Japan

Japan[b] is an island country in East Asia. It is located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of
the Asian mainland, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Japan
Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. The Japanese archipelago consists of four 日本国 (Japanese)
major islands—Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu—and thousands of smaller islands, covering Nihon-koku or Nippon-koku
377,975 square kilometres (145,937 sq mi). Japan has a population of nearly 124 million as of 2024,
and is the eleventh-most populous country. Its capital and largest city is Tokyo; the Greater Tokyo
Area is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with more than 38 million inhabitants as of 2016.
Japan is 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
Flag Imperial Seal[a]
and highly urbanized population along its eastern coastal plains. The country sits on the Pacific Ring
of Fire, making its islands prone to destructive earthquakes and tsunamis. Anthem:
君が代 ("Kimigayo")
The first known habitation of the archipelago dates to the Upper Paleolithic, with the beginning "His Imperial Majesty's Reign"
Japanese Paleolithic dating to c. 36,000 BC. Between the fourth and sixth centuries, its kingdoms 0:59
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 State Seal:
(samurai). After rule by the Kamakura and Ashikaga shogunates and a century of warring states, 大日本國璽 (Dai Nihon Kokuji)
Japan was unified in 1600 by the Tokugawa shogunate, which implemented an isolationist foreign "National Seal of Greater Japan"
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, the Empire of 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. After the war, the country
underwent rapid economic growth, although its economy has stagnated since 1990.

Japan is a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral legislature, the National Diet. A great power and
the only Asian member of the G7, Japan 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, Japan is a global leader in science and technology and the automotive, robotics, and
electronics industries. It has one of the world's highest life expectancies, though it is undergoing a
population decline. Japan's culture is well known around the world, including its art, cuisine, film,
music, and popular culture, which includes prominent comics, animation, and video game industries.

Location of Japan
Etymology Territory claimed but not controlled
Capital Tokyo
The name for Japan in Japanese is written using the kanji 日 本 and is pronounced Nihon or
and largest city 35°41′N 139°46′E
Nippon.[11] Before 日本 was adopted in the early 8th century, the country was known in China as Wa
Recognised Japanese (de facto)
( 倭 , changed in Japan around 757 to 和 ) and in Japan by the endonym Yamato.[12] Nippon, the national languages
original Sino-Japanese reading of the characters, is favored for official uses, including on Japanese Recognised Ainu[1][2]
banknotes and postage stamps.[11] Nihon is typically used in everyday speech and reflects shifts in regional languages
Japanese phonology during the Edo period.[12] The characters 日 本 mean "sun origin",[11] which is Unrecognized Ryukyuan languages
regional languages Hachijō
the source of the popular Western epithet "Land of the Rising Sun".[13]
Demonym(s) Japanese
The name "Japan" is based on Min or Wu Chinese pronunciations of 日 本 and was introduced to
Government Unitary parliamentary
European languages through early trade.[14] In the 13th century, Marco Polo recorded the Early constitutional
Mandarin Chinese pronunciation of the characters 日 本 國 as Cipangu.[15] The old Malay name for monarchy
Japan, Japang or Japun, was borrowed from a southern coastal Chinese dialect and encountered by
• Emperor Naruhito
Portuguese traders in Southeast Asia, who brought the word to Europe in the early 16th century.[16] • Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba
The first version of the name in English appears in a book published in 1577, which spelled the name
Legislature National Diet
as Giapan in a translation of a 1565 Portuguese letter.[17][14]
• Upper house House of Councillors
• Lower house House of
Representatives
History Formation
• Meiji Constitution November 29, 1890
• Current constitution May 3, 1947
Prehistoric to classical history
 Modern humans arrived in Japan around 38,000 years ago (~36,000 Area
BC), marking the beginning of the Japanese Paleolithic.[18] This was • Total 377,975 km2
followed from around 14,500 BC (the start of the Jōmon period) by a (145,937 sq mi)[4]
Mesolithic to Neolithic semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer culture (62nd)
characterized by pit dwelling and rudimentary agriculture.[19] Clay • Water (%) 1.4[3]
vessels from the period are among the oldest surviving examples of Population
pottery.[20] The Japonic-speaking Yayoi people entered the archipelago • March 1, 2024 123,970,000[5]
from the Korean Peninsula,[21][22][23] intermingling with the Jōmon;[23] estimate (11th)
the Yayoi period saw the introduction of practices including wet-rice • 2020 census 126,146,099[6]
farming,[24] a new style of pottery,[25] and metallurgy from China and • Density 330/km2
(854.7/sq mi) (44th)
Korea.[26] According to legend, Emperor Jimmu (descendant of
Amaterasu) founded a kingdom in central Japan in 660 BC, beginning a GDP (PPP) 2024 estimate
Legendary Emperor Jimmu continuous imperial line.[27] • Total $6.572 trillion[7]
(神武天皇, Jinmu-tennō) (4th)
Japan first appears in written history in the Chinese Book of Han, • Per capita $53,059[7] (34th)
completed in 111 AD. Buddhism was introduced to Japan from Baekje (a
GDP (nominal) 2024 estimate
Korean kingdom) in 552, but the development of Japanese Buddhism was primarily influenced by
• Total $4.070 trillion[7]
China.[28] Despite early resistance, Buddhism was promoted by the ruling class, including figures like (4th)
Prince Shōtoku, and gained widespread acceptance beginning in the Asuka period (592–710).[29] • Per capita $32,859[7] (30th)

In 645, the government led by Prince Naka no Ōe and Fujiwara no Kamatari devised and Gini (2018) 33.4[8]
implemented the far-reaching Taika Reforms. The Reform began with land reform, based on medium inequality

Confucian ideas and philosophies from China.[30] It nationalized all land in Japan, to be distributed HDI (2022) 0.920[9]
equally among cultivators, and ordered the compilation of a household registry as the basis for a new very high (24th)
system of taxation.[31] The true aim of the reforms was to bring about greater centralization and to Currency Japanese yen (¥)
enhance the power of the imperial court, which was also based on the governmental structure of
China. Envoys and students were dispatched to China to learn about Chinese writing, politics, art, Time zone UTC+09:00 (JST)

and religion.[30] The Jinshin War of 672, a bloody conflict between Prince Ōama and his nephew Drives on left
Prince Ōtomo, became a major catalyst for further administrative reforms.[32] These reforms Calling code +81
culminated with the promulgation of the Taihō Code, which consolidated existing statutes and
established the structure of the central and subordinate local governments.[31] These legal reforms ISO 3166 code JP
created the ritsuryō state, a system of Chinese-style centralized government that remained in place Internet TLD .jp
for half a millennium.[32]

The Nara period (710–784) marked the emergence of a Japanese state centered on the Imperial Court in Heijō-kyō (modern Nara). The period is
characterized by the appearance of a nascent literary culture with the completion of the Kojiki (712) and Nihon Shoki (720), as well as the
development of Buddhist-inspired artwork and architecture.[33][34] A smallpox epidemic in 735–737 is believed to have killed as much as one-third
of Japan's population.[34][35] In 784, Emperor Kanmu moved the capital, settling on Heian-kyō (modern-day Kyoto) in 794.[34] This marked the
beginning of the Heian period (794–1185), during which a distinctly indigenous Japanese culture emerged. Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji
and the lyrics of Japan's national anthem "Kimigayo" were written during this time.[36]

Feudal era
Japan's feudal era was characterized by the emergence and dominance of a ruling class of warriors, the
samurai.[37] In 1185, following the defeat of the Taira clan by the Minamoto clan in the Genpei War, samurai
Minamoto no Yoritomo established a military government at Kamakura.[38] After Yoritomo's death, the Hōjō
clan came to power as regents for the shōgun.[34] The Zen school of Buddhism was introduced from China in
the Kamakura period (1185–1333) and became popular among the samurai class.[39] The Kamakura shogunate
repelled Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281 but was eventually overthrown by Emperor Go-Daigo.[34] Go-Daigo Japanese samurai boarding a
was defeated by Ashikaga Takauji in 1336, beginning the Muromachi period (1336–1573).[40] The succeeding Mongol vessel during the Mongol
Ashikaga shogunate failed to control the feudal warlords (daimyō) and a civil war began in 1467, opening the invasions of Japan, depicted in the
century-long Sengoku period ("Warring States").[41] Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba, 1293

During the 16th century, Portuguese traders and Jesuit missionaries reached Japan for the first time, initiating
direct commercial and cultural exchange between Japan and the West.[34][42] Oda Nobunaga used European
technology and firearms to conquer many other daimyō;[43] his consolidation of power began what was known
as the Azuchi–Momoyama period.[44] After the death of Nobunaga in 1582, his successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi,
unified the nation in the early 1590s and launched two unsuccessful invasions of Korea in 1592 and 1597.[34]

Tokugawa Ieyasu served as regent for Hideyoshi's son Toyotomi Hideyori and used his position to gain political
and military support.[45] When open war broke out, Ieyasu defeated rival clans in the Battle of Sekigahara in
1600. He was appointed shōgun by Emperor Go-Yōzei in 1603 and established the Tokugawa shogunate at Edo Three unifiers of Japan. Left to right:
(modern Tokyo).[46] The shogunate enacted measures including buke shohatto, as a code of conduct to control Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi
the autonomous daimyō,[47] and in 1639 the isolationist sakoku ("closed country") policy that spanned the two and Tokugawa Ieyasu.
and a half centuries of tenuous political unity known as the Edo period (1603–1868).[46][48] Modern Japan's
economic growth began in this period, resulting in roads and water transportation routes, as well as financial
instruments such as futures contracts, banking and insurance of the Osaka rice brokers.[49] The study of Western sciences (rangaku) continued
through contact with the Dutch enclave in Nagasaki.[46] The Edo period gave rise to kokugaku ("national studies"), the study of Japan by the
Japanese.[50]

Modern era
The United States Navy sent Commodore Matthew C. Perry to force the opening of Japan to the
outside world. Arriving at Uraga with four "Black Ships" in July 1853, the Perry Expedition
resulted in the March 1854 Convention of Kanagawa.[46] Subsequent similar treaties with other
Western countries brought economic and political crises.[46] The resignation of the shōgun led to
the Boshin War and the establishment of a centralized state nominally unified under the emperor
(the Meiji Restoration).[51] Adopting Western political, judicial, and military institutions, the
Cabinet organized the Privy Council, introduced the Meiji Constitution (November 29, 1890), and
assembled the Imperial Diet.[52] During the Meiji period (1868–1912), the Empire of Japan
emerged as the most developed state in Asia and as an industrialized world power that pursued
Emperor Meiji (明治 The Japanese Empire and
military conflict to expand its sphere of influence.[53][54][55] After victories in the First Sino- 天皇, Meiji-tennō); its influence, 1942
Japanese War (1894–1895) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), Japan gained control of 1852–1912
Taiwan, Korea and the southern half of Sakhalin,[56][52] and annexed Korea in 1910.[57] The
Japanese population doubled from 35 million in 1873 to 70 million by 1935, with a significant shift
to urbanization.[58][59]

The early 20th century saw a period of Taishō democracy (1912–1926) overshadowed by increasing expansionism and militarization.[60][61] World
War I allowed Japan, which joined the side of the victorious Allies, to capture German possessions in the Pacific and China in 1920.[61] The 1920s
saw a political shift towards statism, a period of lawlessness following the 1923 Great Tokyo Earthquake, the passing of laws against political
dissent, and a series of attempted coups.[59][62][63] This process accelerated during the 1930s, spawning several radical nationalist groups that
shared a hostility to liberal democracy and a dedication to expansion in Asia.[64] In 1931, Japan invaded China and occupied Manchuria, which led
to the establishment of puppet state of Manchukuo in 1932; following international condemnation of the occupation, it resigned from the League of
Nations in 1933.[65] In 1936, Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Nazi Germany; the 1940 Tripartite Pact made it one of the Axis powers.[59]

The Empire of Japan invaded other parts of China in 1937, precipitating the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–
1945).[66] In 1940, the Empire invaded French Indochina, after which the United States placed an oil embargo
on Japan.[59][67] On December 7–8, 1941, Japanese forces carried out surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor, as well
as on British forces in Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong, among others, beginning World War II in the
Pacific.[68] Throughout areas occupied by Japan during the war, numerous abuses were committed against local
inhabitants, with many forced into sexual slavery.[69] After 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 an unconditional surrender.[70] The war cost Japan millions of lives and its colonies, including
de jure parts of Japan such as Korea, Taiwan, Karafuto, and the Kurils.[59] The Allies (led by the United States)
repatriated millions of Japanese settlers from their former colonies and military camps throughout Asia, largely Japan's imperial ambitions ended on
September 2, 1945, with the
eliminating the Japanese Empire and its influence over the territories it conquered.[71][72] The Allies convened
country's surrender to the Allies.
the International Military Tribunal for the Far East to prosecute Japanese leaders except the Emperor[73] for
Japanese war crimes.[72]

In 1947, Japan adopted a new constitution emphasizing liberal democratic practices.[72] The Allied occupation ended with the Treaty of San
Francisco in 1952,[74] and Japan was granted membership in the United Nations in 1956.[72] A period of record growth propelled Japan to become
the second-largest economy in the world;[72] this ended in the mid-1990s after the popping of an asset price bubble, beginning the "Lost
Decade".[75] In 2011, Japan suffered one of the largest earthquakes in its recorded history - the Tōhoku earthquake - triggering the Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear disaster.[76] On May 1, 2019, after the historic abdication of Emperor Akihito, his son Naruhito became Emperor, beginning the
Reiwa era.[77]

Geography
Japan comprises 14,125 islands extending along the Pacific coast of Asia.[78] It stretches over 3000 km (1900 mi) northeast–southwest from the
Sea of Okhotsk to the East China Sea.[79][80] The country's five main islands, from north to south, are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu and
Okinawa.[81] 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.[82] As of 2019, Japan's territory is 377,975.24 km2
(145,937.06 sq mi).[4] Japan has the sixth-longest coastline in the world at 29,751 km (18,486 mi). Because of its far-flung outlying islands, Japan's
exclusive economic zone is the eighth-largest in the world, covering 4,470,000 km2 (1,730,000 sq mi).[83][84]

The Japanese archipelago is 67% forests and 14% agricultural.[85] The primarily rugged and mountainous terrain is restricted for habitation.[86]
Thus the habitable zones, mainly in the coastal areas, have very high population densities: Japan is the 40th most densely populated country even
without considering that local concentration.[87][88] Honshu has the highest population density at 450 persons/km2 (1200/sq mi) as of 2010, while
Hokkaido has the lowest density of 64.5 persons/km2 as of 2016.[89] As of 2014, approximately 0.5% of Japan's total area is reclaimed land
(umetatechi).[90] Lake Biwa is an ancient lake and the country's largest freshwater lake.[91]
Japan is substantially prone to earthquakes, tsunami and volcanic eruptions because of its location along
the Pacific Ring of Fire.[92] It has the 17th highest natural disaster risk as measured in the 2016 World
Risk Index.[93] Japan has 111 active volcanoes.[94] Destructive earthquakes, often resulting in tsunami,
occur several times each century;[95] the 1923 Tokyo earthquake killed over 140,000 people.[96] More
recent major quakes are the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, which
triggered a large tsunami.[76]

Climate
The climate of Japan is predominantly temperate but varies greatly from north to south. The
northernmost region, Hokkaido, has a humid continental climate with long, cold winters and very warm
to cool summers. Precipitation is not heavy, but the islands usually develop deep snowbanks in the
winter.[97]

In the Sea of Japan region on Honshu's west coast, northwest winter winds bring heavy snowfall during A topographic map of Japan
winter. In the summer, the region sometimes experiences extremely hot temperatures because of the
Foehn.[98] The Central Highland has a typical inland humid continental climate, with large temperature
differences between summer and winter. The mountains of the Chūgoku and Shikoku regions shelter the Seto
Inland Sea from seasonal winds, bringing mild weather year-round.[97]

The Pacific coast features a humid subtropical climate that experiences milder winters with occasional snowfall
and hot, humid summers because of the southeast seasonal wind. The Ryukyu and Nanpō Islands have a
subtropical climate, with warm winters and hot summers. Precipitation is very heavy, especially during the
rainy season.[97] The main rainy season begins in early May in Okinawa, and the rain front gradually moves
north. In late summer and early autumn, typhoons often bring heavy rain.[99] According to the Environment Mount Fuji in Spring, view from
Ministry, heavy rainfall and increasing temperatures have caused problems in the agricultural industry and Arakurayama Sengen Park

elsewhere.[100] The highest temperature ever measured in Japan, 41.1 °C (106.0 °F), was recorded on July 23,
2018,[101] and repeated on August 17, 2020.[102]

Biodiversity
Japan has nine forest ecoregions which reflect the climate and geography of the islands. They range from subtropical moist broadleaf forests in the
Ryūkyū and Bonin Islands, to temperate broadleaf and mixed forests in the mild climate regions of the main islands, to temperate coniferous
forests in the cold, winter portions of the northern islands.[103] Japan has over 90,000 species of wildlife as of 2019,[104] including the brown bear,
the Japanese macaque, the Japanese raccoon dog, the small Japanese field mouse, and the Japanese giant salamander.[105] There are 53 Ramsar
wetland sites in Japan.[106] Five sites have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for their outstanding natural value.[107]

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 concerns, the government introduced environmental protection laws in 1970.[108]
The oil crisis in 1973 also encouraged the efficient use of energy because of Japan's lack of natural
resources.[109]

Japan ranks 20th in the 2018 Environmental Performance Index, which measures a country's commitment to
environmental sustainability.[110] Japan is the world's fifth-largest emitter of carbon dioxide.[100] As the host
Autumn maple leaves (momiji) at
and signatory of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, Japan is under treaty obligation to reduce its carbon dioxide Kongōbu-ji on Mount Kōya, a
emissions and to take other steps to curb climate change.[111] In 2020, the government of Japan announced a UNESCO World Heritage Site
target of carbon-neutrality by 2050.[112] 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.[113]

Government and politics

Japan is a unitary state and constitutional monarchy in which the power of the Emperor is limited to a ceremonial role.[114] Executive power is
instead wielded by the Prime Minister of Japan and his Cabinet, whose sovereignty is vested in the Japanese people.[115] Naruhito is the Emperor of
Japan, having succeeded his father Akihito upon his accession to the Chrysanthemum Throne in 2019.[114]

Japan's legislative organ is the National Diet, a bicameral parliament.[114] It consists of a lower House of Representatives with 465 seats, elected by
popular vote every four years or when dissolved, and an upper House of Councillors with 245 seats, whose popularly-elected members serve six-
year terms.[116] There is universal suffrage for adults over 18 years of age,[117] with a secret ballot for all elected offices.[115] The prime minister as
the head of government has the power to appoint and dismiss Ministers of State, and is appointed by the emperor after being designated from
among the members of the Diet.[116] Shigeru Ishiba is Japan's prime minister; he took office after winning the
2024 Liberal Democratic Party leadership election.[118] The broadly conservative Liberal Democratic Party has
been the dominant party in the country since the 1950s, often called the 1955 System.[119]

Historically influenced by Chinese law, the Japanese legal system developed independently during the Edo
period through texts such as Kujikata Osadamegaki.[120] Since the late 19th century, the judicial system has
been largely based on the 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.[121] The Emperor Naruhito, current head of
Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947, is the oldest unamended constitution in the world.[122] Statutory law state, and Empress Masako
participated in the Imperial
originates in the legislature, and the constitution requires that the emperor promulgate legislation passed by the
Procession by motorcar after the
Diet without giving him the power to oppose legislation. The main body of Japanese statutory law is called the
Ceremony of the Enthronement in
Six Codes.[120] Japan's court system is divided into four basic tiers: the Supreme Court and three levels of lower Tokyo on November 10, 2019.
courts.[123]

Administrative divisions
Japan is divided into 47 prefectures, each overseen by an elected governor and legislature.[114] In the following
table, the prefectures are grouped by region:[124]

The National Diet Building

Hokkaido Tōhoku Kantō Chūbu

1. Hokkaido 2. Aomori 8. Ibaraki 15. Niigata

3. Iwate 9. Tochigi 16. Toyama
4. Miyagi 10. Gunma 17. Ishikawa
5. Akita 11. Saitama 18. Fukui
6. Yamagata 12. Chiba 19. Yamanashi
7. Fukushima 13. Tokyo 20. Nagano
14. Kanagawa 21. Gifu
22. Shizuoka
23. Aichi

Kansai Chūgoku Shikoku Kyūshū

24. Mie 31. Tottori 36. Tokushima 40. Fukuoka

25. Shiga 32. Shimane 37. Kagawa 41. Saga
26. Kyoto 33. Okayama 38. Ehime 42. Nagasaki
27. Osaka 34. Hiroshima 39. Kōchi 43. Kumamoto
28. Hyōgo 35. Yamaguchi 44. Ōita
Prefectures of Japan with colored regions
29. Nara 45. Miyazaki
30. Wakayama 46. Kagoshima
47. Okinawa

Foreign relations
A member state of the United Nations since 1956, Japan is one of the G4 countries seeking reform of the
Security Council.[125] Japan is a member of the G7, APEC, and "ASEAN Plus Three", and is a participant in
the East Asia Summit.[126] It is the world's fifth-largest donor of official development assistance, donating
US$9.2 billion in 2014.[127] In 2024, Japan had the fourth-largest diplomatic network in the world.[128]

Japan has close economic and military relations with the United States, with which it maintains a security
alliance.[129] 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.[129] In 2016, Japan
announced the Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision, which frames its regional policies.[130][131] Japan is also
Japan is a member of both the G7 and the
a member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue ("the Quad"), a multilateral security dialogue reformed
G20.
in 2017 aiming to limit Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region, along with the United States,
Australia, and India.[132][133]