ocated in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretchi

apan
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This article is about the country. For other uses, see Japan (disambiguation).

Japan
日本国
Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku

Flag Imperial Seal

Anthem:



Kimigayo (君が代?)
Government Seal of Japan:

五七桐 (Go-Shichi no Kiri?)

Capital
(and largest city) Tokyo (de facto)
35°41′N 139°46′E
Official language(s) None[1]
Recognised regional languages Aynu itak, Ryukyuan languages, Eastern Japanese, Western Japanese, and several other Japanese dialects
National language Japanese
Ethnic groups 98.5% Japanese, 0.5% Korean, 0.4% Chinese, 0.6% other[2]
Demonym Japanese
Government Unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy
- Emperor Akihito
- Prime Minister Naoto Kan (DPJ)
Legislature Diet of Japan
- Upper House House of Councillors
- Lower House House of Representatives of Japan
Formation
- National Foundation Day February 11, 660 BC[3]
- Meiji Constitution November 29, 1890
- Current constitution May 3, 1947
- Treaty of
San Francisco
April 28, 1952
Area
- Total 377,944 km2 [4](61st)
145,925 sq mi
- Water (%) 0.8
Population
- 2010 estimate 127,360,000[5] (10th)
- 2004 census 127,333,002
- Density 337.1/km2 (36th)
873.1/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2010 estimate
- Total $4.308 trillion[6] (3rd)
- Per capita $33,828[6] (24th)
GDP (nominal) 2010 estimate
- Total $5.390 trillion[6] (3rd)
- Per capita $42,325[6] (17th)
Gini 38.1 (2002)[7]
HDI (2010) 0.884[8] (very high) (11th)
Currency International Symbol ¥ Pronounced (Yen)
Japanese Symbol 円 (or 圓 in Traditional Kanji) Pronounced (En) (JPY)
Time zone JST (UTC+9)
- Summer (DST) not observed (UTC+9)
Date formats yyyy-mm-dd
yyyy年m月d日
Era yy年m月d日 (CE−1988)
Drives on the left
ISO 3166 code JP
Internet TLD .jp
Calling code 81


Japan (i /dʒəˈpæn/; Japanese: 日本 Nihon or Nippon, officially 日本国 Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku) is an island nation in East Asia.[9] Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".

Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands.[10] The four largest islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, together accounting for ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.

Archaeological research indicates that people lived in Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other nations followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. Since adopting its revised constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament called the Diet.

A major economic power,[2] Japan has the world's third-largest economy by nominal GDP[11] and by purchasing power parity. It is also the world's fourth largest exporter and fifth largest importer. Although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains an extensive modern military force in self-defense and peacekeeping roles. After Singapore, Japan has the lowest homicide (including attempted homicide) rate in the world.[12] According to both UN and WHO estimates, Japan has the highest life expectancy of any country in the world.
According to the UN, it has the third lowest infant mortality rate.[13][14]
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