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 a major economic power.

Geographic coordinates: 36 00 N 138 00 E

Map reference: Asia

Area
Total: 377,915 km²
Rank: 61
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: 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 Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or Tsushima Strait
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
Extremes lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m
Extremes highest point: Fujiyama 3,776 m

Natural resources: negligible mineral resources fish
Note: with virtually no energy natural resources Japan is the world's largest importer of coal and liquefied natural gas as well as the second largest importer of oil

Land use
Arable land: 11.64%
Permanent crops: 0.9%
Other: 87.46% (2005)

Irrigated land: 25,920 km² (2003)

Total renewable water resources: 430 km³ (1999)

Natural hazards: many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons
Volcanism: both Unzen (elev. 1500 m 4,621 ft) and Sakura-jima (elev. 1117 m 3,665 ft) which lies near the densely populated city of Kagoshima have been deemed 'Decade Volcanoes' by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior worthy of study due to their explosive history and close proximity to human populations; other notable historically active volcanoes include Asama Honshu Island's most active volcano Aso Bandai Fuji Iwo-Jima Kikai Kirishima Komaga-take Oshima Suwanosejima Tokachi Yake-dake and Usu

Geography
Note: strategic location in northeast Asia

Population: 126,804,433 (July 2010 est.)
Rank: 10
Growth rate: -0.242% (2010 est.)
Growth rate rank: 215
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Japanese
Adjective: Japanese

Ethnic groups: Japanese 98.5% Koreans 0.5% Chinese 0.4% other 0.6%
Note: up to 230,000 Brazilians of Japanese origin migrated to Japan in the 1990s to work in industries; some have returned to Brazil (2004)

Languages: Japanese

Religions: Shintoism 83.9% Buddhism 71.4% Christianity 2% other 7.8%
Note: total adherents exceeds 100% because many people belong to both Shintoism and Buddhism (2005)

Age structure
0-14 years: 13.5%
15-64 years: 64.3% (male 41,187,425/female 40,533,876)
65 years and over: 22.2% (male 11,964,694/female 16,243,419) (2010 est.)

Median age
Total: 44.6 years
Male: 42.9 years
Female: 46.5 years (2010 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.242% (2010 est.)
Rank: 215

Birth rate: 7.41 births/1000 population (2010 est.)
Rank: 222

Death rate: 9.83 deaths/1000 population (July 2010 est.)
Rank: 60

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population
Rank: 96

Urbanization
Urban population: 66% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 0.2% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

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
International agreements party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol Antarctic-Marine Living Resources Antarctic Seals Antarctic Treaty Biodiversity Climate Change Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification Endangered Species Environmental Modification Hazardous Wastes Law of the Sea Marine Dumping Ozone Layer Protection Ship Pollution Tropical Timber 83 Tropical Timber 94 Wetlands Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.056 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2010 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 2.79 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 219
Male: 2.98 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 2.58 deaths/1000 live births (2010 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 82.17 years
Rank: 5
Male: 78.87 years
Female: 85.66 years (2010 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.2 children born/woman (2010 est.)
Rank: 220

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2003 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 150
People living with hivaids: 9,600 (2007 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 107
Deaths: fewer than 100 (2007 est.)
Deaths rank: 141

Education expenditures: 3.7% of GDP (2007)
Rank: 126

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 99%
Male: 99%
Female: 99% (2002)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 15 years
Male: 15 years
Female: 15 years (2008)

Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Japan
Local long form: Nihon-koku/Nippon-koku
Local short form: Nihon/Nippon

Government type: a parliamentary government with a 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)

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

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

National holiday: Birthday of Emperor AKIHITO 23 December (1933)

Constitution: 3 May 1947

Legal system: modeled after European civil law systems with English-American influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Emperor AKIHITO
Head of government: Prime Minister Naoto KAN (since 8 June 2010)
Cabinet: Cabinet is appointed by the prime minister
Elections: Diet designates the prime minister; constitution requires that the prime minister commands parliamentary majority; following legislative elections the leader of majority party or leader of majority coalition in House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister; the monarchy is hereditary

Legislative branch: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party (by proportional representation) - DPJ 42.4% LDP 26.7% NK 11.5% JCP 7.0% SDP 4.3% others 8.1%; seats by party - DPJ 308 LDP 119 NK 21 JCP 9 SDP 7 others 16 (2009)
Elections: House of Councillors - last held on 11 July 2010 (next to be held in July 2013); House of Representatives - last held on 30 August 2009 (next to be held by August 2013)
Election results: House of Councillors - percent of vote by party - DPJ 31.6% LDP 24.1% YP 13.6% NK 13.1% JCP 6.1% SDP 3.8% others 7.7%; seats by party - DPJ 106 LDP 84 NK 19 YP 11 JCP 6 SDP 4 others 12

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the monarch after designation by the cabinet; all other justices are appointed by the cabinet)

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ [Naoto KAN]; Japan Communist Party or JCP [Kazuo SHII]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Sadakazu TANIGAKI]; New Komeito or NK [Natsuo YAMAGUCHI]; People's New Party or PNP [Shizuka KAMEI]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Mizuho FUKUSHIMA]; Your Party or YP [Yoshimi WATANABE]

International organization participation: ADB AfDB (nonregional member) APEC ARF ASEAN (dialogue partner) Australia Group BIS CERN (observer) CICA (observer) CP EAS EBRD FAO FATF G-20 G-5 G-7 G-8 G-10 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICCt ICRM IDA IEA IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO IMSO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITSO ITU ITUC LAIA (observer) MIGA NEA NSG OAS (observer) OECD OPCW OSCE (partner) Paris Club PCA PIF (partner) SAARC (observer) SECI (observer) UN UNCTAD UNDOF UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNMIS UNRWA UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Ichiro FUJISAKI
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 consulate general: Atlanta Boston Chicago Denver Detroit Agana (Guam) Honolulu Houston Los Angeles Miami New York Portland (Oregon) San Francisco Seattle
In the us consulate: Anchorage Nashville
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador John V. ROOS
From the us embassy: 1-10-5 Akasaka Minato-ku Tokyo 107-8,420
From the us mailing address: Unit 9,800 Box 300 APO AP 96,303-0300
From the us telephone: [81] (03) 3,224-5,000
From the us fax: [81] (03) 3,505-1862
From the us consulate general: Naha (Okinawa) Osaka-Kobe Sapporo
From the us consulate: Fukuoka Nagoya

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

National anthem
Name: 'Kimigayo'
Lyricsmusic: unknown/Hiromori HAYASHI
Note: adopted 1999; in use as 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

Economy overview: In the years following World War II government-industry cooperation a strong work ethic mastery of high technology and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of GDP) helped Japan develop a technologically advanced economy. Two notable characteristics of the post-war economy were the close interlocking structures of manufacturers suppliers and distributors known as keiretsu and the guarantee of lifetime employment for a substantial portion of the urban labor force. Both features are now eroding under the dual pressures of global competition and domestic demographic change. Japan's industrial sector is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. A tiny agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected with crop yields among the highest in the world. Usually self sufficient in rice Japan imports about 60% of its food on a caloric basis. Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch. For three decades overall real economic growth had been spectacular - a 10% average in the 1960s a 5% average in the 1970s and a 4% average in the 1980s. Growth slowed markedly in the 1990s averaging just 1.7% largely because of the after effects of inefficient investment and an asset price bubble in the late 1980s that required a protracted period of time for firms to reduce excess debt capital and labor. The Japanese financial sector was not heavily exposed to sub-prime mortgages or their derivative instruments and weathered the initial effect of the recent global credit crunch but a sharp downturn in business investment and global demand for Japan's exports in late 2008 pushed Japan further into recession. Government stimulus spending helped the economy recover in late 2009 and 2010 but Tokyo is warning that GDP growth will slow in 2011. Prime Minister Kan's government has proposed opening the agricultural and services sectors to greater foreign competition and boosting exports through free-trade agreements but debate continues on restructuring the economy and funding new stimulus programs in the face of a tight fiscal situation. Japan's huge government debt which is approaching 200 percent of GDP persistent deflation and an aging and shrinking population are major complications for the economy.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 4
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 125

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 38
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 1.5%
Industry: 22.8%
Services: 75.7% (2010 est.)

Agriculture products: rice sugar beets vegetables fruit; pork poultry dairy products eggs; fish

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

Industrial production growth rate: 7.5% (2010 est.)
Rank: 33

Labor force: 65.64 million (2010 est.)
Rank: 9
By occupation agriculture: 4%
By occupation industry: 28%
By occupation services: 68% (2009 est.)

Unemployment rate: 5.1% (2009 est.)
Rank: 49

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 4.8%
Highest 10: 21.7% (1993)

Distribution of family income gini index: 24.9 (1993)
Rank: 74

Public debt: 192.9% of GDP (2009 est.)
Rank: 2

Inflation rate consumer prices: -1.4% (2009 est.)
Rank: 7

Central bank discount rate: 0.3% (31 December 2008)
Rank: 139

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 1.91% (31 December 2008 est.)
Rank: 155

Stock of narrow money: $5.162 trillion (31 December 2009 est)
Rank: 3

Stock of broad money: $14.56 trillion (31 December 2008)
Rank: 2

Stock of domestic credit: $13.32 trillion (31 December 2007 est.)
Rank: 3

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 3

Current account balance: $142.2 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 2

Exports: $545.3 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 5
Commodities: transport equipment motor vehicles semiconductors electrical machinery chemicals
Partners: China 18.88% US 16.42% South Korea 8.13% Taiwan 6.27% Hong Kong 5.49% (2009)

Imports: $501.6 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 5
Commodities: machinery and equipment fuels foodstuffs chemicals textiles raw materials
Partners: China 22.2% US 10.96% Australia 6.29% Saudi Arabia 5.29% UAE 4.12% South Korea 3.98% Indonesia 3.95% (2009)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

Debt external: $2.231 trillion (31 December 2008)
Rank: 6

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $147.2 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 24

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $738.5 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 7

Exchange rates: yen (JPY) per US dollar - 88.67 (2010) 93.57 (2009) 103.58 (2008) 117.99 (2007) 116.18 (2006)

Electricity
Production: 957.9 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Production rank: 4
Consumption: 925.5 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Consumption rank: 4
Exports: 0 kWh (2008 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2008 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 3.539 billion m³ (2009 est.)
Production rank: 50
Consumption: 94.67 billion m³ (2009 est.)
Consumption rank: 6
Exports: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Exports rank: 84
Imports: 90.29 billion m³ (2009 est.)
Imports rank: 3
Proven reserves: 20.9 billion m³ (1 January 2010 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 76

Telephones
Main lines in use: 44.364 million (2009)
Main lines in use rank: 5
Mobile cellular: 114.917 million (2009)
Mobile cellular rank: 7

Telephone system
General assessment: excellent domestic and international service
Domestic: high level of modern technology and excellent service of every kind
International: country code - 81; numerous submarine cables provide links throughout Asia Australia the Middle East Europe and US; satellite earth stations - 7 Intelsat (Pacific and Indian Oceans) 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) 3 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions) and 8 SkyPerfect JSAT (2008)

Broadcast media: a mixture of public and commercial broadcast TV and radio stations; 5 national terrestrial television 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 (2008)

Internet
Country code: .jp
Hosts: 54.846 million (2010)
Hosts rank: 2
Users: 99.182 million (2009)
Users rank: 3

Military expenditures: 0.8% of GDP (2006)
Rank: 148

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service (2001)

Airports: 176 (2010)
Rank: 34
With paved runways total: 144
With paved runways over 3047 m: 7
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 44
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 38
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 28
With paved runways under 914 m: 27 (2010)
With unpaved runways total: 32
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 4
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 28 (2010)

Heliports: 15 (2010)

Pipelines: gas 3,879 km; oil 167 km; oil/gas/water 53 km (2009)

Railways
Total: 26,435 km
Rank: 11
Standard gauge: 3,978 km 1.435-m gauge (3,978 km electrified)
Narrow gauge: 96 km 1.372-m gauge (96 km electrified); 22,313 km 1.067-m gauge (15,235 km electrified); 48 km 0.762-m gauge (48 km electrified) (2009)

Roadways
Total: 1,203,777 km
Rank: 5
Paved: 961,366 km (includes 7,560 km of expressways)
Unpaved: 242,411 km (2008)

Waterways: 1770 km (seagoing vessels use inland seas) (2010)
Rank: 47

Merchant marine
Total: 673
Rank: 16
By type: bulk carrier 152 cargo 31 carrier 3 chemical tanker 28 container 2 liquefied gas 63 passenger 12 passenger/cargo 120 petroleum tanker 152 refrigerated cargo 4 roll on/roll off 52 vehicle carrier 54
Foreign owned: 1 (Norway 1)
Registered in other countries: 3,064 (Bahamas 93 Belize 1 Bermuda 2 Burma 1 Cambodia 2 Cayman Islands 19 China 2 Cyprus 19 Honduras 4 Hong Kong 84 Indonesia 7 Isle of Man 15 Liberia 102 Malaysia 4 Malta 5 Marshall Islands 41 Netherlands 1 Panama 2,347 Philippines 82 Portugal 9 Saint Kitts and Nevis 3 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 3 Sierra Leone 3 Singapore 146 South Korea 15 Thailand 2 UK 4 Vanuatu 44 unknown 4) (2010)

Ports and terminals: Chiba Kawasaki Kobe Mizushima Moji Nagoya Osaka Tokyo Tomakomai Yokohama

Disputes international: the sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu Kunashiri and Shikotan and the Habomai group known in Japan as the 'Northern Territories' and in Russia as the 'Southern Kuril Islands' occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945 now administered by Russia and claimed by Japan remains the primary sticking point to signing a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities; Japan and South Korea claim Liancourt Rocks (Take-shima/Tok-do) occupied by South Korea since 1954; China and Taiwan dispute both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea the site of intensive hydrocarbon prospecting