Japan

JAPAN
INDEX
Introduction..............................................................2
Etymology................................................................3
History......................................................................4
Government and politics..........................................8
Foreign relations and military...................................9
Administrative divisions.........................................10
Geography.............................................................11
Economy................................................................13

Demographics........................................................17
Culture...................................................................21

Introduction
Japan i/dʒəˈpæn/ (Japanese: 日本 Nihon or Nippon; formally
日本国 Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku, literally "[the] State of
Japan") is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the
Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China,
North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the
Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and
Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's
name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes
referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".
Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest
islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku, which
together comprise about ninety-seven percent of Japan's
land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population,
with over 127 million people. Honshū's Greater Tokyo Area,
which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several
surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in
the world, with over 30 million residents.
Archaeological research indicates that people lived in Japan
as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written
mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st
century AD. Influence from other nations followed by long
periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. From
the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive
feudal military dictatorships (shogunates) in the name of
the Emperor. Japan entered into a long period of isolation in
the early 17th century, which was only ended in 1853 when
a United States fleet pressured Japan to open to the West.

Nearly two decades of internal conflict and insurrection
followed before the Meiji Emperor was restored as head of
state in 1868 and the Empire of Japan was proclaimed, with
the Emperor as a divine symbol of the nation. In the late
19th and early 20th centuries, victory in the First SinoJapanese War, the Russo-Japanese War and World War I
allowed Japan to expand its empire during a period of
increasing militarism. The Second Sino-Japanese War of
1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which
came to an end in 1945 following the atomic bombings of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since adopting its revised
constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary
constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected
legislature called the Diet.
A major economic power, Japan has the world's third-largest
economy by nominal GDP and by purchasing power parity. It
is also the world's fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest
importer. Although Japan has officially renounced its right to
declare war, it maintains a modern military with the sixth
largest military budget,used for self-defense and
peacekeeping roles. After Singapore, Japan has the lowest
homicide rate (including attempted homicide) in the world.
According to Japan's health ministry, Japanese women have
the second highest life expectancy of any country in the
world.According to the United Nations, Japan also has the
third lowest infant mortality rate.
Etymology
The English word Japan derives from the Chinese
pronunciation of the Japanese name,日本, pronounced
Nippon or Nihon in Japanese. The pronunciation Nippon is
more formal, and is used for most official purposes,
including international sporting events.
From the Meiji Restoration until the end of World War II, the
full title of Japan was Dai Nippon Teikoku (大日本帝國?),
meaning "the Empire of Great Japan". Today the

nameNippon-koku or Nihon-koku(日本国?)is used as a formal
modern-day equivalent; countries like Japan whose long
form does not contain a descriptive designation are
generally given a name appended by the character
koku(国?), meaning "country", "nation" or "state".
Japanese people refer to themselves as Nihonjin (日本人?)
and to their language asNihongo (日本語?). Both Nippon and
Nihon mean "sun-origin" and are often translated asLand of
the Rising Sun. This nomenclature comes from Japanese
missions to Imperial China and refers to Japan's eastward
position relative to China. Before Nihon came into official
use, Japan was known as Wa (倭?)or Wakoku(倭国?).
The English word for Japan came to the West via early trade
routes. The early Mandarin or possibly Wu Chinese (吳語)
pronunciation of Japan was recorded by Marco Polo as
Cipangu. In modern Shanghainese, a Wu dialect, the
pronunciation of characters 日本 'Japan' isZeppen[zəʔpən].
The old Malay word for Japan,Jepang, was borrowed from a
southern coastal Chinese dialect, probably Fukienese
orNingpo,and this Malay word was encountered by
Portuguese traders in Malacca in the 16th century.
Portuguese traders were the first to bring the word to
Europe.It was first recorded in English in a 1565 letter,
spelled Giapan.
History
Prehistory and ancient history

A Paleolithic culture around 30,000 BC constitutes the first
known habitation of the Japanese archipelago. This was
followed from around 14,000 BC (the start of the Jōmon
period) by aMesolithic to Neolithic semi-sedentary huntergatherer culture, who include ancestors of both the
contemporary Ainu people and Yamato people,[19][20]
characterized by pit dwelling and rudimentary agriculture.
[21] Decorated clay vessels from this period are some of

the oldest surviving examples of pottery in the world.
Around 300 BC, the Yayoi people began to enter the
Japanese islands, intermingling with the Jōmon. The Yayoi
period, starting around 500 BC, saw the introduction of
practices like wet-rice farming, a new style of pottery,and
metallurgy, introduced from China and Korea.
Japan first appears in written history in the Chinese Book of
Han. According to theRecords of the Three Kingdoms, the
most powerful kingdom on the archipelago during the 3rd
century was called Yamataikoku. Buddhism was first
introduced to Japan from Baekje ofKorea, but the
subsequent development of Japanese Buddhism was
primarily influenced by China. Despite early resistance,
Buddhism was promoted by the ruling class and gained
widespread acceptance beginning in theAsuka period (592–
710).
The Nara period (710–784) of the 8th century marked the
emergence of a strong Japanese state, centered on an
imperial court in Heijō-kyō (modern Nara). The Nara period
is characterized by the appearance of a nascent literature
as well as the development of Buddhist-inspired art and
architecture.[29] The smallpox epidemic of 735–737 is
believed to have killed as much as one-third of Japan's
population.[30] In 784, Emperor Kammu moved the capital
from Nara to Nagaoka-kyō before relocating it to Heian-kyō
(modern Kyoto) in 794.
This marked the beginning of the Heian period (794–1185),
during which a distinctly indigenous Japanese culture
emerged, noted for its art, poetry and prose. Lady
Murasaki'sThe Tale of Genji and the lyrics of Japan's national
anthem Kimigayo were written during this time.[31]
Buddhism began to spread during the Heian era chiefly
through two major sects, Tendai bySaichō, and Shingon by
Kūkai. Pure Land Buddhism (Jōdo-shū, Jōdo Shinshū) greatly
becomes popular in the latter half of the 11th century.

Feudal era

Japan's feudal era was characterized by the emergence and
dominance of a ruling class of warriors, the samurai. In
1185, following the defeat of the Taira clan, sung in the epic
Tale of Heike, samurai Minamoto no Yoritomo was appointed
shogun and established a base of power in Kamakura. After
his death, the Hōjō clan came to power as regents for the
shoguns. The Zen school of Buddhism was introduced from
China in the Kamakura period (1185–1333) and became
popular among the samurai class.[32] The Kamakura
shogunate repelled Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281, but
was eventually overthrown by Emperor Go-Daigo. Go-Daigo
was himself defeated by Ashikaga Takauji in 1336.
Ashikaga Takauji establishes the shogunate in Muromachi,
Kyoto. It is a start of Muromachi Period (1336–1573). The
Ashikaga shogunate receives glory in the age of Ashikaga
Yoshimitsu, and the culture based on Zen Buddhism (art of
Miyabi) has prospered. It evolves to Higashiyama Culture,
and has prospered until the 16th century. On the other
hand, the succeeding Ashikaga shogunate failed to control
the feudal warlords (daimyo), and a civil war (the Ōnin War)
began in 1467, opening the century-long Sengoku period
("Warring States").[33]
During the 16th century, traders and Jesuit missionaries
from Portugal reached Japan for the first time, initiating
direct commercial and cultural exchange between Japan
and the West.Oda Nobunaga conquered many other daimyo
using European technology and firearms; after he was
assassinated in 1582, his successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi
unified the nation in 1590. Hideyoshi invaded Korea twice,
but following defeats by Korean and Ming Chinese forces
and Hideyoshi's death, Japanese troops were withdrawn in
1598. This age is calledAzuchi-Momoyama Period (1573–
1603).

Tokugawa Ieyasu served as regent for Hideyoshi's son and
used his position to gain political and military support.
When open war broke out, he defeated rival clans in the
Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Ieyasu was appointed shogun
in 1603 and established the Tokugawa shogunate at Edo
(modern Tokyo).The Tokugawa shogunate enacted measures
including buke shohatto, as a code of conduct to control the
autonomous daimyo; and in 1639, the isolationist sakoku
("closed country") policy that spanned the two and a half
centuries of tenuous political unity known as the Edo period
(1603–1868).The study of Western sciences, known as
rangaku, continued through contact with the Dutch enclave
at Dejima in Nagasaki. The Edo period also gave rise to
kokugaku ("national studies"), the study of Japan by the
Japanese.
Modern era

On 31 March 1854, Commodore Matthew Perry and the
"Black Ships" of the United States Navy forced the opening
of Japan to the outside world with the Convention of
Kanagawa. Subsequent similar treaties with Western
countries in the Bakumatsu period brought economic and
political crises. The resignation of the shogun led to the
Boshin War and the establishment of a centralized
statenominally unified under the Emperor (the Meiji
Restoration).
Adopting Western political, judicial and military institutions,
the Cabinet organized the Privy Council, introduced the
Meiji Constitution, and assembled the Imperial Diet. The
Meiji Restoration transformed the Empire of Japan into an
industrialized world power that pursued military conflict to
expand its sphere of influence. After victories in the First
Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and the Russo-Japanese
War (1904–1905), Japan gained control of Taiwan, Korea,
and the southern half of Sakhalin. Japan's population grew
from 35 million in 1873 to 70 million in 1935.

The early 20th century saw a brief period of "Taishō
democracy" overshadowed by increasingexpansionism and
militarization. World War I enabled Japan, on the side of the
victorious Allies, to widen its influence and territorial
holdings. It continued its expansionist policy by occupying
Manchuria in 1931; as a result of international
condemnation of this occupation, Japan resigned from the
League of Nationstwo years later. In 1936, Japan signed the
Anti-Comintern Pact with Nazi Germany, and the
1940Tripartite Pact made it one of the Axis Powers. In 1941,
Japan negotiated the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact.
The Empire of Japan invaded other parts of China in 1937,
precipitating the Second Sino-Japanese War(1937–1945). In
1940, the Empire then invaded French Indochina, after
which the United States placed an oil embargo on Japan.On
7 December 1941, Japan attacked the US naval base at
Pearl Harborand declared war, bringing the US into World
War II.After the Soviet invasion of Manchuria and theatomic
bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, Japan agreed
to an unconditional surrender on 15 August.The war cost
Japan and the rest of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity
Sphere millions of lives and left much of the nation's
industry and infrastructure destroyed. The Allies (led by the
US) repatriated millions of ethnic Japanese from colonies
and military camps throughout Asia, largely eliminating the
Japanese empire and restoring the independence of its
conquered territories. The Allies also convened the
International Military Tribunal for the Far East on 3 May
1946 to prosecute some Japanese leaders for war crimes.
However, the bacteriological research units and members of
the imperial family involved in the war were exonerated
from criminal prosecutions by the Supreme Allied
Commander despite calls for trials for both groups.
In 1947, Japan adopted a new constitution emphasizing
liberal democratic practices. The Allied occupation ended
with the Treaty of San Francisco in 1952and Japan was

granted membership in the United Nations in 1956. Japan
later achieved rapid growth to become the second-largest
economy in the world, until surpassed by China in 2010.
This ended in the mid-1990s when Japan suffered a major
recession. In the beginning of the 21st century, positive
growth has signaled a gradual economic recovery.On 11
March 2011, Japan suffered the strongest earthquake in its
recorded history; this triggered the Fukushima Daiichi
nuclear disaster, one of the worst disasters in the history of
nuclear power.
Government and politics
Japan is a constitutional monarchy where the power of the
Emperor is very limited. As a ceremonial figurehead, he is
defined by the constitution as "the symbol of the state and
of the unity of the people". Power is held chiefly by the
Prime Minister of Japan and other elected members of the
Diet, while sovereignty is vested in the Japanese
people.Akihito is the current Emperor of Japan; Naruhito,
Crown Prince of Japan, stands as next in line to the throne.
Japan's legislative organ is the National Diet, a bicameral
parliament. The Diet consists of aHouse of Representatives
with 480 seats, elected by popular vote every four years or
when dissolved, and a House of Councillors of 242 seats,
whose popularly elected members serve six-year terms.
There is universal suffrage for adults over 20 years of age,
with a secret ballot for all elected offices. In 2009, the social
liberal Democratic Party of Japan took power after 54 years
of the liberal conservative Liberal Democratic Party's rule.
The Prime Minister of Japan is the head of government and
is appointed by the Emperor after being designated by the
Diet from among its members. The Prime Minister is the
head of the Cabinet and appoints and dismisses
theMinisters of State. Naoto Kan was designated by the Diet
to replace Yukio Hatoyama as the Prime Minister of Japan on
2 June 2010. Although the Prime Minister is formally

appointed by the Emperor, the Constitution of Japan
explicitly requires the Emperor to appoint whoever is
designated by the Diet. Emperor Akihito formally appointed
Kan as the country's 94th Prime Minister on 8 June.
Historically influenced by Chinese law, the Japanese legal
system developed independently during the Edo period
through texts such asKujikata Osadamegaki. However, since
the late 19th century the judicial system has been largely
based on the civil law of Europe, notably Germany. For
example, in 1896, the Japanese government established a
civil code based on a draft of the German Bürgerliches
Gesetzbuch; with post–World War II modifications, the code
remains in effect.[58] Statutory law originates in Japan's
legislature and has the rubber stamp of the Emperor. The
Constitution requires that the Emperor promulgate
legislation passed by the Diet, without specifically giving
him the power to oppose legislation.Japan's court system is
divided into four basic tiers: the Supreme Court and three
levels of lower courts. The main body of Japanese statutory
law is called the Six Codes.
Foreign relations and military
Japan is a member of the G8, APEC, and "ASEAN Plus
Three", and is a participant in the East Asia Summit. Japan
signed a security pact with Australia in March 2007 and with
India in October 2008. It is the world's third largest donor of
official development assistance after the United States and
France, donating US$9.48 billion in 2009.
Japan has close economic and military relations with the
United States; the US-Japan security alliance acts as the
cornerstone of the nation's foreign policy. A member state
of the United Nations since 1956, Japan has served as a
non-permanent Security Council member for a total of 19
years, most recently for 2009 and 2010. It is one of the G4
nations seeking permanent membership in the Security
Council.

Japan is engaged in several territorial disputes with its
neighbors: with Russia over the South Kuril Islands, with
South Korea over the Liancourt Rocks, with China and
Taiwan over the Senkaku Islands, and with China over the
EEZ around Okinotorishima. Japan also faces an ongoing
dispute withNorth Korea over the latter's abduction of
Japanese citizens and its nuclear weapons and missile
program (see also Six-party talks).
Japan maintains one of the largest military budgets of any
country in the world.Japan contributed non-combatant
troops to the Iraq War but subsequently withdrew its
forces.The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force is a regular
participant in RIMPAC maritime exercises.
Japan's military is restricted by Article 9 of the Japanese
Constitution, which renounces Japan's right to declare war
or use military force in international disputes. Japan's
military is governed by the Ministry of Defense, and
primarily consists of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
(JGSDF), the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) and
the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). The forces have
been recently used in peacekeeping operations; the
deployment of troops to Iraq marked the first overseas use
of Japan's military since World War II. Nippon Keidanren has
called on the government to lift the ban on arms exports so
that Japan can join multinational projects such as the Joint
Strike Fighter.
Administrative divisions
Japan consists of forty-seven prefectures, each overseen by
an elected governor, legislature and administrative
bureaucracy. Each prefecture is further divided into cities,
towns and villages.The nation is currently undergoing
administrative reorganization by merging many of the
cities, towns and villages with each other. This process will
reduce the number of sub-prefecture administrative regions
and is expected to cut administrative costs.

Geography
Japan has a total of 6,852 islands extending along the
Pacific coast of East Asia.The country, including all of the
islands it controls, lies between latitudes 24° and 46°N, and
longitudes 122° and 146°E. The main islands, from north to
south, are Hokkaidō,Honshū, Shikoku and Kyūshū. The
Ryūkyū Islands, including Okinawa, are a chain to the south
of Kyūshū. Together they are often known as the Japanese
Archipelago.
About 73 percent of Japan is forested, mountainous, and
unsuitable for agricultural,industrial, or residential use. As a
result, the habitable zones, mainly located in coastal areas,
have extremely high population densities. Japan is one of
the most densely populated countries in the world.
The islands of Japan are located in a volcanic zone on the
Pacific Ring of Fire. They are primarily the result of large
oceanic movements occurring over hundreds of millions of
years from the mid-Silurian to the Pleistocene as a result of
the subduction of thePhilippine Sea Plate beneath the
continental Amurian Plate and Okinawa Plate to the south,
and subduction of the Pacific Plate under the Okhotsk Plate
to the north. Japan was originally attached to the eastern
coast of the Eurasian continent. The subducting plates
pulled Japan eastward, opening the Sea of Japan around 15
million years ago.
Japan has 108 active volcanoes. Destructive earthquakes,
often resulting in tsunami, occur several times each
century. The 1923 Tokyo earthquake killed over 140,000
people. More recent major quakes are the 1995 Great
Hanshin earthquake and the2011 Tōhoku earthquake, a 9.0magnitude quake which hit Japan on 11 March 2011, and
triggered a large tsunami. On 24 May 2012, 6.1 magnitude
earthquake struck off the coast of northeastern Japan.
However, no tsunami was generated.
Climate

The climate of Japan is predominantly temperate, but varies
greatly from north to south. Japan's geographical features
divide it into six principal climatic zones: Hokkaidō, Sea of
Japan, Central Highland, Seto Inland Sea, Pacific Ocean, and
Ryūkyū Islands. The northernmost zone, 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 zone on Honshū's west coast, northwest
winter winds bring heavy snowfall. In the summer, the
region is cooler than the Pacific area, though it sometimes
experiences extremely hot temperatures because of the
foehn wind. The Central Highland has a typical inland humid
continental climate, with large temperature differences
between summer and winter, and between day and night;
precipitation is light, though winters are usually snowy. 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 Islands have a subtropical climate, with
warm winters and hot summers. Precipitation is very heavy,
especially during the rainy season. The generally humid,
temperate climate exhibits marked seasonal variation such
as the blooming of the spring cherry blossoms, the calls of
the summer cicada and fall foliage colors that are
celebrated in art and literature.
The average winter temperature in Japan is 5.1 °C (41.2 °F)
and the average summer temperature is 25.2 °C (77.4 °F).
[85] The highest temperature ever measured in Japan—40.9
°C (105.6 °F)—was recorded on 16 August 2007. The main
rainy season begins in early May in Okinawa, and the rain
front gradually moves north until reaching Hokkaidō in late

July. In most of Honshū, the rainy season begins before the
middle of June and lasts about six weeks. In late summer
and early autumn, typhoons often bring heavy rain.
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, totemperate coniferous forests
in the cold, winter portions of the northern islands.Japan has
over 90,000 species of wildlife, including the brown bear,
the Japanese macaque, the Japanese raccoon dog, 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 thirty-seven Ramsar wetland
sites.Four siteshave 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,
environmental pollution was widespread in the 1950s and
1960s. Responding to rising concern about the problem, the
government introduced several environmental protection
laws in 1970. The oil crisis in 1973 also encouraged the
efficient use of energy due to Japan's lack of natural
resources.Current environmental issues include urban air
pollution (NOx, suspended particulate matter, and toxics),
waste management, water eutrophication, nature
conservation, climate change, chemical management and
international co-operation for conservation.
Japan is one of the world's leaders in the development of
new environment-friendly technologies, and is ranked 20th
best in the world in the 2010 Environmental Performance
Index. As a signatory of the Kyoto Protocol, and host of the

1997 conference which created it, Japan is under treaty
obligation to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions and to
take other steps to curb climate change.
Economy
Some of the structural features for Japan's economic growth
developed in the Edo period, such as the network of
transport routes, by road and water, and the futures
contracts, banking and insurance of the Osaka rice brokers.
During the Meiji period from 1868, Japan expanded
economically with the embrace of the market economy.
Many of today's enterprises were founded at the time, and
Japan emerged as the most developed nation in Asia.The
period of overall real economic growth from the 1960s to
the 1980s has been called the Japanese post-war economic
miracle: it averaged 7.5 percent in the 1960s and 1970s,
and 3.2 percent in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Growth slowed markedly in the 1990s during what the
Japanese call the Lost Decade, largely because of the aftereffects of the Japanese asset price bubble and domestic
policies intended to wring speculative excesses from the
stock and real estate markets. Government efforts to revive
economic growth met with little success and were further
hampered by the global slowdown in 2000.The economy
showed strong signs of recovery after 2005; GDP growth for
that year was 2.8 percent, surpassing the growth rates of
the US and European Union during the same period.
As of 2011, Japan is the third largest national economy in
the world, after the United States and China, in terms of
nominal GDP,and the third largest national economy in the
world, after the United States and China, in terms of
purchasing power parity.As of January 2011, Japan's public
debt was more than 200 percent of its annual gross
domestic product, the largest of any nation in the world. In
August 2011, Moody's rating has cut Japan's long-term
sovereign debt rating one notch from Aa3 to Aa2 inline with

the size of the country's deficit and borrowing level. The
large budget deficits and government debt since the 2009
global recession and followed by earthquake and tsunami in
March 2011 made the rating downgrade.The service sector
accounts for three quarters of the gross domestic product.
Japan has a large industrial capacity, and is home to some
of the largest and most technologically advanced producers
of motor vehicles, electronics, machine tools, steel and
nonferrous metals, ships, chemical substances, textiles, and
processed foods.Agricultural businesses in Japan cultivate
13 percent of Japan's land, and Japan accounts for nearly 15
percent of the global fish catch, second only to China.As of
2010, Japan's labor force consisted of some 65.9 million
workers. Japan has a low unemployment rate of around four
percent. Almost one in six Japanese, or 20 million people,
lived in poverty in 2007. Housing in Japan is characterized
by limited land supply in urban areas.Japan's exports
amounted to US$4,210 per capita in 2005. Japan's main
export markets are China (18.88 percent), the United States
(16.42 percent), South Korea (8.13 percent), Taiwan (6.27
percent) and Hong Kong (5.49 percent) as of 2009. Its main
exports are transportation equipment, motor vehicles,
electronics, electrical machinery and chemicals.Japan's
main import markets as of 2009 are China (22.2 percent),
the US (10.96 percent), Australia (6.29 percent), Saudi
Arabia (5.29 percent),United Arab Emirates (4.12 percent),
South Korea (3.98 percent) and Indonesia (3.95 percent).
Japan's main imports are machinery and equipment, fossil
fuels, foodstuffs (in particular beef), chemicals, textiles and
raw materials for its industries.By market share measures,
domestic markets are the least open of any OECD country.
Junichiro Koizumi's administration began some procompetition reforms, and foreign investment in Japan has
soared.

Japan ranks 12th of 178 countries in the 2008 Ease of Doing
Business Index and hasone of the smallest tax revenues of
the developed world. The Japanese variant of capitalism has
many distinct features: keiretsuenterprises are influential,
and lifetime employment and seniority-based career
advancement are relatively common in the Japanese work
environment.Japanese companies are known for
management methods like "The Toyota Way", and
shareholder activismis rare.
Some of the largest enterprises in Japan include Toyota,
Nintendo, NTT DoCoMo, Canon, Honda, Takeda
Pharmaceutical, Sony,Panasonic, Toshiba, Sharp, Nippon
Steel, Nippon Oil, and Seven & I Holdings Co. It has some of
the world's largest banks, and theTokyo Stock Exchange
(known for its Nikkei 225 and Topix indices) stands as the
second largest in the world by market capitalization.Japan is
home to 326 companies from the Forbes Global 2000 or
16.3 percent (as of 2006).
Science and technology

Japan is a leading nation in scientific research, particularly
technology, machinery andbiomedical research. Nearly
700,000 researchers share a US$130 billion research and
development budget, the third largest in the world. Japan is
a world leader infundamental scientific research, having
produced sixteen Nobel laureates in either physics,
chemistry or medicine,three Fields medalists,and one Gauss
Prizelaureate. Some of Japan's more prominent
technological contributions are in the fields of electronics,
automobiles, machinery, earthquake engineering, industrial
robotics, optics, chemicals, semiconductors and metals.
Japan leads the world inrobotics production and use,
possessing more than half (402,200 of 742,500) of the
world's industrial robots.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is Japan's
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 (Kibo) was added to the
station during Space Shuttle assembly flights in
2008.Japan's plans in space exploration include: launching a
space probe to Venus, Akatsuki; developing the Mercury
Magnetospheric Orbiter to be launched in 2013;and building
a moon base by 2030.
On 14 September 2007, it launched lunar explorer "SELENE"
(Selenological and Engineering Explorer) on an H-IIA (Model
H2A2022) carrier rocket from Tanegashima Space Center.
SELENE is also known as Kaguya, after the lunar princess of
The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.[130] Kaguya is the largest
lunar mission since the Apollo program. Its purpose is to
gather data on the moon's origin and evolution. It entered a
lunar orbit on 4 October,flying at an altitude of about 100
km (62 mi). The probe's mission was ended when it was
deliberately crashed by JAXA into the Moon on 11 June
2009.
Infrastructure

As of 2008, 46.4 percent of energy in Japan is produced
from petroleum, 21.4 percent from coal, 16.7 percent from
natural gas, 9.7 percent from nuclear power, and 2.9
percent from hydro power. Nuclear power produced 25.1
percent of Japan's electricity, as of 2009. However, as of 5
May 2012, all of the country's nuclear power plants had
been taken offline due to ongoing public opposition
following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, though
government officials have been continuing to try to sway
public opinion in favor of returning at least some of Japan's
50 nuclear reactors to service.Given its heavy dependence
on imported energy,Japan has aimed to diversify its sources
and maintain high levels of energy efficiency.
Japan's road spending has been extensive. Its 1.2 million
kilometers of paved road are the main means of

transportation. A single network of high-speed, divided,
limited-access toll roads connects major cities and is
operated by toll-collecting enterprises. New and used cars
are inexpensive; car ownership fees and fuel levies are used
to promote energy efficiency. However, at just 50 percent of
all distance traveled, car usage is the lowest of all G8
countries.
Dozens of Japanese railway companies compete in regional
and local passenger transportation markets; major
companies include seven JR enterprises, Kintetsu
Corporation, Seibu Railway and Keio Corporation. Some 250
high-speed Shinkansen trains connect major cities and
Japanese trains are known for their safety and punctuality.
Proposals for a new Maglev route between Tokyo and Osaka
are at an advanced stage.There are 173 airports in Japan;
the largest domestic airport, Haneda Airport, is Asia's
second-busiest airport.The largest international gateways
are Narita International Airport, Kansai International Airport
and Chūbu Centrair International Airport. Nagoya Port is the
country's largest and busiest port, accounting for 10
percent of Japan's trade value.
Demographics
Japan's population is estimated at around 127.3 million,
with 80% of the population living on Honshū. Japanese
society is linguistically and culturally
homogeneous,composed of 98.5% ethnic Japanese, with
small populations of foreign workers.Zainichi Koreans,
Zainichi Chinese, Filipinos, Brazilians mostly of Japanese
descent, and Peruvians mostly of Japanese descent are
among the small minority groups in Japan.In 2003, there
were about 134,700 non-Latin American Western and
345,500 Latin American expatriates, 274,700 of whom
wereBrazilians (said to be primarily Japanese descendants,
or nikkeijin, along with their spouses),the largest
community of Westerners.

The most dominant native ethnic group is the Yamato
people; primary minority groups include the indigenous
Ainu and Ryukyuan peoples, as well as social minority
groups like the burakumin. There are persons of mixed
ancestry incorporated among the 'ethnic Japanese' or
Yamato, such as those from Ogasawara Archipelagowhere
roughly one-tenth of the Japanese population can have
European, American, Micronesian and/or Polynesian
backgrounds, with some families going back up to seven
generations. In spite of the widespread belief that Japan is
ethnically homogeneous (in 2009, foreign-born nonnaturalized workers made up only 1.7% of the total
population), also due to the absence of ethnicity and/or
race statistics for Japanese nationals, at least one analysis
describes Japan as a multiethnic society, for example, John
Lie.However, this statement is refused by many sectors of
Japanese society, who still tend to preserve the idea of
Japan being a monocultural society and with this ideology of
homogeneity, has traditionally rejected any need to
recognize ethnic differences in Japan, even as such claims
have been rejected by such ethnic minorities as the Ainu
and Ryukyuan people. Former Japanese Prime Minister Taro
Aso has once described Japan as being a nation of “one
race, one civilization, one language and one culture”.
Japan has the longest overall life expectancy at birth of any
country in the world: 83.5 years for persons born in the
period 2010–2015. The Japanese population is rapidly aging
as a result of a post–World War II baby boom followed by a
decrease in birth rates. In 2009, about 22.7 percent of the
population was over 65, by 2050 almost 40 percent of the
population will be aged 65 and over, as projected in
December 2006.
The changes in demographic structure have created a
number of social issues, particularly a potential decline in
workforce population and increase in the cost of social
security benefits like the public pension plan. A growing

number of younger Japanese are preferring not to marry or
have families.In 2011, Japan's population dropped for a fifth
year, falling by 204,000 people to 126.24 million people.
This is the greatest decline since at least 1947, the first
year for which government data are available. The 204,000
deaths included 15,844 people killed and 3,451 left missing
by the tsunami.
Japan's population is expected to drop to 95 million by
2050, demographers and government planners are
currently in a heated debate over how to cope with this
problem. Immigration and birth incentives are sometimes
suggested as a solution to provide younger workers to
support the nation's aging population. Japan accepts a
steady flow of 15,000 new Japanese citizens
bynaturalization (帰化) per year.According to the UNHCR, in
2007 Japan accepted just 41 refugees for resettlement,
while the US took in 50,000.
Japan suffers from a high suicide rate. In 2009, the number
of suicides exceeded 30,000 for the twelfth straight year.
[Suicide is the leading cause of death for people under 30.
Religion

Japan enjoys full religious freedom based on Article 20 of its
Constitution. Upper estimates suggest that 84–96 percent
of the Japanese population subscribe toBuddhism or Shinto,
including a large number of followers of a syncretism of
both religions.However, these estimates are based on
people affiliated with a temple, rather than the number of
true believers. Other studies have suggested that only 30
percent of the population identify themselves as belonging
to a religion. According to Edwin Reischauer and Marius
Jansen, some 70–80% of the Japanese regularly tell pollsters
they do not consider themselves believers in any religion.
Nevertheless, the level of participation remains high,
especially during festivals and occasions such as the first
shrine visit of the New Year. Taoism and Confucianism from

China have also influenced Japanese beliefs and customs.
Japanese streets are decorated on Tanabata, Obon and
Christmas. Fewer than one percent of Japanese
areChristian.Other minority religions include Islam,
Hinduism, Sikhism, and Judaism, and since the mid-19th
century numerous new religious movements have emerged
in Japan.
Languages

More than 99 percent of the population speaks Japanese as
their first language.Japanese is an agglutinative language
distinguished by a system of honorifics reflecting the
hierarchical nature of Japanese society, with verb forms and
particular vocabulary indicating the relative status of
speaker and listener. Japanese writing uses kanji (Chinese
characters) and two sets of kana (syllabaries based
onsimplified Chinese characters), as well as the Latin
alphabet and Arabic numerals.
Besides Japanese, the Ryukyuan languages, also part of the
Japonic language family, are spoken in Okinawa; however,
few children learn these languages. The Ainu language,
which has no proven relationship to Japanese or any other
language, is moribund, with only a few elderly native
speakers remaining in Hokkaido. Most public and private
schools require students to take courses in both Japanese
and English.
Education

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

The two top-ranking universities in Japan are the University
of Tokyo and Kyoto University.The Programme for
International Student Assessment coordinated by the OECD
currently ranks the overall knowledge and skills of Japanese
15-year-olds as sixth best in the world.
Health

In Japan, health care 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 governmentsponsored insurance. Patients are free to select the
physicians or facilities of their choice.
Culture
Japanese culture has evolved greatly from its origins.
Contemporary culture combines influences from Asia,
Europe and North America. Traditional Japanese arts
includecrafts such as ceramics, textiles, lacquerware,
swords and dolls; performances ofbunraku, kabuki, noh,
dance, and rakugo; and other practices, the tea
ceremony,ikebana, martial arts, calligraphy, origami, onsen,
Geisha and games. Japan has a developed system for the
protection and promotion of both tangible and
intangibleCultural Properties and National Treasures.
Sixteen sites have been inscribed on the UNESCO World
Heritage List, twelve of which are of cultural significance.
Art

The Shrines of Ise have been celebrated as the prototype of
Japanese architecture.Largely of wood, traditional housing
and many temple buildings see the use of tatamimats and
sliding doors that break down the distinction between

rooms and indoor and outdoor space.Japanese sculpture,
largely of wood, and Japanese painting are among the
oldest of the Japanese arts, with early figurative paintings
dating back to at least 300 BC. The history of Japanese
painting exhibits synthesis and competition between native
Japanese aesthetics and adaptation of imported ideas.
The interaction between Japanese and European art has
been significant: for exampleukiyo-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 postImpressionism. Famous ukiyo-e artists include Hokusai
andHiroshige. The fusion of traditional woodblock printing
and Western art led to the creation of manga, a comic book
format that is now popular within and outside Japan. Mangainfluenced animation for television and film is called anime.
Japanese-made video game consoles have been popular
since the 1980s.
Music

Japanese music is eclectic and diverse. Many instruments,
such as the koto, were introduced in the 9th and 10th
centuries. The accompanied recitative of the Noh drama
dates from the 14th century and the popular folk music,
with the guitar-like shamisen, from the sixteenth.Western
classical music, introduced in the late 19th century, now
forms an integral part of Japanese culture. The imperial
court ensemble Gagaku has influenced the work of some
modern Western composers.
Notable classical composers from Japan include Toru
Takemitsu and Rentarō Taki. Popular music in post-war Japan
has been heavily influenced by American and European
trends, which has led to the evolution of J-pop, or Japanese
popular music. Karaoke is the most widely practiced cultural
activity in Japan. A 1993 survey by the Cultural Affairs
Agency found that more Japanese had sung karaoke that

year than had participated in traditional pursuits such as
flower arranging (ikebana) or tea ceremonies.
Literature

The earliest works of Japanese literature include the Kojiki
and Nihon Shoki chronicles and the Man'yōshū poetry
anthology, all from the 8th century and written in Chinese
characters.In the early Heian period, the system of
phonograms known askana (Hiragana and Katakana) was
developed. The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is considered the
oldest Japanese narrative.An account of Heian court life is
given inThe Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon, while The Tale of
Genji by Murasaki Shikibu 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 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 the first
"modern" novelists of Japan, followed by Ryūnosuke
Akutagawa, Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, Yukio Mishima and, more
recently, Haruki Murakami. Japan has two Nobel Prizewinning authors—Yasunari Kawabata (1968) and Kenzaburō
Ōe (1994).[204]
Cuisine

Japanese cuisine is based on combining staple foods,
typically Japanese rice or noodles, with a soup and okazu —
dishes made from fish, vegetable, tofu and the like – to add
flavor to the staple food. In the early modern era
ingredients such as red meats that had previously not been
widely used in Japan were introduced. Japanese cuisine is
known for its emphasis onseasonality of food, quality of

ingredients and presentation. Japanese cuisine offers a vast
array of regional specialties that use traditional recipes and
local ingredients. The Michelin Guide has awarded Japanese
cities more Michelin stars than the rest of the world
combined.
Sports

Traditionally, sumo is considered Japan's national sport.
Japanese martial arts such asjudo, karate and kendo are
also widely practiced and enjoyed by spectators in the
country. After the Meiji Restoration, many Western sports
were introduced in Japan and began to spread through the
education system
.Japan hosted the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 1964. Japan
has hosted the Winter Olympics twice: Sapporo in 1972 and
Nagano in 1998.
Baseball is currently the most popular spectator sport in the
country. Japan's top professional league, Nippon
Professional Baseball, was established in 1936.
Since the establishment of the Japan Professional Football
League in 1992, association football has also gained a wide
following.Japan was a venue of the Intercontinental Cup
from 1981 to 2004 and co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup
with South Korea. Japan has one of the most successful
football teams in Asia, winning the Asian Cup four
times.Also, Japan recently won the FIFA Women's World Cup
in 2011.
Golf is also popular in Japan,as are forms of auto racing like
the Super GT series and Formula Nippon. The country has