Japan

National name: Nippon

Government
Constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government.

Geography
An archipelago in the Pacific, Japan is separated from the east coast of Asia by the Sea of Japan. Japan’s four main islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku. The Ryukyu chain to the southwest was U.S.-occupied from 1945 to 1972, when it reverted to Japanese control, and the Kurils to the northeast are Russian-occupied.

Historical Background
In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For 250 years this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Following the Treaty of Kanagawa with the US in 1854, Japan opened its ports 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 a staunch ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, actual power rests in networks of powerful politicians, bureaucrats, and business executives. The economy experienced a major slowdown starting in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented growth, but Japan still remains a major economic power, both in Asia and globally.

Name

Japan

Capital

Tokyo

Government

Unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy - Emperor Akihito -  Prime Minister Naoto Kan (DPJ)

Language

Japanese

Area

Total 377,944 km2 [4](61st) 145,925 sq mi

Population

2011 estimate 127,960,000[5] (10th) -  2004 census 127,333,002

GDP (PPP)

2010 estimate - Total $4.308 trillion[6] (3rd)

GDP (nominal)

2010 estimate-Total $5.390 trillion[6] (3rd)

Currency

International Symbol ¥ Pronounced (Yen) Japanese Symbol (or in Traditional Kanji) Pronounced (En) (JPY)

Time zone 

JST (UTC+9) -  Summer (DST) not observed (UTC+9)