Japan
(
Japanese
:
日本
;
romanised
as
nihon
or
nippon
) is a
country
in
East Asia
. It is a group of
islands
close to the east coast of
Korea
,
China
and
Russia
. The
Pacific Ocean
is to the east of Japan and the
Sea of Japan
is to the west.
[15]
Most people in Japan live on one of the four islands. The biggest of these islands,
Honshu
, has the most people. Honshu is the 7th largest island in the
world
.
Tokyo
is the
capital
of Japan and its biggest city.
Japan
- 日本
(
Japanese
)
[a]
- Nippon-koku
or
Nihon-koku
Nippon
or
Nihon
|
---|
|
Anthem:
"His Imperial Majesty's Reign"
[3]
[4]
|
Government Seal of Japan
- Go-Shichi no Kiri
(
五七桐
)
|
Area controlled by Japan shown in green?claimed, but uncontrolled shown in light green
|
Capital
and largest city
| Tokyo
[5]
35°41′N
139°46′E
? / ?
35.683°N 139.767°E
? /
35.683; 139.767
|
---|
National language
| Japanese
|
---|
Ethnic?groups
| |
---|
Religion
| |
---|
Demonym(s)
| Japanese
|
---|
Government
| Unitary
parliamentary
constitutional monarchy
|
---|
|
| Naruhito
|
---|
| Fumio Kishida
|
---|
| Vacant
|
---|
|
Legislature
| National Diet
|
---|
| House of Councillors
|
---|
| House of Representatives
|
---|
|
|
| February 11, 660?BC
[8]
|
---|
| November 29, 1890
|
---|
| May 3, 1947
|
---|
|
|
??Total
| 377,972?km
2
(145,936?sq?mi)
[9]
(
61st
)
|
---|
??Water?(%)
| 1.40 (as of 2015)
[10]
|
---|
|
??2017?census
| 126,572,604
[11]
(
10th
)
|
---|
??Density
| 336/km
2
(870.2/sq?mi) (
36th
)
|
---|
GDP
(
PPP
)
| 2017?estimate
|
---|
??Total
| $5.420 trillion
[12]
(
4th
)
|
---|
??Per capita
| $42,960
[12]
(
27th
)
|
---|
GDP
(nominal)
| 2017?estimate
|
---|
??Total
| $4.841 trillion
[12]
(
3rd
)
|
---|
??Per capita
| $38,281
[12]
(
20th
)
|
---|
Gini
(2008)
| 37.6
[13]
medium
?·?
76th
|
---|
HDI
(2015)
| ?0.903
[14]
very high
?·?
17th
|
---|
Currency
| Yen
(¥)?/
En
円
(
JPY
)
|
---|
Time zone
| UTC
+9
(
JST
)
|
---|
| UTC
+9
(not observed)
|
---|
Date format
| - yyyy-mm-dd
- yyyy年m月d日
- Era
?yy年m月d日
(
CE
?1988)
|
---|
Driving side
| left
|
---|
Calling code
| +81
|
---|
ISO 3166 code
| JP
|
---|
Internet TLD
| .jp
|
---|
|
The
Japanese people
call their country "Nihon" or "Nippon",
[15]
which means "the origin of the
Sun
" in Japanese.
[16]
[17]
Japan is a
monarchy
whose
head of state
is called the
Emperor
.
[15]
Japan is the oldest monarchy in the world, lasting more than 2,000 years.
[18]
The first people in Japan were the
Ainu people
and other
J?mon people
. They were closer related to
Europeans
or
Mongols
.
[19]
They were later conquered and replaced by the
Yayoi people
(early Japanese and Ryukyuans). The Yayoi were an ancient ethnic group that migrated to the Japanese archipelago mainly from
southeastern China
during the Yayoi period (300 CE?300 AD). Modern
Japanese people
have primarily Yayoi ancestry at an average of 97%.
[20]
[21]
The indigenous
Ryukyuan
and
Ainu
peoples have more J?mon ancestry on the other hand.
The earliest records on Japan are from
Chinese
documents. One of those records said there were many small countries (in Japan) which had wars between them and later a country, ruled by a queen, became the strongest, unified others, and brought peace.
The Japanese began to write their own history after the
5th
and
6th century
, when people from
Korea
and China taught Japan about the
Chinese writing system
. Japan's neighbours also taught them
Buddhism
.
[22]
The Japanese changed Buddhism in many ways. For example, Japanese Buddhists used ideas such as
Zen
more than other Buddhists.
[22]
Japan had some contact with the Europeans in the
16th century
. The
Portuguese
were the first Europeans to visit Japan. Later, the
Spanish
and
Dutch
came to Japan to trade. Also, they brought
Christianity
. Japan's leaders welcomed them at first, but because Europeans had conquered many places in the world, the Japanese were scared they would conquer Japan too. So the Japanese did not let the Europeans come into Japan anymore, except in a small area in
Nagasaki
city. Many Christians were killed. Only the Chinese, Korean, and Dutch people were allowed to visit Japan, in the end, and they were under careful control of the Japanese government. Japan was opened for visitors again in
1854
by Commodore
Matthew Perry
, when the
Americans
wanted to use Japanese ports for American
whale
boats. Perry brought steamships with guns, which scared the Japanese into making an agreement with him.
[23]
This new contact with Europeans and Americans changed the Japanese culture. The
Meiji Restoration
of
1868
stopped some old ways and added many new ones. The
Empire of Japan
was created, and it became a very powerful nation and tried to invade the countries next to it.
It invaded and
annexed
Ryukyu
Kingdom,
Taiwan
, and Korea. It had wars with China and Russia: the
First Sino-Japanese War
, the
Boxer Rebellion
, the
Russo-Japanese War
,
World War I
and
Siberian Intervention
.
In 1918, World War I allowed Japan, which joined the side of the victorious
Allies
, to capture
German possessions
in the Pacific and in China.
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) grew to become a part of
World War II
when Japan became allies with
Nazi Germany
and
Fascist Italy
.
In 1941, Japan attacked
Pearl Harbor
in
Hawaii
, and destroyed or damaged many ships and airplanes of the United States. This started the United States' involvement in
World War II
. American and Japanese forces fought each other in the Pacific. The Americans captured most of the islands in the Pacific, started dropping bombs on Japanese cities, and prepared to invade.
To make Japan surrender, the United States dropped two
atomic bombs
on the cities of
Hiroshima
and
Nagasaki
, killing 150,000 Japanese citizens. Soon after this the
Soviet Union
began to fight against Japan, and the Japanese army in
Manchuria
lost. Japan surrendered and gave up all the places it took from other countries, accepting the
Potsdam
Proclamation. The United States occupied Japan from September 1945 to April 1952 and forced it to write a new
constitution
, in which it promised to never go to war again.
Japan was granted membership in the
United Nations
in 1956. A
period of record growth
propelled Japan to become the second-largest economy in the world. On 11 March 2011, Japan suffered one of the
largest earthquakes in its recorded history
, triggering the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. On 1 May 2019, after the historic
abdication of Emperor Akihito
, his son
Naruhito
became Emperor, beginning the
Reiwa
era. On 8 July 2022, former Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe
was
assassinated
while giving a campaign speech in
Nara
.
Japan is a group of islands in the Western
Pacific
, off the coast of China. The four biggest islands are
Honshu
,
Hokkaido
,
Shikoku
, and
Kyushu
, and there are about 6,000 smaller islands there. Japan is separated from the Asian continent by the
Sea of Japan
and the East China Sea. Honshu, which means 'Mainland' in the
Japanese language
, is the biggest island. Hokkaido is the island north of Honshu. Kyushu is the island west of Honshu. Shikoku is the island to the south-west of Honshu.
[15]
In the middle of Japan there are mountains.
[15]
They cover the middle of the islands and leave a very narrow strip of flat land on most coasts. Many of the mountains are extinct
volcanoes
, but some are still active. The highest of these mountains is the beautiful, volcano-shaped Mt Fuji (3,776?metres or 12,389?feet high). Japan has many earthquakes, in fact there are about 1500 of these every year.
[15]
The biggest earthquake recorded in Japan was in 2011 - called '2011 Tohoku Earthquake'. It caused great damage to several power plants forcing Japan to shut down all its nuclear plants. There was nuclear core meltdown which caused a serious health risk to nearby villages and cities.
90% of the people living in Japan live in just 10% of the
land
, near the coast. The other 10% of the people in Japan live away from the coast.
Over 10 cities have more than a million people in them. The biggest city in Japan is
Tokyo
, which is the capital.
Science and technology
change
Society and culture
change
Many things in Japanese culture originated in
China
, like
Go
and
bonsai
.
Cherry blossom also known as Japanese cherry and Sakura is thought to be the national flower of Japan.
Japan's traditional food is
seafood
, rice,
miso soup
, and vegetables.
Noodles
and
tofu
are also common.
Sushi
, a Japanese food made of cooked rice with
vinegar
with other ingredients such as raw fish, and sometimes fried shrimp, is popular around the world.
The religion in Japan is mostly
Shinto
and
Buddhist
. Due to the tolerant nature of the two main Japanese religions, and the resulting intermixing of the two, many Japanese identify as both Shinto and Buddhist at the same time. There are small numbers of
Christians
and
Hindus
, and a few
Jews
.
[29]
When it comes to
popular culture
, Japan is famous for making
video games
. Many of the biggest companies that make games, like
Nintendo
,
Namco
, and
Sega
, are Japanese. Other well-known parts of Japanese
arts
are its
comics
, called
manga
, and its digital
animation
, known as
anime
. Many people get to know Japanese or how life in Japan is like by reading manga or watching anime on
television
.
The
Ryukyuans
and the
Ainu
both have their own separate cultures, languages and religion.
Armed forces
change
Cities, regions and territories
change
The biggest cities in Japan are:
In Japan there are seven traditional regions:
[30]
Territorial problem
change
Since Japan is an island nation, Japan has several problems over territory because maritime boundaries can be hard to protect. These days, Japan is competing for at least 4 different territories. It cannot agree with some neighbouring countries on whether the land belongs to Japan or the other country.
Public transportation
change
There are several important international airports in Japan.
Narita
is the major international airport in the Tokyo area. Kansai International Airport serves as the main airport for
Osaka
,
Kobe
, and
Kyoto
.
Ch?bu Centrair International Airport
near
Nagoya
is the newest of the three.
Haneda Airport
is close to central Tokyo and is the largest domestic airport in the country.
The
Shinkansen
is one of the fastest trains in the world and connects cities in Honshu and Kyushu. Networks of public and private railways are almost all over the country. People mostly travel between cities in buses.
Subdivisions
change
Modern Japan is divided into 47
prefectures
.
[31]
Before the
Meiji period
(1868-1912), the nation was divided into
provinces
which were consolidated in the prefectural system.
Japan has many traditional sports such as
sumo
,
judo
,
karate
,
kyudo
,
aikido
,
iaido
and
kendo
. Also, there are sports which were imported from the West such as
baseball
,
soccer
,
rugby
,
golf
and
skiing
.
[32]
Baseball is the most popular sport.
[33]
Japan has taken part in the
Olympic Games
since 1912. It hosted the Olympic Games in 1964, 1972, 1998 and 2020. From 1912 until now, Japanese sportspeople have won 398 medals in total.
Professional sports are also popular and many sports such as baseball (see
Pacific League
and
Central League
), soccer (see
List of Japanese football teams
), sumo,
American football
,
basketball
and
volleyball
, are played professionally.
Related pages
change
- ↑
"Official Names of Member States (UNTERM)"
(PDF)
. UN Protocol and Liaison Service. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on June 5, 2020
. Retrieved
May 21,
2020
.
- ↑
"National Flag and National Anthem"
. Retrieved
January 29,
2017
.
The Rising Sun Flag and "Kimi Ga Yo" are respectively the national flag and anthem of Japan. This was formalized in 1999 with the Law Regarding the National Flag and National Anthem.
- ↑
"Explore Japan National Flag and National Anthem"
. Retrieved
January 29,
2017
.
- ↑
"National Symbols"
. Archived from
the original
on February 2, 2017
. Retrieved
January 29,
2017
.
- ↑
"History of Tokyo"
. Retrieved
January 29,
2017
.
The Edo Period lasted for nearly 260 years until the Meiji Restoration in 1868, when the Tokugawa Shogunate ended and imperial rule was restored. The Emperor moved to Edo, which was renamed Tokyo. Thus, Tokyo became the capital of Japan
- ↑
"CIA Factbook: Japan"
. Cia.gov. Archived from
the original
on December 20, 2015
. Retrieved
November 9,
2011
.
- ↑
Dentsu Communication Institute, Japan Research Center:
Sixty Countries' Values Databook
(世界60カ??値?デ?タブック) (2000).
- ↑
According to legend, Japan was founded on this date by
Emperor Jimmu
, the country's first Emperor.
- ↑
"Facts about Japan, General Information"
. Retrieved
January 29,
2017
.
- ↑
"Surface water and surface water change"
. OECD
. Retrieved
October 11,
2020
.
- ↑
"最新結果一? 政府統計の?合窓口 GL08020101"
. Statistics Bureau of Japan
. Retrieved
April 27,
2016
.
- ↑
12.0
12.1
12.2
12.3
"World Economic Outlook Database, April 2017 ? Report for Selected Countries and Subjects"
.
International Monetary Fund
(IMF)
. Retrieved
April 21,
2016
.
- ↑
"World Factbook: Gini Index"
.
CIA
. Archived from
the original
on June 13, 2007
. Retrieved
May 11,
2011
.
- ↑
"2016 Human Development Report"
(PDF)
. United Nations Development Programme. 2016
. Retrieved
March 23,
2017
.
- ↑
15.0
15.1
15.2
15.3
15.4
15.5
"Japan"
.
CIA World Factbook
. CIA. Archived from
the original
on 2015-12-20
. Retrieved
2016-06-19
.
- ↑
"The etymology of Nihon and Nippon"
. 2010-04-26
. Retrieved
2023-10-07
.
- ↑
"Etymology of Nippon"
. Retrieved
2023-10-07
.
- ↑
Wong-Anan, Nopporn (3 May 2019).
"Emperor Naruhito and Japan's lonely republicans"
.
BBC
. BBC
. Retrieved
2022-01-18
.
- ↑
Brace, C. Loring (2001).
"Old World sources of the first New World human inhabitants: A comparative craniofacial view"
.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
.
98
(17): 10017?10022.
Bibcode
:
2001PNAS...9810017L
.
doi
:
10.1073/pnas.171305898
.
PMC
55570
.
PMID
11481450
.
- ↑
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2019/03/15/579177.full.pdf
- ↑
"「?文人」は?自進化したアジアの特異集?だった!?: 深?み"
.
??新聞オンライン
(in Japanese). 2017-12-15
. Retrieved
2019-12-19
.
- ↑
22.0
22.1
"Early Japan (until 710)"
.
japan-guide.com
. Retrieved
2009-06-16
.
- ↑
"Perry & Opening of Japan"
.
history.navy.mil
. 2009. Archived from
the original
on December 4, 2002
. Retrieved
December 1,
2011
.
- ↑
"7 important Japanese inventions from history"
.
Sky HISTORY TV channel
. Retrieved
2023-08-10
.
- ↑
"京セラ、TV電話つきPHS「VP-210」を7月末に販?"
.
internet.watch.impress.co.jp
. Retrieved
2023-08-10
.
- ↑
"Sony CDP-101 - the First Compact Disc Audio CD Player from 1982"
.
www.cedmagic.com
. Retrieved
2023-08-10
.
- ↑
"Shizuo Takano, 68, an Engineer Who Developed VHS Recorders (Published 1992)"
. 1992-01-20
. Retrieved
2023-08-10
.
- ↑
28.0
28.1
"Why Japan leads industrial robot production"
.
IFR International Federation of Robotics
. Retrieved
2023-08-05
.
- ↑
"
'Saraswati is the most revered deity in Japan, after the Buddha': Filmmaker Benoy Behl"
. 11 May 2019.
- ↑
Louis-Frederic (2005).
Japan Encyclopedia
. Harvard University Press. p.?242.
ISBN
978-0-674-01753-5
.
- ↑
Louis-Frederic (2005).
Japan Encyclopedia
. Harvard University Press. p.?780.
ISBN
978-0-674-01753-5
.
- ↑
Louis-Frederic (2005).
Japan Encyclopedia
. Harvard University Press. pp.?905?907.
ISBN
978-0-674-01753-5
.
- ↑
"Baseball in Japan and the US: History, Culture, and Future Prospects"
.
Association for Asian Studies
. Retrieved
2022-02-26
.
- ↑
In English, the official name of the country is simply "Japan".
[1]
In Japanese, the name of the country as it appears on official documents, including the
country's constitution
, is
日本
(
Nippon-koku
or
Nihon-koku
), meaning "State of Japan". Despite this, the short-form name 日本 (
Nippon
or
Nihon
) is often used officially.
Other websites
change