Japan

Japan
日本国 (Japanese)
Nihon-koku or Nippon-koku
Anthem: 
君が代 ("Kimigayo")
"His Imperial Majesty's Reign"
State seal:
大日本國璽 (Dai Nihon Kokuji)
"National Seal of Greater Japan"
Seal of the State of Japan
Projection of Asia with Japan's Area colored green
  Location of Japan
Capital
and largest city
Tokyo
35°41′N 139°46′E / 35.683°N 139.767°E / 35.683; 139.767
Official languagesJapanese (de facto)
Recognized regional languagesAinu[1][2]
Unrecognized regional languages
Demonym(s)Japanese
GovernmentUnitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
• Emperor
Naruhito
Shigeru Ishiba
LegislatureNational Diet
House of Councillors
House of Representatives
Formation
November 29, 1890
May 3, 1947
Area
• Total
377,975 km2 (145,937 sq mi)[4] (62nd)
• Water (%)
1.4[3]
Population
• June 1, 2025 estimate
Neutral decrease 123,360,000[5] (11th)
• 2020 census
Neutral decrease 126,146,099[6]
• Density
330/km2 (854.7/sq mi) (44th)
GDP (PPP)2025 estimate
• Total
Increase $6.741 trillion[7] (5th)
• Per capita
Increase $54,677[7] (38th)
GDP (nominal)2025 estimate
• Total
Increase $4.186 trillion[7] (5th)
• Per capita
Increase $33,956[7] (34th)
Gini (2018)Positive decrease 33.4[8]
medium inequality
HDI (2023)Increase 0.925[9]
very high (23rd)
CurrencyJapanese yen (¥)
Time zoneUTC+09:00 (JST)
Calling code+81
ISO 3166 codeJP
Internet TLD.jp

Japan[a] is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. The Japanese archipelago consists of four major islands and thousands of smaller islands, covering 377,975 square kilometers (145,937 sq mi). Divided into 47 administrative prefectures and eight traditional regions, about three-quarters of the country's terrain is mountainous and heavily forested, concentrating its agriculture and highly urbanized population along its eastern coastal plains. With a population of over 123 million as of 2025, Japan is the eleventh-most populous country. Its capital and largest city is Tokyo.

The first known habitation of the archipelago dates to the Upper Paleolithic, with the beginning of the Japanese Paleolithic dating to c. 36,000 BC. Between the fourth and sixth centuries, its kingdoms were united under an emperor in Nara, and later Heian-kyō. From the 12th century, actual power was held by military dictators (shōgun) and feudal lords (daimyō), and enforced by warrior nobility (samurai). After rule by the Kamakura and Ashikaga shogunates and a century of warring states, Japan was unified in 1600 by the Tokugawa shogunate, which implemented an isolationist foreign policy. In 1853, a United States fleet forced Japan to open trade to the West, which led to the end of the shogunate and the restoration of imperial power in 1868.

In the Meiji period, Japan pursued rapid industrialization and modernization, as well as militarism and overseas colonization. In 1937, Japan invaded China, and in 1941 attacked the United States and European colonial powers, entering World War II as an Axis power. After suffering defeat in the Pacific War and two atomic bombings, Japan surrendered in 1945 and came under Allied occupation. Afterwards, the country underwent rapid economic growth and became one of the five earliest major non-NATO allies of the United States. Since the collapse of the Japanese asset price bubble in the early 1990s, Japan has experienced a prolonged period of economic stagnation, commonly known as the Lost Decades.

Japan is a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral legislature, the National Diet. A great power and the only Asian member of the G7, the country has constitutionally renounced its right to declare war, but maintains one of the world's strongest militaries. A developed country with one of the world's largest economies by nominal GDP, Japan is a global leader in the automotive, robotics, and electronics industries, and has made significant contributions to science and technology. It has one of the world's highest life expectancies, though it is undergoing a population decline. As a cultural superpower, Japan's culture is well known around the world, including its art, cuisine, film, music, and popular culture, which includes prominent animation, comics, and video game industries.

  1. ^ Lewallen, Ann-Elise (November 1, 2008). "Indigenous at last! Ainu Grassroots Organizing and the Indigenous Peoples Summit in Ainu Mosir". The Asia Pacific Journal (Japan Focus). No. 11. Archived from the original on October 23, 2023.
  2. ^ Martin, Kylie (2011). "Aynu itak: On the Road to Ainu Language Revitalization" (PDF). Media and Communication Studies メディア·コミュニケーション研究. 60: 57–93. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 21, 2015.
  3. ^ "Surface water and surface water change". OECD. Archived from the original on March 24, 2021. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  4. ^ 令和元年全国都道府県市区町村別面積調 (10月1日時点) [Reiwa 1 nationwide area survey by prefectures and municipalities (as of October 1)] (in Japanese). Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. December 26, 2019. Archived from the original on April 15, 2020.
  5. ^ "Population estimates by age (five-year groups) and sex". Statistics Bureau of Japan. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  6. ^ "2020 Population Census: population by sex, age (single years), month of birth and all nationality or Japanese". Statistics Bureau of Japan. Archived from the original on July 7, 2024. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, April 2025 Edition. (Japan)". www.imf.org. International Monetary Fund. April 22, 2025. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  8. ^ "Inequality – Income inequality". OECD. Archived from the original on July 1, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  9. ^ "Human Development Report 2025" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. May 6, 2025. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 6, 2025. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  10. ^ "Official Names of Member States (UNTERM)" (PDF). UN Protocol and Liaison Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 5, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.


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