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. The catastrophe hobbled the country's economy and its energy infrastructure and tested its ability to deal with humanitarian disasters. Prime Minister Shinzo ABE was reelected to office in December 2012 and has since embarked on ambitious economic and security reforms to improve Japan’s economy and bolster the country’s international standing.

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 Daito-shoto Minami-jima Okino-tori-shima Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto) and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto)
Rank: 62
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: Mount Fuji 3,776 m

Natural resources: negligible mineral resources fish
Note: with virtually no natural energy 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
Agricultural land: 12.5%
Forest: 68.5%
Other: 19%

Irrigated land: 25,000 km² (2010)

Total renewable water resources: 430 km³ (2011)

Natural hazards: many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors but occasional severe earthquakes) every year; tsunamis; typhoons
Volcanism: both Unzen and Sakura-jima (elev. 1117 m) 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: 126,919,659 (July 2015 est.)
Rank: 11
Growth rate: -0.16% (2015 est.)
Growth rate rank: 212
Below poverty line: 16.1% (2013 est.)

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

Languages: Japanese

Religions: Shintoism 79.2% Buddhism 66.8% Christianity 1.5% other 7.1%
Note: total adherents exceeds 100% because many people practice both Shintoism and Buddhism

Age structure
0-14 years: 13.11%
15-24 years: 9.68%
25-54 years: 37.87%
55-64 years: 12.76%
65 years and over: 26.59% (2015 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 64.5%
Youth dependency ratio: 21.1%
Elderly dependency ratio: 43.3%
Potential support ratio: 2.3%

Median age
Total: 46.5 years
Male: 45.2 years
Female: 47.9 years

Population growth rate: -0.16% (2015 est.)
Rank: 212

Birth rate: 7.93 births/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 222

Death rate: 9.51 deaths/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 54

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 93

Urbanization
Urban population: 93.5% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 0.56% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: TOKYO (capital) 38.001 million; Osaka-Kobe 20.238 million; Nagoya 9.406 million; Kitakyushu-Fukuoka 5.51 million; Shizuoka-Hamamatsu 3.369 million; Sapporo 2.571 million (2015)

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 now seeks to make itself nuclear free by the 2,030s
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: 1.06 male/female
0-14 years: 1.07 male/female
15-24 years: 1.1 male/female
25-54 years: 0.98 male/female
55-64 years: 1 male/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male/female
Total population: 0.94 male/female

Infant mortality rate
Total: 2.08 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 2.31 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 1.84 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 222

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 84.74 years
Male: 81.4 years
Female: 88.26 years
Rank: 2

Total fertility rate: 1.4 children born/woman (2015 est.)
Rank: 211

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 54.3%
Note: percent of women aged 20-49

Drinking water source:

Physicians density: 2.3 physicians/1000 population (2010)

Hospital bed density: 13.7 beds/1000 population (2009)

Sanitation facility access:

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 3.5% (2014)
Rank: 157

Education expenditures: 3.8% of GDP (2012)
Rank: 115

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

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

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: previous 1890; latest approved 6 October 1946 adopted 3 November 1946 effective 3 May 1947 (2013)

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

Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Emperor AKIHITO
Head of government: Prime Minister Shinzo ABE ; Deputy Prime Minister Taro ASO (since 26 December 2012)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister
Electionsappointments: the monarchy is hereditary; the leader of the majority party or majority coalition in the House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister

Legislative branch
Description: bicameral Diet or Kokkai consists of the House of Councillors or Sangi-in and the House of Representatives or Shugi-in (475 seats; 295 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 180 directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve maximum 4-year terms with one-half of the membership renewed every 2 years)
Elections: House of Councillors - last held on 21 July 2013 ; House of Representatives - last held on 14 December 2014 (next to be held by 15 December 2016)
Election results: House of Councillors - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LPD 115 DPJ 59 New Komeito 20 Your Party 18 JCP 11 JRP 9 SDP 3 others 4 independents 3: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - LDP 61.26% DPJ 15.37% JIP 8.63% New Komeito 7.37% JCP 4.42% PFG .42% SDP .42% PLP .42% independents 1.68%; seats by party - LDP 291 DPJ 73 JIP 41 New Komeito 35 JCP 21 PFG 2 SDP 2 PLP 2 independents 8
Note: the 2013 amended electoral law - effective for the December 2016 election - reduced to 475 the number of seats in the House of Representatives

Judicial branch
Highest court: Supreme Court or Saiko saibansho ; 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 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) SAARC (observer) SELEC (observer) SICA (observer) UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNMISS UNRWA UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Kenichiro SASAE
In the us chancery: 2,520 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] 238-6,700
In the us FAX: [1] 328-2,187
In the us consulate general: Anchorage Atlanta Boston Chicago Dallas Denver (CO) Detroit (MI) Honolulu (HI) Houston Las Vegas (NV) Los Angeles Miami Nashville (TN) New Orleans New York Oklahoma City (OK) Orlando (FL) Philadelphia (PA) Phoenix (AZ) Portland (OR) San Francisco Seattle Saipan (Puerto Rico) Tamuning (Guam)
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Caroline Bouvier KENNEDY
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] 3,224-5,000
From the us FAX: [81] 3,505-1862
From the us consulate general: Naha 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 symbols: red sun disc chrysanthemum; national colors: red white

National anthem
Name: 'Kimigayo'
Lyrics and 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

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 an 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. Scarce in many natural resources Japan has long been dependent on imported raw materials. Since the complete shutdown of Japan’s nuclear reactors after the earthquake and tsunami disaster in 2011 Japan's industrial sector has become even more dependent than it was previously on imported fossil fuels. A small agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected with crop yields among the highest in the world. While self-sufficient in rice production Japan imports about 60% of its food on a caloric basis. For three decades overall real economic growth had been impressive - 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 aftereffects 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. Modest economic growth continued after 2000 but the economy has fallen into recession four times since 2008. Government stimulus spending helped the economy recover in late 2009 and 2010 but the economy contracted again in 2011 as the massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake and the ensuing tsunami in March of that year disrupted manufacturing. The economy has largely recovered in the four years since the disaster although reconstruction in the affected Tohoku region has lagged in part due to a shortage of labor in the construction sector. Japan enjoyed a sharp uptick in growth in 2013 on the basis of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s “Three Arrows” economic revitalization agenda - dubbed “Abenomics” - of monetary easing “flexible” fiscal policy and structural reform. Abe’s government has replaced the preceding administration’s plan to phase out nuclear power with a new policy of seeking to restart nuclear power plants that meet strict new safety standards and emphasizing nuclear energy’s importance as a base-load electricity source. Japan joined the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations in 2013 a pact that would open Japan's economy to increased foreign competition and create new export opportunities for Japanese businesses. Measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis that adjusts for price differences Japan in 2014 stood as the fourth-largest economy in the world after first-place China which surpassed Japan in 2001 and third-place India which edged out Japan in 2012. While seeking to stimulate and reform the economy the government must also devise a strategy for reining in Japan's huge government debt which amounts to more than 230% of GDP. To help raise government revenue Japan adopted legislation in 2012 to gradually raise the consumption tax rate to 10% by 2015 beginning with a hike from 5% to 8% implemented in April 2014. That increase had a contractionary effect on GDP however so PM Abe in late 2014 decided to postpone the final phase of the increase until April 2017 to give the economy more time to recover. Led by the Bank of Japan’s aggressive monetary easing Japan is making progress in ending deflation but demographics - low birthrate and an aging shrinking population - pose major long-term challenges for the economy.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2014 US dollars
Rank: 5

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 173

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2014 US dollars
Rank: 43

Gross national saving:
Rank: 56

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 60.8%
Government consumption: 20.6%
Investment in fixed capital: 22.2%
Investment in inventories: -0.5%
Exports of goods and services: 17.3%
Imports of goods and services: -20.4%: (2014 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 1.2%
Industry: 24.5%
Services: 74.3%

Agriculture products: vegetables rice fish poultry fruit dairy products pork beef flowers potatoes/taros/yams sugar cane tea legumes wheat and barley

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: 2% (2014 est.)
Rank: 135

Labor force: 65.48 million (February 2015 est.)
Rank: 9
By occupation agriculture: 2.9%
By occupation industry: 26.2%
By occupation services: 70.9%

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 30

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

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

Distribution of family income gini index:
Rank: 75

Budget
Revenues: $1.512 trillion
Expenditures: $1.84 trillion
Surplus or deficit: -6.9% of GDP (2014 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 196

Taxes and other revenues: 31.7% of GDP (2013 est.)
Rank: 65

Public debt:
Rank: 1

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 120

Central bank discount rate:
Rank: 145

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 183

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 3

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 4

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 4

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 4

Current account balance:
Rank: 15

Exports:
Rank: 5
Commodities: motor vehicles 14.9%; iron and steel products 5.4%; semiconductors 5%; auto parts 4.8%; power generating machinery 3.5%; plastic materials 3.3% (2014 est.)
Partners: US 18.9% China 18.3% South Korea 7.5% Hong Kong 5.5% Thailand 4.5% (2014)

Imports:
Rank: 5
Commodities: petroleum 16.1%; liquid natural gas 9.1%; clothing 3.8%; semiconductors 3.3%; coal 2.4%; audio and visual apparatus 1.4% (2014 est.)
Partners: China 22.3% US 9% Australia 5.9% Saudi Arabia 5.9% UAE 5.1% Qatar 4.1% South Korea 4.1% (2014)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 2

Debt external:
Rank: 6

Stock of direct foreign investment at home:
Rank: 28

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad:
Rank: 7

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Production: 936.2 billion kWh (2012 est.)
Production rank: 6
Consumption: 859.7 billion kWh (2012 est.)
Consumption rank: 5
Exports: 0 kWh (2014 est.)
Exports rank: 155
Imports: 0 kWh (2014 est.)
Imports rank: 161
Installed generating capacity: 287.3 million kW (2012 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 3
Generation sources fossil fuels: 71% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 108
Generation sources nuclear: 16.9% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 12
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 8.5% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 118
Generation sources other renewable sources: 3.6% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 60

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 11,010 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 76
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 133
Crude oil imports: 3.441 million bbl/day (2014 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 4
Crude oil proven reserves: 541.6 million bbl (March 2015 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 80

Refined petroleum
Products production: 3.294 million bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products production rank: 6
Products consumption: 4.3 million bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products consumption rank: 4
Products exports: 309,000 bbl/day (2013 est.)
Products exports rank: 23
Products imports: 951,000 bbl/day (2013 est.)
Products imports rank: 6

Natural gas
Production: 2.822 billion m³ (2014 est.)
Production rank: 54
Consumption: 127.2 billion m³ (2013 est.)
Consumption rank: 6
Exports: 0 m³ (2014 est.)
Exports rank: 120
Imports: 116.9 billion m³ (2013 est.)
Imports rank: 2
Proven reserves: 20.9 billion m³ (1 January 2014 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 75

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 1.276 billion Mt (2012 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 6

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 63.61 million
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 50
Fixed lines rank: 4
Mobile cellular total: 152.7 million
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 120
Mobile cellular rank: 8

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 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) 2 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions) and 8 SkyPerfect JSAT (2012)

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 (2012)

Internet
Country code: .jp
Users total: 109.3 million
Users percent of population: 86.0%
Users rank: 5

Military expenditures:
Rank: 102

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription; mandatory retirement at age 53 for senior enlisted personnel and at 62 years for senior service officers (2012)

Airports: 175 (2013)
Rank: 33
With paved runways total: 142
With paved runways over 3047 m: 6
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 45
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 38
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 28
With paved runways under 914 m: 25
With unpaved runways total: 33
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 5
With unpaved runways: 28 (2013)

Heliports: 16 (2013)

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

Railways
Total: 27,155 km
Standard gauge: 4,343 km 1.435-m gauge
Dual gauge: 132 km 1.435-1.067-m gauge
Narrow gauge: 96 km 1.372-m gauge ; 22,536 km 1.067-m gauge (13,253 km electrified); 48 km 0.762-m gauge (48 km electrified) (2012)
Rank: 11

Roadways
Total: 1,217,128 km
Paved: 988,536 km
Unpaved: 228,592 km
Rank: 6

Waterways: 1770 km (seagoing vessels use inland seas) (2010)
Rank: 44

Merchant marine
Total: 684
By type: bulk carrier 168 cargo 34 carrier 3 chemical tanker 29 container 2 liquefied gas 58 passenger 11 passenger/cargo 117 petroleum tanker 152 refrigerated cargo 4 roll on/roll off 52 vehicle carrier 54
Registered in other countries: 3,122 (2010)
Rank: 16

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Chiba Kawasaki Kobe Mizushima Moji Nagoya Osaka Tokyo Tomakomai Yokohama
Container port: Kobe (2,725,304) Nagoya (2,471,821) Osaka (2,172,797) Tokyo (4,416,119) Yokohama (2,992,517)
LNG terminal: Chita Fukwoke Futtsu Hachinone Hakodate Hatsukaichi Higashi Ohgishima Higashi Niigata Himeiji Joetsu Kagoshima Kawagoe Kita Kyushu Mizushima Nagasaki Naoetsu Negishi Ohgishima Oita Sakai Sakaide Senboku Shimizu Shin Minato Sodegaura Tobata Yanai Yokkaichi; Okinawa - Nakagusuku

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; the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands are also claimed by China and Taiwan

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Stateless persons: 635