The Government of Japan

The Jinshin War of 672, a bloody conflict between Prince Ōama and his nephew Prince Ōtomo, became a major catalyst for further administrative reforms. It nationalized all land in Japan, to be distributed equally among cultivators, and ordered the compilation of a household registry as the basis for a new system of taxation. Despite early resistance, Buddhism was promoted by the ruling class, including figures like Prince Shōtoku, and gained widespread acceptance beginning in the Asuka period (592–۷۱۰). A century later, the Book of Wei records that the kingdom of Yamatai (which may refer to Yamato) unified most of these kingdoms. The Yayoi period saw the introduction of innovative practices including wet-rice farming, a new style of pottery, and metallurgy from China and Korea. Clay vessels from the period are among the oldest surviving examples of pottery.
The culture of Japan is well known around the world, particularly its popular culture as expressed in animation, art, comics, cuisine, fashion, films, music, television, and video games. It has one of the world’s highest life expectancies, but is undergoing a population decline. Since the collapse of the Japanese asset price bubble in the early 1990s, it has experienced a prolonged period of economic stagnation referred to as the Lost Decades. It underwent rapid economic growth in the following decades and became one of the first major non-NATO allies of the U.S. The Meiji period saw Japan pursue rapid industrialization, modernization, militarism, and overseas colonization. In 1853, an American fleet forced Japan to open trade to the West, which led to the end of the shogunate and the restoration of imperial power in 1868.

• The Japanese yen is the world’s third-largest reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro.
• In 2018, there were an estimated 105 mosques and 200,000 Muslims in Japan, 43,000 of which were Japanese nationals.
• Few children learn these languages, but local governments have sought to increase awareness of the traditional languages.
• The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is Japan’s national space agency; it conducts space, planetary, and aviation research, and leads development of rockets and satellites.
• Minority ethnic groups in the country include the indigenous Ainu and Ryukyuan people.
• The country attracted 36.9 million international tourists in 2024, and was ranked eleventh in the world in 2019 for inbound tourism.

Population

The Ryukyu and Nanpō Islands have a subtropical climate, with warm winters and hot summers. Precipitation is not heavy, but the islands usually develop deep snowbanks in the winter. The northernmost region, Hokkaido, has a humid continental climate with long, cold winters and very warm to cool summers.

Languages

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.

Law enforcement

Japanese comics, known as manga, developed in the mid-20th century and have become popular worldwide. Ishirō Honda’s Godzilla became an international icon of Japan and spawned an entire subgenre of kaiju films, as well as the longest-running film franchise in history. Japanese television dramas are viewed both within Japan and internationally. Kumi-daiko (ensemble drumming) was developed in post-war Japan and became very popular in North America. The popular folk music, with the guitar-like shamisen, dates from the 16th century.

Main Industries

The country’s military, the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF), is restricted by Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, which renounces Japan’s right to declare war or use military force in international disputes. From the 12th century, actual power was held by military aristocrats known as shōgun and feudal lords called daimyō, enforced by warrior nobility named samurai. English has taken a major role in Japan as a business and international link language, and is a compulsory subject at the junior and senior high school levels.
Minority ethnic groups in the country include the indigenous Ainu and Ryukyuan people. Japan is an https://www.richyfox.co.uk/ ethnically and culturally homogeneous society, with the Japanese people forming 97.4% of the country’s population. Japan has a population of over 123 million, of whom nearly 120 million are Japanese nationals (2024 estimates). Since privatization in 1987, dozens of Japanese railway companies compete in regional and local passenger transportation markets; major companies include seven JR enterprises, Kintetsu, Seibu Railway and Keio Corporation. The Japanese agricultural sector accounts for about 1.2% of the country’s total GDP as of 2018update. Japan is widely considered to be a great power due to its economic power and political, cultural, and military influence.
Murasaki Shikibu’s The Tale of Genji and the lyrics of Japan’s national anthem “Kimigayo” were written during this time. This marked the beginning of the Heian period (794–۱۱۸۵), during which a distinctly indigenous Japanese culture emerged. A smallpox epidemic in 735–۷۳۷ is believed to have killed as much as one-third of Japan’s population. The period is characterized by the appearance of a nascent literary culture with the completion of the Kojiki (712) and Nihon Shoki (720), as well as the development of Buddhist-inspired artwork and architecture.

• This process accelerated in the 1930s, spawning several radical nationalist groups that shared a hostility to liberal democracy and a dedication to expansion in Asia.
• Historically influenced by Chinese law, the Japanese legal system developed independently during the Edo period through texts such as Kujikata Osadamegaki.
• Japan has a population of over 123 million, of whom nearly 120 million are Japanese nationals (2024 estimates).
• 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.
• Japan has the highest ratio of public debt to GDP among advanced economies, with a national debt estimated at 248% relative to GDP as of 2022update.
• In 1931, Japan invaded China and occupied Manchuria, which led to the establishment of puppet state of Manchukuo in 1932; following international condemnation of the occupation, it resigned from the League of Nations in 1933.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is Japan’s national space agency; it conducts space, planetary, and aviation research, and leads development of rockets and satellites. Japan is a leading robotics producer, supplying 38% of the world’s 2024 total, down from 55% in 2017. The country has produced twenty-two Nobel laureates in either physics, chemistry or medicine, and three Fields medalists. Japan’s service sector accounts for about 69.8% of its total economic output as of 2023update.
The country attracted 36.9 million international tourists in 2024, and was ranked eleventh in the world in 2019 for inbound tourism. Japan’s constitution prohibits racial and religious discrimination, and the country is a signatory to numerous international human rights treaties. It spent 1.4% of its total GDP on its defence budget and maintained the tenth-largest military budget in the world in 2024. The United States is a major market for Japanese exports and a major source of Japanese imports, and is committed to defending the country, with military bases in Japan.

As of 2019update, 37.1% of energy in Japan is produced from petroleum, 25.1% from coal, 22.4% from natural gas, 3.5% from hydropower and 2.8% from nuclear power, among other sources. 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. The largest domestic airport, Haneda Airport in Tokyo, was Asia’s second-busiest airport in 2019. The high-speed Shinkansen (bullet trains) that connect major cities are known for their safety and punctuality. The largest lunar mission since the Apollo program, its purpose was to gather data on the Moon’s origin and evolution. Japan’s plans in space exploration include building a Moon base and landing astronauts by 2030.
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 14–۱۷% 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 resignation of the shōgun led to the Boshin War and the establishment of a centralized state nominally unified under the emperor (the Meiji Restoration). 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. When open war broke out, Ieyasu defeated rival clans in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Tokugawa Ieyasu served as regent for Hideyoshi’s son Toyotomi Hideyori within the Council of Five Elders and used his position to gain political and military support. During the 16th century, Portuguese traders and Jesuit missionaries reached Japan for the first time, initiating direct commercial and cultural exchange between Japan and the West (see Nanban trade and Nanban art).
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.