Japan is an island country in East Asia. 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 which make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes identified as the "Land of the Rising Sun". Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for 97% of Japan's land area. Most of the islands are mountainous, many volcanic; for example, Japan’s highest peak, Mount Fuji, is a volcano. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with about 128 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 were living on the islands of Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan begins with brief appearances in Chinese history texts from the first century A.D. Influence from the outside world followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. Since adopting its constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament, the Diet. (via Wikipedia)
Capital:
Tokyo (de facto)
Language:
Katakana
Japanese
Kanji
None
Hiragana
Largest City:
Tokyo
As Of:
Jan 1, 2007
GDP (nominal):
$4.910 trillion
Time Zone:
JST
Area:
377944 km2
GDP (per capita PPP) Rank:
24th
3rd
Local Name:
日本国
Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku
GDP (nominal per capita):
$38,457
GDP (nominal) Rank:
2nd
GDP (nominal per capita) Rank:
23rd
As of:
Jan 1, 2008
Lower House:
House of Representatives
Upper House:
House of Councillors
Legislature:
National Diet
Government type:
Parliamentary democracy with constitutional monarchy
As of:
Jan 1, 2008
ccTLD:
.jp
Currency (code):
JPY
Latitude:
N
Currency:
International Symbol ¥ Pronounced (Yen)
Japanese Symbol 円 Pronounced
Longitude:
E
Country Calling Code:
81
Latitude (Minutes):
41
Longitude (Minutes):
46
Latitude (Degrees):
35
HDI Rank:
10th
HDI:
0.960
Gini:
38.1 (2002)
Longitude (Degrees):
139
Census Date:
Jan 1, 2004
As Of:
Jan 1, 2009
Ethnic groups:
98.5% Japanese, 0.5% Korean, 0.4% Chinese, 0.6% other
Anthem:
Kimigayo
Conventional Long Name:
Japan
Demonym:
Japanese
Name:
Japan
Drives On:
left
Total Population:
127,530,000
GDP (per capita PPP):
$4.356 trillion
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7 Feb 2010 05:00:43 GMT | washingtonpost.com
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