – Yasunari Kawabata (1968) and Kenzaburō Ōe (1994). Japanese philosophy has historically been a Information fusion, fusion of both foreign, particularly Chinese philosophy, Chinese and Western philosophy, Western, and uniquely Japanese elements. In its literary forms, Japanese philosophy began about fourteen centuries ago. Confucian ideals remain evident in the Japanese society, Japanese concept of society and the self, and in the organization of the government and the structure of society. Buddhism has profoundly impacted Japanese psychology, metaphysics, and esthetics.

Performing arts

Japanese music is eclectic and diverse. Many Traditional Japanese musical instruments, instruments, such as the Koto (instrument), koto, were introduced in the 9th and 10th centuries. The popular Music of Japan#Folk music, folk music, with the guitar-like shamisen, dates from the 16th century. Western classical music, introduced in the late 19th century, forms an integral part of Japanese culture. Taiko#Kumi-daiko, Kumi-daiko (ensemble drumming) was developed in postwar Japan and became very popular in North America. Popular music in post-war Japan has been heavily influenced by American and European trends, which has led to the evolution of J-pop. Karaoke is a significant cultural activity. The four traditional theaters from Japan are ''noh'', ''kyōgen'', ''kabuki'', and ''bunraku''. Noh is one of the oldest continuous theater traditions in the world.

Holidays

Officially, Japan has 16 national, government-recognized holidays. Public holidays in Japan are regulated by the of 1948. 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. The national holidays in Japan are Japanese New Year, 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 (Japan), 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, September equinox, 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.

Cuisine

Japanese cuisine offers a vast array of Japanese regional cuisine, regional specialties that use traditional recipes and local ingredients. Seafood and Japanese rice or Japanese noodles, noodles are traditional staples. Japanese curry, since its introduction to Japan from British Raj, British India, is so widely consumed that it can be termed a national dish, alongside ramen and sushi. Traditional Japanese sweets are known as ''wagashi''. Ingredients such as red bean paste and mochi are used. More modern-day tastes includes green tea ice cream. 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. Beer has been brewed in Japan since the late 17th century. Green tea is produced in Japan and prepared in forms such as matcha, used in the Japanese tea ceremony.

Media

According to the 2015 NHK survey on television viewing in Japan, 79 percent of Japanese watch television daily. Japanese television dramas are viewed both within Japan and internationally; other popular shows are in the genres of Japanese variety show, variety shows, comedy, and news programs. Many Japanese media franchises such as ''Dragon Ball'', ''One Piece'', and ''Naruto'' have gained considerable global popularity and are among the world's List of highest-grossing media franchises, 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 . Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries globally. Ishirō Honda's ''Godzilla (1954 film), 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. Japanese comics, known as manga, developed in the mid-20th century and have become popular Manga outside Japan, worldwide. A large number of List of best-selling manga, manga series have become some of the List of best-selling comic series, best-selling comics series of all time, rivalling the American comic book, American comics industry. Japanese animated films and television series, known as anime, were largely influenced by Japanese manga and have become highly popular internationally.

Sports

Traditionally, sumo is considered Japan's national sport. Japanese martial arts such as judo and kendo are taught as part of the compulsory junior high school curriculum. Baseball in Japan, Baseball is the most popular spectator sport in the country. Japan's top professional league, Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), was established in 1936. Since the establishment of the J. League, Japan Professional Football League (J.League) in 1992, association football has gained a wide following. The country co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup with South Korea. Japan has one of the most successful football teams in Asia, winning the AFC Asian Cup, Asian Cup four times, and the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, FIFA Women's World Cup in 2011. Golf is also popular in Japan. In motorsport, Japanese automotive manufacturers have been successful in multiple different categories, with titles and victories in series such as Formula One, Grand Prix motorcycle racing, MotoGP, and the World Rally Championship. 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. Super GT is the most popular national racing series in Japan, while Super Formula Championship, Super Formula is the top-level domestic open-wheel series. The country hosts major races such as the Japanese Grand Prix. Japan hosted the Summer Olympics in 1964 Summer Olympics, Tokyo in 1964 and the Winter Olympics in 1972 Winter Olympics, Sapporo in 1972 and 1998 Winter Olympics, Nagano in 1998. The country hosted the official 2006 Basketball World Championship and will co-host the 2023 Basketball World Championship. Tokyo hosted the 2020 Summer Olympics in 2021, making Tokyo the first Asian city to host the Olympics twice. The country gained the hosting rights for the official Women's Volleyball World Championship on five occasions, more than any other nation. Japan is the most successful Asian Rugby Union country and hosted the 2019 IRB Rugby World Cup.

Notes

References

External links

Government
JapanGov – The Government of Japan

official site of the Imperial House of Japan

General information

from ''University of Colorado Boulder, UCB Libraries GovPubs''
Japan
profile from BBC News
Japan
from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD * {{Coord, 36, N, 138, E, type:country_region:JP, display=title Japan, East Asian countries G7 nations G20 nations Island countries Member states of the United Nations Northeast Asian countries Transcontinental countries OECD members

Etymology

History

Prehistoric to classical history

Feudal era

Modern era

Geography

Climate

Biodiversity

Environment

Government and politics

Administrative divisions

Foreign relations

Military

Domestic law enforcement

Economy

Agriculture and fishery

Industry and services

Science and technology

Infrastructure

Transportation

Energy

Water supply and sanitation

Demographics

Religion

Languages

Education

Health

Culture

Art and architecture

Literature and philosophy

Performing arts

Holidays

Cuisine

Media

Sports

See also

Notes

References

External links