日本国
Nippon-koku |
|
|
Anthem:Kimi ga Yo (君が代, Kimi ga Yo?)
|
|
|
Capital
(and largest city)
| Tokyo1
35°41′N, 139°46′E
|
| Official languages |
Japanese (de facto) |
| Demonym |
Japanese
|
| Government |
Parliamentary democracy and Constitutional monarchy |
| - |
Emperor |
Akihito |
| - |
Prime Minister |
Yasuo Fukuda |
| Formation |
|---|
| - |
National Foundation Day |
February 11, 660BC3 |
| - |
Meiji Constitution |
November 29 1890 |
| - |
Current constitution |
May 3 1947 |
| - |
Treaty of
San Francisco |
April 28 1952 |
| Area |
| - |
Total |
377,873km²(62nd)
145,883sqmi |
| - |
Water(%) |
0.8 |
| Population |
| - |
2007estimate |
127,433,494(10th) |
| - |
2004census |
127,333,002 |
| - |
Density |
337/km²(30th)
872.8/sqmi |
| GDP(PPP) |
2007estimate |
| - |
Total |
$4.346 trillion[CIA World Factbook[GDP PPP Rankings 2007]](3rd) |
| - |
Per capita |
$33,800[CIA World Factbook[GDP PPP Per Capita Rankings 2007](34th) |
| GDP (nominal) |
2007estimate |
| - |
Total |
$4.346 trillion[CIA World Factbook[GDP Nominal Rankings 2007]](2nd) |
| - |
Per capita |
$38,341(14th) |
| Gini |
38.1 (2002)[CIA World Factbook[Gini rankings]] |
| HDI(2007) |
▲ 0.953(high)(8th) |
| Currency |
International Symbol ¥ Pronounced (Yen)
Japanese Symbol 円 Pronounced (En)
(JPY) |
| Time zone |
JST (UTC+9) |
| Internet TLD |
.jp |
| Calling code |
+81
|
| 1 |
Yokohama is the largest incorporated city. |
| 2 |
World Factbook; Japan—Economy. CIA (2006-12-19). Retrieved on 2006-12-28. |
| 3 |
According to legend, Japan was founded on this date by the Emperor Jimmu, first emperor of Japan; it is seen as largely symbolic. |
Japan (日本 Nihon or Nippon ? , officially 日本国 Nippon-koku(help·info) or Nihon-koku) is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of China, Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. The characters that make up Japan\'s name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes identified as the "Land of the Rising Sun".
Japan comprises over 3,000 islands,[Nihon Rettō. Daijirin / Yahoo Japan dictionary. Retrieved on 2007-05-07.] the largest of which are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for 97% of 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 128million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the 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 centuryAD.
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.
A major economic power,
History
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The first signs of occupation on the Japanese Archipelago appeared with a Paleolithic culture around 30,000BC, followed from around 14,000BC by the Jōmon period, a Mesolithic to Neolithic semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer culture of pit dwelling and a rudimentary form of agriculture. Decorated clay vessels from this period, often with plaited patterns, are some of the oldest surviving examples of pottery in the world.[Habu Jinko (2004). Ancient Jomon of Japan. Cambridge Press.][Jomon Fantasy: Resketching Japan\'s Prehistory. web-japan.org (1999-06-22). Retrieved on 2008-01-24.]["Fakery" at the beginning, the ending and the middle of the Jomon Period. Bulletin of the International Jomon Culture Conference (Vol. 1) (2004). Retrieved on 2008-01-24.]
The Yayoi period, starting around the third centuryBC, introduced new practices, such as wet-rice farming, iron and bronze-making and a new style of pottery, brought by migrants from China or Korea. With the development of Yayoi culture, a predominantly agricultural society emerged in Japan.[The Yayoi period (c.250 BC – c.AD 250). Encyclopædia Britannica (2006). Retrieved on 2006-12-28.][Jared Diamond (June 1998). "Japanese Roots". Discover Magazine Vol. 19 No. 6. ][Pottery. MSN Encarta. Retrieved on 2006-12-28.][De Bary, William Theodore (2005). Sources of Japanese Tradition. Columbia University Press, 1304. ISBN 023112984X. Retrieved on 2007-01-29.]
The Japanese first appear in written history in China’s Book of Han. According to the Chinese Records of Three Kingdoms, the most powerful kingdom on the archipelago during the third century was called Yamataikoku.
Buddhism was first introduced to Japan from Baekje of the Korean Peninsula, but the subsequent development of Japanese Buddhism and Buddhist sculptures were primarily influenced by China.[ (1993) in Delmer M. Brown (ed.): The Cambridge History of Japan. Cambridge University Press, 140–149.] Despite early resistance, Buddhism was promoted by the ruling class and eventually gained growing acceptance since the Asuka period.[William Gerald Beasley (1999). The Japanese Experience: A Short History of Japan. University of California Press, 42. ISBN 0520225600. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.]
The Nara period of the eighth century marked the first emergence of a strong central Japanese state, centered around an imperial court in the city of Heijō-kyō, or modern day Nara. In addition to the continuing adoption of Chinese administrative practices, the Nara period is characterized by the appearance of a nascent written literature with the completion of the massive chronicles Kojiki (712) and Nihon Shoki (720).[Conrad Totman (2002). A History of Japan. Blackwell, 64–79. ISBN 978-1405123594.] (Nara was not the first capital city in Japan, though. Before Nara, Fujiwara-kyō and Asuka served as capitals of the Yamato state.)
In 784, Emperor Kammu moved the capital from Nara to Nagaoka-kyō for a brief ten-year period, before relocating it to Heian-kyō (modern day Kyoto) in 794, where it remained for more than a millennium.[Conrad Totman (2002). A History of Japan. Blackwell, 79–87. ISBN 978-1405123594.] This marked the beginning of the Heian period, during which time a distinctly indigenous Japanese culture emerged, noted for its art, poetry and literature. Lady Murasaki\'s The Tale of Genji and the lyrics of modern Japan\'s national anthem, Kimi ga Yo were written during this time.[Conrad Totman (2002). A History of Japan. Blackwell, 122–123. ISBN 978-1405123594.]
Japan\'s feudal era was characterized by the emergence of a ruling class of warriors, the samurai. In 1185, following the defeat of the rival Taira clan, Minamoto no Yoritomo was appointed Shogun and established a base of power in Kamakura. After Yoritomo\'s death, the Hōjō clan came to rule as regents for the shoguns. Zen Buddhism was introduced from China in the Kamakura period (1185–1333) and became popular among the samurai class. The Kamakura shogunate managed to repel Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281, aided by a storm that the Japanese interpreted as a kamikaze, or Divine Wind. The Kamakura shogunate was eventually overthrown by Emperor Go-Daigo, who was soon himself defeated by Ashikaga Takauji in 1336.[George Sansom (1961). A History of Japan: 1334–1615. Stanford, 42. ISBN 0-8047-0525-9.] The succeeding Ashikaga shogunate failed to control the feudal warlords (daimyo), and a civil war erupted (the Ōnin War) in 1467 which opened a century-long Sengoku period.[George Sansom (1961). A History of Japan: 1334–1615. Stanford, 217. ISBN 0-8047-0525-9.]
During the sixteenth century, traders and Jesuit missionaries from Portugal reached Japan for the first time, initiating active commercial and cultural exchange between Japan and the West (Nanban trade).
Oda Nobunaga conquered numerous other daimyo by using European technology and firearms and had almost unified the nation when he was assassinated in 1582. Toyotomi Hideyoshi succeeded Nobunaga and united the nation in 1590. Hideyoshi invaded Korea twice, but following several defeats by Korean and Ming China forces and Hideyoshi\'s death, Japanese troops were withdrawn in 1598.[Stephen Turnbull (2002). Samurai Invasion: Japan\'s Korean War. Cassel, 227. ISBN 978-0304359486.]
One of Japan\'s
Red seal ships (1634), which were used for trade throughout Asia.
Samurai of the Satsuma clan during the
Boshin War, circa 1867.
After Hideyoshi\'s death, Tokugawa Ieyasu utilized his position as regent for Hideyoshi\'s son Toyotomi Hideyori to gain political and military support. When open war broke out, he defeated rival clans in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Ieyasu was appointed shōgun in 1603 and established the Tokugawa shogunate at Edo (modern Tokyo). The Tokugawa shogunate enacted a variety of measures such as Buke shohatto to control the autonomous daimyo. In 1639, the shogunate began the isolationist sakoku ("closed country") policy that spanned the two and a half centuries of tenuous political unity known as the Edo period. The study of Western sciences, known as rangaku, continued during this period through contacts with the Dutch enclave at Dejima in Nagasaki. The Edo period also gave rise to kokugaku, or literally "national studies", the study of Japan by the Japanese themselves.[Hooker, Richard (1999-07-14). Japan Glossary; Kokugaku. Washington State University. Retrieved on 2006-12-28.]
On March 31, 1854, Commodore Matthew Perry and the "Black Ships" of the United States Navy forced the opening of Japan to the outside world with the Convention of Kanagawa. Subsequent similar treaties with the Western countries in the Bakumatsu period brought Japan into economic and political crises. The abundance of the prerogative and the resignation of the shogunate led to the Boshin War and the establishment of a centralized state unified under the name of the Emperor (Meiji Restoration). Adopting Western political, judicial and military institutions, the Cabinet organized the Privy Council, introduced the Meiji Constitution, and assembled the Imperial Diet. The Meiji Restoration transformed the Empire of Japan into an industrialized world power that embarked on a number of military conflicts to expand the nation\'s sphere of influence. After victories in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), Japan gained control of Taiwan, Korea, and the southern half of Sakhalin.[Jesse Arnold. Japan: The Making of a World Superpower (Imperial Japan). vt.edu/users/jearnol2. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.]
The early twentieth century saw a brief period of "Taisho democracy" overshadowed by the rise of expansionism and militarization. World War I enabled Japan, which joined the side of the victorious Allies, to expand its influence and territorial holdings. Japan continued its expansionist policy by occupying Manchuria in 1931. As a result of international condemnation for this occupation, Japan resigned from the League of Nations two years later. In 1936, Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Nazi Germany, joining the Axis powers in 1941.[Kelley L. Ross. The Pearl Harbor Strike Force. friesian.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.]
In 1937, Japan invaded other parts of China, precipitating the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), after which the United States placed an oil embargo on Japan.[Roland H. Worth, Jr. (1995). No Choice But War: the United States Embargo Against Japan and the Eruption of War in the Pacific. McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0141-9.]
On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the United States naval base in Pearl Harbor and declared war on the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. This act brought the United States into World War II. After the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, along with the Soviet Union joining the war against it, Japan agreed to an unconditional surrender on August 15 (Victory over Japan Day).[Japanese Instrument of Surrender. educationworld.net. Retrieved on 2006-12-28.] The war cost Japan millions of lives and left much of the country\'s industry and infrastructure destroyed. The International Military Tribunal for the Far East, was convened by the Allies (on May 3, 1946) to prosecute Japanese leaders for war crimes such as the Nanking Massacre.[The Nanking Atrocities: The Postwar Judgment. University of Missouri-Columbia. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.]
In 1947, Japan adopted a new pacifist constitution emphasizing liberal democratic practices. The Allied occupation ended by the Treaty of San Francisco in 1952[Joseph Coleman (2006-03-06). \'52 coup plot bid to rearm Japan: CIA. The Japan Times. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.] and Japan was granted membership in the United Nations in 1956. Japan later achieved spectacular growth to become the second largest economy in the world, with an annual growth rate averaging 10% for four decades. This ended in the mid-1990s when Japan suffered a major recession. Positive growth in the early twenty-first century has signaled a gradual recovery.[Japan scraps zero interest rates. BBC News Online (2006-07-14). Retrieved on 2006-12-28.]
Government and politics
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Japan is a constitutional monarchy where the power of the Emperor is very limited. As a ceremonial figurehead, he is defined by the constitution as "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people". Power is held chiefly by the Prime Minister of Japan and other elected members of the Diet, while sovereignty is vested in the Japanese people.[The Constitution of Japan. House of Councillors of the National Diet of Japan (1946-11-03). Retrieved on 2007-03-10.] The Emperor effectively acts as the head of state on diplomatic occasions. Akihito is the current Emperor of Japan. Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan, stands as next in line to the throne.
Japan\'s legislative organ is the National Diet, a bicameral parliament. The Diet consists of a House of Representatives, containing 480 seats, elected by popular vote every four years or when dissolved and a House of Councillors of 242 seats, whose popularly-elected members serve six-year terms. There is universal suffrage for adults over 20 years of age,[World Factbook; Japan. CIA (2007-03-15). Retrieved on 2007-03-27.] with a secret ballot for all elective offices.[A History of the Liberal Democratic Party. Liberal Democratic Party of Japan. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.] The largest opposition party is the social liberal Democratic Party of Japan.
The Prime Minister of Japan is the head of government. The position is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office. The Prime Minister is the head of the Cabinet (the literal translation of his Japanese title is "Prime Minister of the Cabinet") and appoints and dismisses the Ministers of State, a majority of whom must be Diet members. Yasuo Fukuda currently serves as the Prime Minister of Japan.[Prime Minister of Japan and his Cabinet. Office of the Prime Minister of Japan. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.]
Historically influenced by Chinese law, the Japanese legal system developed independently during the Edo period through texts such as Kujikata Osadamegaki. However, since the late nineteenth century, the judicial system has been largely based on the civil law of Europe, notably France and Germany. For example, in 1896, the Japanese government established a civil code based on the German model. With post-World War II modifications, the code remains in effect in present-day Japan.["Japanese Civil Code". Encyclopædia Britannica (2006). Retrieved on 2006-12-28.] Statutory law originates in Japan\'s legislature, the National Diet of Japan, with the rubber-stamp approval of the Emperor. The current constitution requires that the Emperor promulgates legislation passed by the Diet, without specifically giving him the power to oppose the passing of the legislation.[The Japanese Judicial System. Office of the Prime Minister of Japan. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.] The main body of Japanese statutory law is a collection called the Six Codes.
Foreign relations and military
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Japan maintains close economic and military relations with its key ally the United States, with the U.S.-Japan security alliance serving as the cornerstone of its foreign policy.[Michael Green. Japan Is Back: Why Tokyo\'s New Assertiveness Is Good for Washington. Real Clear Politics. Retrieved on 2007-03-28.] A member state of the United Nations since 1956, Japan has served as a non-permanent Security Council member for a total of 18 years, most recently in 2005–2006. It is also one of the G4 nations seeking permanent membership in the Security Council.[UK backs Japan for UNSC bid. Cenral Chronicle. Retrieved on 2007-03-28.] As a member of the G8, the APEC, the "ASEAN Plus Three" and a participant in the East Asia Summit, Japan actively participates in international affairs. It is also the world\'s second-largest donor of official development assistance, donating US$8.86 bn in 2004.[Table: Net Official Development Assistance In 2004 (PDF).PDF(32.9KiB) Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2005-04-11). Retrieved on 2006-12-28.] Japan contributed non-combatant troops to the Iraq War but subsequently withdrew its forces from Iraq.[Tokyo says it will bring troops home from Iraq. International Herald Tribune (2006-06-20). Retrieved on 2007-03-28.]
Japan is engaged in several territorial disputes with its neighbors: with Russia over the South Kuril Islands, with the two Koreas over the Liancourt Rocks, with the People\'s Republic of China and Taiwan over the Senkaku Islands and the EEZ around Okinotorishima. Japan also faces an ongoing dispute with North Korea over its abduction of Japanese citizens and its nuclear weapons and missile program (see also Six-party talks). As a result of the Kuril Islands dispute, Japan is technically still at war with Russia since no treaty resolving the issue was ever signed.[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/rs.html]
Japan\'s military is restricted by the Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, which renounces Japan\'s right to declare war or use military force as a means of settling international disputes, although the conservatives are seeking to amend the Constitution via a referendum.[Japan approves constitution steps. BBC News. Retrieved on 2007-05-15.] Japan\'s military is governed by the Ministry of Defense, and primarily consists of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). The forces have been recently used in peacekeeping operations and the deployment of Japanese troops to Iraq marked the first overseas use of its military since World War II.
Administrative divisions
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While there exist eight commonly defined regions of Japan, administratively Japan consists of forty-seven prefectures, each overseen by an elected governor, legislature and administrative bureaucracy. The former city of Tokyo is further divided into twenty-three special wards, each with the same powers as cities.
The nation is currently undergoing administrative reorganization by merging many of the cities, towns and villages with each other. This process will reduce the number of sub-prefecture administrative regions and is expected to cut administrative costs.[Mabuchi, Masaru (May 2001). Municipal Amalgamation in Japan (PDF). World Bank. Retrieved on 2006-12-28.]
Japan has dozens of major cities, which play an important role in Japan\'s culture, heritage and economy. Those in the list below of the ten most populous are all prefectural capitals and government ordinance cities, except where indicated:
| | City | Prefecture | Population[Japan—City Population. citypopulation.de. Retrieved on 2007-02-01.]
|
| 1 | Tokyoa | Tokyo | 8,535,792 |
2 | Yokohama | Kanagawa | 3,602,758
| 3 | Osaka | Osaka | 2,635,420
| 4 | Nagoya | Aichi | 2,223,148
| 5 | Sapporo | Hokkaidō | 1,888,953
| 6 | Kobe | Hyōgo | 1,528,687
| 7 | Kyoto | Kyoto | 1,472,511
| 8 | Fukuoka | Fukuoka | 1,414,417
| 9 | Kawasakib | Kanagawa | 1,342,262
| 10 | Saitama | Saitama | 1,182,744
|
a 23 municipalities. Also capital of Japan.
b Government Ordinance City only.
Geography
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Japan from space, May 2003.
Japan is a country of over three thousand islands extending along the Pacific coast of Asia. The main islands, running from north to south, are Hokkaidō, Honshū (the main island), Shikoku and Kyūshū. The Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa, are a chain of islands south of Kyushū. Together they are often known as the Japanese Archipelago.
About 70% to 80% of the country is forested, mountainous,["Japan". Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia (2006). Retrieved on 2006-12-28.][Japan Information—Page 1. WorldInfoZone.com. Retrieved on 2006-12-28.] and unsuitable for agricultural, industrial, or residential use. This is because of the generally steep elevations, climate and risk of landslides caused by earthquakes, soft ground and heavy rain. This has resulted in an extremely high population density in the habitable zones that are mainly located in coastal areas. Japan is the thirtieth most densely populated country in the world.[World Population Prospects. UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.]
Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, at the juncture of three tectonic plates, gives Japan frequent low-intensity tremors and occasional volcanic activity. Destructive earthquakes, often resulting in tsunamis, occur several times each century.[Tectonics and Volcanoes of Japan. Oregon State University. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.] The most recent major quakes are the 2004 Chūetsu earthquake and the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995. Hot springs are numerous and have been developed as resorts.[Attractions: Hot Springs. JNTO. Retrieved on 2007-04-01.]
The climate of Japan is predominantly temperate, but varies greatly from north to south.[Essential Info: Climate. JNTO. Retrieved on 2007-04-01.] Japan\'s geographical features divide it into six principal climatic zones:
- Hokkaidō: The northernmost zone has a temperate climate with long, cold winters and cool summers. Precipitation is not heavy, but the islands usually develop deep snow banks in the winter.
- Sea of Japan: On Honshū\'s west coast, the northwest wind in the wintertime brings heavy snowfall. In the summer, the region is cooler than the Pacific area, though it sometimes experiences extremely hot temperatures, because of the foehn wind phenomenon.
- Central Highland: A typical inland climate, with large temperature differences between summer and winter, and between day and night. Precipitation is light.
- Seto Inland Sea: The mountains of the Chūgoku and Shikoku regions shelter the region from the seasonal winds, bringing mild weather throughout the year.
- Pacific Ocean: The east coast experiences cold winters with little snowfall and hot, humid summers because of the southeast seasonal wind.
- Ryukyu Islands: The Ryukyu Islands have a subtropical climate, with warm winters and hot summers. Precipitation is very heavy, especially during the rainy season. Typhoons are common.
The hottest temperature ever measured in Japan — 40.9 degrees Celsius — was recorded on August 16, 2007.[Gifu Prefecture sees highest temperature ever recorded in Japan - 40.9. Japan News Review Society (20]
