Map of Japan | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background: In 1603, after decades of civil warfare, the Tokugawa shogunate (a military-led, dynastic government) ushered in a long period of relative political stability and isolation from foreign influence. For more than two centuries this policy enabled Japan to enjoy a flowering of its indigenous culture. Japan opened its ports after signing the Treaty of Kanagawa with the US in 1854 and began to intensively modernize and industrialize. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Japan became a regional power that was able to defeat the forces of both China and Russia. It occupied Korea, Formosa (Taiwan), and southern Sakhalin Island. In 1931-32 Japan occupied Manchuria, and in 1937 it launched a full-scale invasion of China. Japan attacked US forces in 1941 - triggering America's entry into World War II - and soon occupied much of East and Southeast Asia. After its defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become an economic power and an ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, elected politicians hold actual decision-making power. Following three decades of unprecedented growth, Japan's economy experienced a major slowdown starting in the 1990s, but the country remains an economic power. In March 2011, Japan's strongest-ever earthquake, and an accompanying tsunami, devastated the northeast part of Honshu island, killed thousands, and damaged several nuclear power plants. Prime Minister ABE Shinzo was reelected to office in December 2012, and embarked on ambitious economic and security reforms to improve Japan's economy and bolster the country's international standing. In November 2019, ABE became Japan's longest-serving post-war prime minister; he resigned in September 2020 and was succeeded by SUGA Yoshihide. KISHIDA Fumio became prime minister in October 2021.


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Location: Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula

Geographic coordinates: 36 00 N, 138 00 E

Map reference: Asia

Area
Total: 377,915 km²
Land: 364,485 km²
Water: 13,430 km²
Note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto)
Comparative: slightly smaller than California

Land boundaries
Total: 0 km

Coastline: 29,751 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm; between 3 nm and 12 nm in the international straits - La Perouse or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and the Korea and Tsushima Straits
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate: varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north

Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous

Elevation
Highest point: Mount Fuji 3,776 m
Lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m
Mean elevation: 438 m

Natural resources: negligible mineral resources, fish; note - with virtually no natural energy resources, Japan is almost totally dependent on foreign, imported sources of energy

Land use
Agricultural land: 12.5% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 11.7% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 0.8% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 0% (2018 est.)
Forest: 68.5% (2018 est.)
Other: 19% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 15,730 km² (2014)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 14.8 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 10.3 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 53.3 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 430 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Natural hazards: many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors but occasional severe earthquakes) every year; tsunamis; typhoons

Geography
Note 1: strategic location in northeast Asia; composed of four main islands (the "Home Islands") - from north: Hokkaido, Honshu (the largest, most populous, and site of Tokyo, the capital), Shikoku, and Kyushu  
Note 2: a 2023 Geospatial Information Authority of Japan survey technically detected 100,000 islands and islets, but only the 14,125 islands with a circumference of at least 100 m (330 ft) were officially counted; only about 260 of the islands are inhabited
Note 3: Japan annually records the most earthquakes in the world; it is one of the countries along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire


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Population
Distribution: all primary and secondary regions of high population density lie on the coast; one-third of the population resides in and around Tokyo on the central plain (Kanto Plain): 123,719,238 (2023 est.)
Growth rate: -0.41% (2023 est.)
Below poverty line: 16.1% (2013 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Japanese (singular and plural)
Adjective: Japanese

Ethnic groups: Japanese 97.9%, Chinese 0.6%, Korean 0.4%, other 1.1% (includes Vietnamese, Filipino, and Brazilian) (2017 est.)
Note: data represent population by nationality; up to 230,000 Brazilians of Japanese origin migrated to Japan in the 1990s to work in industries; some have returned to Brazil

Languages: Japanese
Major-language samples:

Religions: Shintoism 70.5%, Buddhism 67.2%, Christianity 1.5%, other 5.9% (2019 est.)
Note: total adherents exceeds 100% because many people practice both Shintoism and Buddhism

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 12.29% (male 7,835,474/female 7,370,449)
15-64 years: 58.49% (male 36,378,186/female 35,981,176)
65 years and over: 29.22% (2023 est.) (male 15,909,031/female 20,244,922)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 71.1
Youth dependency ratio: 20.1
Elderly dependency ratio: 51
Potential support ratio: 2 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 49.5 years (2023 est.)
Male: 48 years
Female: 50.9 years

Population growth rate: -0.41% (2023 est.)

Birth rate: 6.9 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate: 11.7 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution: all primary and secondary regions of high population density lie on the coast; one-third of the population resides in and around Tokyo on the central plain (Kanto Plain)

Urbanization
Urban population: 92% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: -0.25% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 37.194 million TOKYO (capital), 19.013 million Osaka, 9.569 million Nagoya, 5.490 million Kitakyushu-Fukuoka, 2.937 million Shizuoka-Hamamatsu, 2.666 million Sapporo (2023)

Environment
Current issues: air pollution from power plant emissions results in acid rain; acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality and threatening aquatic life; Japan is one of the largest consumers of fish and tropical timber, contributing to the depletion of these resources in Asia and elsewhere; following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japan originally planned to phase out nuclear power, but it has now implemented a new policy of seeking to restart nuclear power plants that meet strict new safety standards; waste management is an ongoing issue; Japanese municipal facilities used to burn high volumes of trash, but air pollution issues forced the government to adopt an aggressive recycling policy
International agreements party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands
International agreements signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 10.84 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 1,135.89 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 29.99 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 30.7 years (2018 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio: 4 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 1.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Male: 2 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 1.8 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 85 years (2023 est.)
Male: 82.1 years
Female: 88.1 years

Total fertility rate: 1.39 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 39.8% (2015)
Note: percent of women aged 20-49

Drinking water source
Improved urban: NA
Improved rural: NA
Improved total: 99.1% of population
Unimproved urban: NA
Unimproved rural: NA
Unimproved total: 0.1% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure: 10.9% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density: 2.48 physicians/1,000 population (2018)

Hospital bed density: 13 beds/1,000 population (2018)

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban:
Unimproved urban:

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 4.3% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 8.36 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 1.35 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 0.29 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 1.63 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 5.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use
Total: 20.1% (2020 est.)
Male: 30.1% (2020 est.)
Female: 10% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: NA

Education expenditures: 3.4% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy
Total population: NA
Male: NA
Female: NA

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 15 years
Male: 15 years
Female: 15 years (2019)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 4.4% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 4.6%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 4.1%


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Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Japan
Local long form: Nihon-koku/Nippon-koku
Local short form: Nihon/Nippon
Etymology: the English word for Japan comes via the Chinese name for the country "Cipangu"; both Nihon and Nippon mean "where the sun originates" and are frequently translated as "Land of the Rising Sun"

Government type: parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Capital
Name: Tokyo
Geographic coordinates: 35 41 N, 139 45 E
Time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Etymology: originally known as Edo, meaning "estuary" in Japanese, the name was changed to Tokyo, meaning "eastern capital," in 1868

Administrative divisions: 47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gunma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi

Dependent areas

Independence: 3 May 1947 (current constitution adopted as amendment to Meiji Constitution); notable earlier dates: 11 February 660 B.C. (mythological date of the founding of the nation by Emperor JIMMU); 29 November 1890 (Meiji Constitution provides for constitutional monarchy)

National holiday: Birthday of Emperor NARUHITO, 23 February (1960); note - celebrates the birthday of the current emperor

Constitution
History: previous 1890; latest approved 6 October 1946, adopted 3 November 1946, effective 3 May 1947
Amendments: proposed by the Diet; passage requires approval by at least two-thirds majority of both houses of the Diet and approval by majority in a referendum; note - the constitution has not been amended since its enactment in 1947

Legal system: civil law system based on German model; system also reflects Anglo-American influence and Japanese traditions; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Japan
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Emperor NARUHITO (since 1 May 2019); note - succeeds his father who abdicated on 30 April 2019
Head of government: Prime Minister Fumio KISHIDA (since 4 October 2021 )
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister
Elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; the leader of the majority party or majority coalition in the House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister
Election results: Fumio KISHIDA reelected prime minister on 10 November 2021; upper house vote - Fumio KISHIDA (LDP) 141, Yukio EDANO 60 (CDP); lower house vote - Fumio KISHIDA 297, Yukio EDANO 108

Legislative branch
Description:
Elections:
Election results:
Note: the Diet in June 2017 redrew Japan's electoral district boundaries and reduced from 475 to 465 seats in the House of Representatives; the amended electoral law, which cuts 6 seats in single-seat districts and 4 in multi-seat districts, was reportedly intended to reduce voting disparities between densely and sparsely populated voting districts

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Court or Saiko saibansho (consists of the chief justice and 14 associate justices); note - the Supreme Court has jurisdiction in constitutional issues
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court chief justice designated by the Cabinet and appointed by the monarch; associate justices appointed by the Cabinet and confirmed by the monarch; all justices are reviewed in a popular referendum at the first general election of the House of Representatives following each judge's appointment and every 10 years afterward
Subordinate courts: 8 High Courts (Koto-saiban-sho), each with a Family Court (Katei-saiban-sho); 50 District Courts (Chiho saibansho), with 203 additional branches; 438 Summary Courts (Kani saibansho)

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: ADB, AfDB (nonregional member), APEC, Arctic Council (observer), ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CD, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CICA (observer), CP, CPLP (associate), EAS, EBRD, EITI (implementing country), FAO, FATF, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, G-20, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAIA (observer), MIGA, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), Quad, SAARC (observer), SELEC (observer), SICA (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNMISS, UNOOSA, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador TOMITA Koji (since 17 February 2021)
In the us chancery: 2,520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 238-6,700
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 328-2,187
In the us email address and website: [link]
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Rahm EMANUEL (since 25 March 2022)
From the us embassy: 1-10-5 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8,420
From the us mailing address: 9,800 Tokyo Place, Washington DC 20,521-9,800
From the us telephone: [81] (03) 3,224-5,000
From the us FAX: [81] (03) 3,224-5,856
From the us email address and website:

Flag description: white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center

National symbols: red sun disc, chrysanthemum; national colors: red, white

National anthem
Name: "Kimigayo" (The Emperor's Reign)
Lyrics/music: unknown/Hiromori HAYASHI
Note: adopted 1999; unofficial national anthem since 1883; oldest anthem lyrics in the world, dating to the 10th century or earlier; there is some opposition to the anthem because of its association with militarism and worship of the emperor

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 25 (20 cultural, 5 natural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:


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Economy overview: fourth-largest, trade-oriented, and diversified economy; highly indebted country; slow wage growth and declining labor force; still heavily hydrocarbon-reliant; central bank keeping negative interest rates amid modest inflation; increased military spending; stagnant tourism sector

Real gdp purchasing power parity:

Real gdp growth rate:

Real gdp per capita:

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 55.5% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 19.6% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 24% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 0% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 17.7% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -16.8% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 1.1% (2017 est.)
Industry: 30.1% (2017 est.)
Services: 68.7% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: rice, milk, sugar beets, vegetables, eggs, poultry, potatoes, cabbages, onions, pork

Industries: among world's largest and most technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles, processed foods

Industrial production growth rate: -4.33% (2020 est.)

Labor force: 68.629 million (2021 est.)

Unemployment rate:

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 4.4% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 4.6%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 4.1%

Population below poverty line: 16.1% (2013 est.)

Gini index
Coefficient distribution of family income: 32.9 (2013 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10%: 2.7%
Highest 10%: 24.8% (2008)

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $1.756 trillion (2019 est.)
Expenditures: $1.916 trillion (2019 est.)
Surplus  or deficit: -3.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 35.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Public debt:

Revenue
From forest resources: 0.02% of GDP (2018 est.)
From coal: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices:

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance:

Exports:
Partners: China 21%, US 18%, South Korea 7%, Taiwan 7%, Thailand 4% (2021)
Commodities: cars and vehicle parts, integrated circuits, general machinery, photo lab equipment, construction vehicles, semiconductors (2021)

Imports:
Partners: China 24%, US 10%, Australia 7%, South Korea 4%, Taiwan 4% (2021)
Commodities: crude petroleum, natural gas, integrated circuits, coal, refined petroleum, iron (2021)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

Debt external:

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access electrification-total population: 100% (2021)
Installed generating capacity: 348.666 million kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 903,698,740,000 kWh (2019 est.)
Exports: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 44.094 billion kWh (2019 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 73.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 4.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources solar: 8.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources wind: 1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 10% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources geothermal: 0.3% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 1.6% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Coal
Production: 29.84 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Consumption: 210.882 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Exports: 3.201 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Imports: 174.486 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 350 million metric tons (2019 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 10,200 bbl/day (2021 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 3,739,300 bbl/day (2019 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate imports: 3,012,800 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 44.1 million barrels (2021 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 3.467 million bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products exports: 370,900 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products imports: 1.1 million bbl/day (2017 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 1,928,431,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)
Consumption: 102,108,738,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
Exports: 28,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
Imports: 105,255,103,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
Proven reserves: 20.898 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)
Note: Japan had been the largest global liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer until 2021 when it was exceeded by China; prior to 2021, Japan had been the largest importer of LNG for 51 years; Japan has the largest LNG storage tank capacity in the world, or about 643 million cubic feet (MMcf) as of early 2020; in 2019, Japan sourced 28% of its LNG imports from regional suppliers in Southeast Asia and 39% from Australia

Carbon dioxide emissions: 1,103,234,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 439.243 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 444.271 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 219.72 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 147.107 million Btu/person (2019 est.)


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 60,720,856 (2022 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 49 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 200,478,808 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 161 (2021 est.)

Telephone system

Broadcast media: a mixture of public and commercial broadcast TV and radio stations; 6 national terrestrial TV networks including 1 public broadcaster; the large number of radio and TV stations available provide a wide range of choices; satellite and cable services provide access to international channels (2019)

Internet
Country code: .jp
Users total: 99.6 million (2021 est.)
Users percent of population: 83% (2021 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 44,000,791 (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 35 (2020 est.)


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Military expenditures:
Note: the Japanese Government in 2022 pledged to increase defense expenditures to 2% of GDP in line with NATO standards by 2,028; if the planned increase occurs, Japan would have one of the world's largest defense budgets

Military and security forces: Japan Self-Defense Force (JSDF): Ground Self-Defense Force (Rikujou Jieitai, GSDF; includes aviation), Maritime Self-Defense Force (Kaijou Jieitai, MSDF; includes naval aviation), Air Self-Defense Force (Koukuu Jieitai, ASDF) (2023)
Note: the Coast Guard is under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism; it is barred by law from operating as a military force, but in times of conflict Article 80 of the 1954 Self-Defense Forces Act permits the transfer of control of the coast guard to the Ministry of Defense with Cabinet approval

Military service age and obligation: 18-32 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; no conscription (2023)
Note: as of 2023, women made up about 9% of the military's full-time personnel

Space program
Overview: has one of the world’s largest and most advanced space programs with independent capabilities in all areas of space categories except for autonomous manned space flight; designs, builds, launches, and operates the full spectrum of satellites, including communications, remote sensing (RS), astronomical observation, scientific, and navigational/positional; designs, builds, and independently launches satellite/space launch vehicles (SLVs) and other spacecraft, including interplanetary and Lunar probes, space station modules and space labs, and space transportation systems; has a wide range of research and development programs, including reusable SLVs, space-based astronomy, spacecraft components, robotics, solar sails, radio waves, and space plasma; has an astronaut training program; participates in international space programs, including the International Space Station (ISS), leading the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum, and co-leading the Global Earth Observation System of Systems; cooperates with a variety of foreign space agencies and industries, including those of Canada, the European Space Agency (ESA) and its individual member states, India, Russia, the UAE, the US, and a range of other countries and space agencies throughout Africa, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific regions; has a substantial commercial space industry that develops an array of space-related capabilities and technologies, including satellites, satellite payloads and subcomponents, and SLVs; in 2018, the Japanese Government announced the establishment of a $950 million venture capital fund to support the development of Japanese space startup companies (2023)
Overview note: further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in space programs

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 22 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 673
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 126,387,527 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 9,420,660,000 (2018) mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: JA

Airports: 175 (2021)
With paved runways: 142
With paved runways note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
With unpaved runways: 33
With unpaved runways note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control

Heliports: 16 (2021)

Pipelines: 4,456 km gas, 174 km oil, 104 km oil/gas/water (2013)

Railways
Total: 27,311 km (2015)
Standard gauge: 4,800 km (2015) 1.435-m gauge (4,800 km electrified)
Narrow gauge: 124 km (2015) 1.372-m gauge (124 km electrified)
Dual gauge:

Roadways
Total: 1,218,772 km (2015)
Paved: 992,835 km (2015) (includes 8,428 km of expressways)
Unpaved: 225,937 km (2015)

Waterways: 1,770 km (2010) (seagoing vessels use inland seas)

Merchant marine
Total: 5,590 (2022)
By type: bulk carrier 149, container ship 47, general cargo 2,071, oil tanker 690, other 2,633

Ports and terminals
Major seaports: Chiba, Kawasaki, Kobe, Mizushima, Moji, Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo, Tomakomai, Yokohama
Container ports teus: Kobe (2,823,774), Nagoya (2,725,597), Osaka (2,425,638), Tokyo (4,325,956), Yokohama (2,861,197) (2021)
Lng terminals import:


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Disputes international: Japan-China-Taiwan: the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Tai) are also claimed by China and Taiwan; Senkaku-shoto is situated near key shipping lanes, rich fishing grounds, and possibly significant oil and natural gas reserves

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Stateless persons: 531 (2022)

Illicit drugs