Japan

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Japan

Flag Imperial Seal
Anthem: Kimigayo (君が代^?)

Government Seal:

Paulownia (五七桐, Go-Shichi no Kiri^?)

Capital
(and largest city) Tokyo (de facto)
139°46′E / 35.683°N 139.767°E / 35.683; 139.767
Official language(s) None[1]
Recognised regional languages Aynu itak, Eastern Japanese, Western Japanese, Ryukyuan, and several other Japanese dialects
National language

National Scripts


Japanese

Kanji
Hiragana
Katakana
Ethnic groups  98.5% Japanese, 0.5% Korean, 0.4% Chinese, 0.6% other[2]
Demonym Japanese
Government Parliamentary democracy with constitutional monarchy
 -  Emperor Akihito
 -  Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama (DPJ)
Legislature National Diet
 -  Upper House House of Councillors
 -  Lower House House of Representatives
Formation
 -  National Foundation Day February 11, 660 BC[3] 
 -  Meiji Constitution November 29, 1890 
 -  Current constitution May 3, 1947 
 -  Treaty of
San Francisco
April 28, 1952 
Area
 -  Total 377,944 km² [4](61st)
145,925 sq mi 
 -  Water (%) 0.8
Population
 -  2010 estimate 127,430,000[5] (10th)
 -  2004 census 127,333,002 
 -  Density 337.2/km² (36th)
873.3/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2008 estimate
 -  Total $4.356 trillion[6] (3rd)
 -  Per capita $34,115[6] (24th)
GDP (nominal) 2008 estimate
 -  Total $4.910 trillion[6] (2nd)
 -  Per capita $38,457[6] (23rd)
Gini  38.1 (2002)[7] 
HDI (2007) ▲ 0.960[8] (very high) (10th)
Currency International Symbol ¥ Pronounced (Yen)
Japanese Symbol 円 Pronounced (En) (JPY)
Time zone JST (UTC+9)
 -  Summer (DST) not observed (UTC)
Date formats yyyy-mm-dd
yyyy年m月d日
Era yy年m月d日 (CE−1988)
Drives on the left
Internet TLD .jp
Calling code 81

Japan (日本, Nihon or Nippon^?, officially 日本国 Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku) is an island country 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 which 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.[9] The four largest islands are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for 97% of Japan's land area. Most of the islands are mountainous, many volcanic; for example, Japan’s highest peak, Mount Fuji, is a volcano. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with about 128 million people. The 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 were living on the islands of Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan begins with brief appearances in Chinese history texts from the first century A.D. Influence from the outside world followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. Since adopting its constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament, the Diet.

A major power,[10] Japan has the world's second-largest economy by nominal GDP and the third largest in purchasing power parity. It is also the world's fourth largest exporter and fifth largest importer. It is also the only Asian country in the G8 and is currently serving as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. Although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern and extensive military force which is employed in self-defense and peacekeeping roles. It is a developed country with very high living standards (10th highest HDI). Japan has the highest life expectancy of any country in the world (according to both the UN and WHO estimates) and the third lowest infant mortality rate.[11][12]

Etymology

The English word Japan is an exonym. The Japanese names for Japan are Nippon (にっぽん^?) ( listen (help·info)) and Nihon (にほん^?) ( listen (help·info)). They are both written in Japanese using the kanji 日本. The Japanese name Nippon is used for most official purposes, including on Japanese money, postage stamps, and for many international sporting events. Nihon is a more casual term and the most frequently used in contemporary speech. Japanese people refer to themselves as Nihonjin (日本人^?) and they call their language Nihongo (日本語^?).