Japan is in the top three globally for both automobile production and export, and is home to Toyota, the world’s largest automobile company by production. The country’s manufacturing output is the fourth highest in the world as of 2023update. Japan maintains one of the world’s largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch, prompting critiques that Japan’s fishing is leading to depletion in fish stocks such as tuna. Japan has a large cooperative sector, with three of the world’s ten largest cooperatives, including the largest consumer cooperative and the largest agricultural cooperative as of 2018update. In 2024, Japan was the world’s eight-largest exporter and sixth-largest importer. The Japanese yen is the world’s third-largest reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro.
Around 14,500 BC (the start of the Jōmon period), a Mesolithic to Neolithic semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer culture characterized by pit dwelling and rudimentary agriculture emerged. The old Malay name for Japan, Japang or Japun, was borrowed from a southern coastal Chinese dialect and encountered by Portuguese traders in Southeast Asia, who brought the word to Europe in the early 16th century. In the 13th century, Marco Polo recorded the Early Mandarin Chinese pronunciation of the characters 日本國 as Cipangu. The characters 日本 mean ‘sun origin’, which is the source of the popular Western epithet “Land of the Rising Sun”. Nihon is typically used in everyday speech and reflects shifts in Japanese phonology during the Edo period.
Since the 19th century, Japan has incorporated much of Western modern architecture into construction and design. Japan has one of the world’s highest suicide rates, which is considered a major social issue. Since 1981, the principal cause of death in Japan is cancer, which accounted for 27% of the total deaths in 2018—followed by cardiovascular diseases, which led to 15% of the deaths. Since 1973, all elderly persons have been covered by government-sponsored insurance.
The earliest works of Japanese literature include the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki chronicles and the Man’yōshū poetry anthology, all from the 8th century and written in Chinese characters. It was not until after World War II that Japanese architects made an impression on the international scene, firstly with the work of architects like Kenzō Tange and then with movements like Metabolism. People without insurance through employers can participate in a national health insurance program administered by local governments. Throughout the latest century, Western customs originally related to Christianity, including Western style weddings, Valentine’s Day and Christmas, have become popular as secular customs among many Japanese. Few children learn these languages, but local governments have sought to increase awareness of the traditional languages. The Japanese language is Japan’s de facto national language and the primary written and spoken language of most people in the country.
- It spent 1.4% of its total GDP on its defence budget and maintained the tenth-largest military budget in the world in 2024.
- Japan is a leading robotics producer, supplying 38% of the world’s 2024 total, down from 55% in 2017.
- The early 20th century saw a period of Taishō democracy (1912–1926) overshadowed by increasing expansionism and militarization.
- The Special Assault Team comprises national-level counter-terrorism tactical units that cooperate with territorial-level Anti-Firearms Squads and Counter-NBC Terrorism Squads.
- Modern Japan’s economic growth began in this period, resulting in roads (Kaidō) and water transportation routes, as well as financial instruments such as futures contracts, banking and insurance of the Osaka rice brokers.
- Japan has the world’s fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP, after that of the United States, China, Germany and India; and the fifth-largest by PPP-adjusted GDP.
Population
However, it lacks any laws against discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity and does not have a national human rights institution. The Special Assault Team comprises national-level counter-terrorism tactical units that cooperate with territorial-level Anti-Firearms Squads and Counter-NBC Terrorism Squads. In December 2022, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida instructed the government to increase spending by 65% until 2027. The deployment of troops to Iraq and Afghanistan marked the first overseas use of Japan’s military since World War II. The military is governed by the Ministry of Defense, and primarily consists of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, the https://www.richyfox.co.uk/ Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. Japan is the third highest-ranked Asian country in the 2024 Global Peace Index.
Human rights
More recent major quakes are the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, which triggered a large tsunami. Destructive earthquakes, often resulting in tsunami, occur several times each century; the 1923 Tokyo earthquake killed over 140,000 people. As of 2014update, approximately 0.5% of Japan’s total area is reclaimed land (umetatechi). Honshu has the highest population density at 450 persons/km2 (1200/sq mi) as of 2010update, while Hokkaido has the lowest density of 64.5 persons/km2 as of 2016update. The Ryukyu Islands, which include Okinawa, are a chain to the south of Kyushu. In 2011, Japan suffered one of the largest earthquakes in its recorded history—the Tōhoku earthquake—triggering the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.
Climate
Japan has close economic and military relations with the United States, with which it maintains a security alliance. It is the world’s fifth-largest donor of official development assistance, donating US$9.2 billion in 2014. Since the late 19th century, the judicial system has been largely based on the civil law of Europe, notably Germany. Historically influenced by Chinese law, the Japanese legal system developed independently during the Edo period through texts such as Kujikata Osadamegaki. 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 248 seats, whose popularly-elected members serve six-year terms.
Oda Nobunaga used European technology and firearms to conquer many other daimyō; his consolidation of power began what was known as the Azuchi–Momoyama period. The Zen school of Buddhism was introduced from China in the Kamakura period (1185–1333) and became popular among the samurai class. 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. The true aim of the reforms was to bring about greater centralization and to enhance the power of the imperial court, which was also based on the governmental structure of China.
GDP per capita
Statutory law originates in the legislature, and the constitution requires that the emperor promulgate legislation passed by the Diet without giving him the power to oppose legislation. Japan is a unitary state and constitutional monarchy in which the power of the emperor (Tennō) is limited to a ceremonial role. 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.
The country hosted the official 2006 Basketball World Championship and co-hosted the 2023 Basketball World Championship. Popular Japanese beverages include sake, a brewed rice beverage that typically contains 14–17% alcohol and is made by multiple fermentation of rice. Japanese curry, since its introduction to Japan from British India, is so widely consumed that it can be termed a national dish, alongside ramen and sushi.
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. The early 20th century saw a period of Taishō democracy (1912–1926) overshadowed by increasing expansionism and militarization. The Edo period gave rise to kokugaku (“national studies”), the study of Japan by the Japanese.
Executive power is instead wielded by the prime minister and the Cabinet, whose sovereignty is vested in the Japanese people. In 2020, the government of Japan announced a target of carbon-neutrality by 2050. Japan ranks 20th in the 2018 Environmental Performance Index, which measures a country’s commitment to environmental sustainability. Responding to rising concerns, the government introduced environmental protection laws in 1970. Japan has nine forest ecoregions which reflect the climate and geography of the islands.
- Japanese comics, known as manga, developed in the mid-20th century and have become popular worldwide.
- Japan’s service sector accounts for about 69.8% of its total economic output as of 2023update.
- Despite early resistance, Buddhism was promoted by the ruling class, including figures like Prince Shōtoku, and gained widespread acceptance beginning in the Asuka period (592–710).
- The Keihin and Hanshin superport hubs are among the largest in the world, at 7.98 and 5.22 million TEU respectively as of 2017update.
- Go-Daigo was defeated by Ashikaga Takauji in 1336, beginning the Muromachi period (1336–1573).
- Western classical music, introduced in the late 19th century, forms an integral part of Japanese culture.
- Karate, which originated in the Ryukyu Kingdom, is popular across the world and has been included in the Olympic Games.
As a growing number of younger Japanese are not marrying or remaining childless, Japan’s population is expected to drop to around 88 million by 2065. As of 2025update, over 29.3% of the population is over 65, or more than one in four out of the Japanese population. The country has therefore aimed to diversify its sources and maintain high levels of energy efficiency. The Sendai Nuclear Power Plant restarted in 2015, and since then several other nuclear power plants have been restarted.
Languages
Between the 4th and 6th centuries, its kingdoms were united under an emperor in Nara and later in Heian-kyō. Japan’s neighbors include the Republic of Korea, China and Russia.
