View source for Japan

{{Short description|Island country in East Asia}}
{{redirect-several|Japan|Nihon|Nippon|JPN}}
{{Featured article}}
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{{Use American English|date=December 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Japan
| common_name            = Japan
| native_name            = {{native name|ja|日本国|italics=off}}<br />{{resize|90%|{{transliteration|ja|Nihon-koku}} or {{transliteration|ja|Nippon-koku}}}}
| image_flag             = Flag of Japan.svg
| alt_flag               = Centered deep red circle on a white rectangle
| image_coat             = Imperial Seal of Japan.svg
| alt_coat               = Golden circle subdivided by golden wedges with rounded outer edges and thin black outlines
| symbol_type            = [[Imperial Seal of Japan|Imperial crest]]
| other_symbol           = 
| other_symbol_type      = 
| national_anthem        = <br />{{lang|ja|君が代}} ("{{transliteration|ja|[[Kimigayo]]|i=no}}")<br />"His Majesty's Reign"{{parabr}}{{center|[[File:Kimi ga Yo instrumental.ogg]]}}
| image_map              = Japan (orthographic projection).svg
| map_width              = 250px
| alt_map                = Projection of Asia with Japan's Area colored green
| map_caption            = {{Legend|#336830|Location of Japan}}
{{Legend|#61E760|[[Territorial disputes of Japan|Territory claimed but not controlled]]}}
| capital                = [[Tokyo]]
| coordinates            = {{Coord|35|41|N|139|46|E|type:city}}
| largest_city           = capital
| languages_type         = [[National language]]
| languages              = [[Japanese language|Japanese]]
| languages2_type        = Regional languages
| languages2             = {{plainlist|
* [[Ainu language|Ainu]]<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lewallen |first1=Ann-Elise |title=Indigenous at last! Ainu Grassroots Organizing and the Indigenous Peoples Summit in Ainu Mosir |url=https://apjjf.org/-ann-elise-lewallen/2971/article.html |work=The Asia Pacific Journal (Japan Focus) |issue=11 |date=November 1, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023122729/https://apjjf.org/-ann-elise-lewallen/2971/article.html |archivedate= October 23, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
 |last=Martin |first=Kylie
 |date=2011
 |title=Aynu itak: On the Road to Ainu Language Revitalization
 |journal=Media and Communication Studies
 |script-journal=ja:メディア·コミュニケーション研究
 |volume=60
 |pages=57–93
 |url=https://eprints.lib.hokudai.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2115/47031/1/MSC60_005.pdf
 |url-status=live
 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150421225339/https://eprints.lib.hokudai.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2115/47031/1/MSC60_005.pdf
 |archivedate=April 21, 2015
}}</ref> (recognized)
* [[Ryukyuan&nbsp;languages]]
* [[Hachijō language|Hachijō]]
}}
| languages2_sub         = yes
| government_type        = Unitary [[parliamentary constitutional monarchy]]
| leader_title1          = [[Emperor of Japan|Emperor]]
| leader_name1           = [[Naruhito]]
| leader_title2          = [[Prime Minister of Japan|Prime Minister]]
| leader_name2           = [[Sanae Takaichi]]
| legislature            = [[National Diet]]
| upper_house            = [[House of Councillors]]
| lower_house            = [[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]]
| sovereignty_type       = [[History of Japan|Formation]]<!--if necessary, discuss on talk page to determine what events are relevant here before editing-->
| established_event1     = [[Meiji Constitution]]
| established_date1      = November 29, 1890
| established_event2     = {{nowrap|[[Constitution of Japan|Current constitution]]}}
| established_date2      = May 3, 1947
| area_km2               = 377,975
| area_footnote          = <ref name="area-2019">{{cite web|script-title=ja:令和元年全国都道府県市区町村別面積調 (10月1日時点)|url=https://www.gsi.go.jp/KOKUJYOHO/MENCHO201910-index.html|trans-title=Reiwa 1 nationwide area survey by prefectures and municipalities (as of October 1)
|publisher=[[Geospatial Information Authority of Japan]]|language=ja|date=December 26, 2019|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200415123703/https://www.gsi.go.jp/KOKUJYOHO/MENCHO201910-index.html|archivedate=April 15, 2020|url-status=dead }}</ref>
| percent_water          = 1.4<ref>{{cite web|title=Surface water and surface water change|accessdate=October 11, 2020|publisher=OECD|url=https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=SURFACE_WATER|archive-date=March 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210324133453/https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=SURFACE_WATER|url-status=live}}</ref>
| area_rank              = 62nd<!-- Area rank should match [[List of countries and dependencies by area]] -->
| population_census      = {{DecreaseNeutral}} 126,146,099<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.e-stat.go.jp/en/dbview?sid=0003445154|title=2020 Population Census: population by sex, age (single years), month of birth and all nationality or Japanese|accessdate=July 7, 2024|publisher=[[Statistics Bureau of Japan]]|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240707224705/https://www.e-stat.go.jp/en/dbview?sid=0003445154|archivedate=July 7, 2024|url-status=live}}</ref>
| population_census_rank = 
| population_census_year = 2020
| population_estimate    = {{DecreaseNeutral}} 123,360,000<ref>{{Cite web |title=Population estimates by age (five-year groups) and sex |url=https://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/jinsui/tsuki/index.html |accessdate=February 20, 2024 |publisher=Statistics Bureau of Japan |archive-date=April 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180405030144/https://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/jinsui/tsuki/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
| population_estimate_year = June 1, 2025
| population_estimate_rank = 11th
| population_density_km2 = 330<!-- Per [[WP:CALC]], 125,416,877 / 377,975 = 330.29 -->
| population_density_rank = 39th
| GDP_PPP                = {{increase}} $6.758 trillion<ref name="IMFWEO.JP">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2025/April/weo-report?c=158,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2022&ey=2029&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |title=World Economic Outlook Database, April 2025 Edition. (Japan) |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]]|date=April 22, 2025}}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_year           = 2025
| GDP_PPP_rank           = 5th
| GDP_PPP_per_capita     = {{increase}} $54,815<ref name="IMFWEO.JP" />
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 39th
| GDP_nominal            = {{increase}} $4.230 trillion<ref name="IMFWEO.JP" />
| GDP_nominal_year       = 2025
| GDP_nominal_rank       = 4th
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $34,713<ref name="IMFWEO.JP" />
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 36th
| Gini                   = 32.3<!-- Number only. -->
| Gini_year              = 2020
| Gini_change            = decrease<!-- Increase/decrease/steady. -->
| Gini_ref               = <ref name="GINI">{{Cite web |title=Gini index – Japan |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI?locations=JP |accessdate=October 15, 2025 |publisher=World Bank}}</ref>
| HDI                    = 0.925<!-- Number only, between 0 and 1. -->
| HDI_year               = 2023<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year. -->
| HDI_change             = increase<!-- Increase/decrease/steady. -->
| HDI_ref                = <ref name="HDI">{{Cite web |date=6 May 2025 |title=Human Development Report 2025 |url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250506051232/https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf |archive-date=6 May 2025 |access-date=6 May 2025 |publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]] |language=en}}</ref>
| HDI_rank               = 23rd
| currency               = [[Japanese yen]] ([[¥]])
| time_zone              = [[Japan Standard Time|JST]]
| utc_offset             = +09:00
| drives_on              = left
| calling_code           = [[+81]]
| cctld                  = [[.jp]]
| official_website       = <!----- Do not add www.japan.go.jp – this article is about the country, not the government. ----->
| demonym                = Japanese
| today                  = 
}}
'''Japan'''{{efn|{{langx|ja|日本}}, {{transliteration|ja|Nihon}} {{IPA|ja|ɲihoꜜɴ||ja-nihon(日本).ogg}} or {{transliteration|ja|Nippon}} {{IPA|ja|ɲippoꜜɴ||ja-nippon(日本).ogg}}, formally {{lang|ja|日本国}}, ''{{transliteration|ja|Nihon-koku}}'' or ''{{transliteration|ja|Nippon-koku}}''. In Japanese, the name of the country as it appears on official documents, including [[Constitution of Japan|the country's constitution]], is {{lang|ja|日本国}}, meaning "State of Japan". The short name {{lang|ja|日本}} is also often used officially. In English, the official name of the country is simply "Japan".<ref>{{cite web|title=Official Names of Member States (UNTERM)|url=https://protocol.un.org/dgacm/pls/site.nsf/files/Country%20Names%20UNTERM3/$FILE/UNTERM%20-%20EFSRCA.pdf|publisher=[[UN Protocol and Liaison Service]]|accessdate=May 21, 2020|archivedate=June 5, 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605193554/https://protocol.un.org/dgacm/pls/site.nsf/files/Country%20Names%20UNTERM3/$FILE/UNTERM%20-%20EFSRCA.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>|group=nb}} is an [[island country]] in [[East Asia]]. Located in the [[Pacific Ocean]] off the northeast coast of the [[Asia|Asian mainland]], it is bordered to the west by the [[Sea of Japan]] and extends from the [[Sea of Okhotsk]] in the north to the [[East China Sea]] in the south. The [[Japanese archipelago]] consists of four major islands alongside [[List of islands of Japan|14,121 smaller islands]]. Japan is divided into [[Prefectures of Japan|47 administrative prefectures]] and [[List of regions of Japan|eight traditional regions]], and around 75% of [[Geography of Japan|its terrain]] is mountainous and heavily forested, concentrating [[Agriculture in Japan|its agriculture]] and [[Urbanization by country|highly urbanized]] population along its eastern [[coastal plain]]s. With a population of over 123&nbsp;million as of 2025, it is the world's [[List of countries and dependencies by population|11th most populous country]]. [[Tokyo]] is [[Capital of Japan|the country's capital]] and [[List of cities in Japan|largest city]].

The first known habitation of the [[archipelago]] dates to the [[Upper Paleolithic]], with the beginning of the [[Japanese Paleolithic]] dating to {{Circa|36,000 BC}}. Between the 4th and 6th centuries, its kingdoms were united under [[Emperor of Japan|an emperor]] in [[Nara (city)|Nara]] and later in [[Heian-kyō]]. From the 12th century, actual power was held by military aristocrats known as {{transliteration|ja|[[shōgun]]}} and feudal lords called {{transliteration|ja|[[daimyō]]}}, enforced by warrior nobility named ''[[samurai]]''.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Spafford | first1=David | title=Emperor and Shogun, Pope and King: The Development of Japan's Warrior Aristocracy | journal=Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts | date=2014 | volume=88 | issue=1–4 | pages=10–19 | doi=10.1086/DIA43493624 }}</ref> After rule by the [[Kamakura period|Kamakura]] and [[Muromachi period|Ashikaga shogunates]] and [[Sengoku period|a century of warring states]], Japan was unified in 1600 by the [[Tokugawa shogunate]], which implemented [[Sakoku|an isolationist foreign policy]]. In 1853, [[Perry Expedition|an American fleet]] forced Japan to [[Bakumatsu|open trade to the West]], which led to the [[Boshin War|end of the shogunate]] and the [[Meiji Restoration|restoration of imperial power]] in 1868. 

The [[Meiji period]] saw Japan pursue rapid [[industrialization]], [[modernization]], [[Japanese militarism|militarism]], and [[Japanese colonial empire|overseas colonization]]. The country [[Korea_under_Japanese_rule|annexed Korea]] in 1910, [[Second Sino-Japanese War|invaded China]] in 1937, and [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|attacked the U.S.]] and [[European colonial powers]] in 1941, thus [[Japan during World War II|entering World War II]] as an [[Axis power]]. After being defeated in the [[Pacific War]] and suffering the U.S. [[atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki]], Japan [[Surrender of Japan|surrendered in 1945]] and [[Occupation of Japan|came under Allied occupation]]. It underwent [[Japanese economic miracle|rapid economic growth]] in the following decades and became one of the first [[major non-NATO allies]] of the U.S. 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]].

Japan is a [[constitutional monarchy]] with a [[Bicameralism|bicameral legislature]] known as the [[National Diet]]. Widely considered a [[great power]] and the only Asian member of the [[G7]], it maintains [[Japan Self-Defense Forces|one of the world's strongest militaries]] but has [[Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution|constitutionally renounced its right to declare war]]. A [[developed country]] with one of the world's [[List of countries by GDP (nominal)|largest economies by nominal GDP]], it is a global leader in the [[Automotive industry in Japan|automotive]], [[Electronics industry in Japan|electronics]], and [[Japanese robotics|robotics]] industries, in addition to making significant [[Science and technology in Japan|contributions to science and technology]]. It has one of the world's [[List of countries by life expectancy|highest life expectancies]], but is undergoing [[Aging of Japan|a population decline]]. The [[culture of Japan]] is well known around the world, particularly [[Japanese popular culture|its popular culture]] as expressed in [[anime|animation]], [[Japanese art|art]], [[manga|comics]], [[Japanese cuisine|cuisine]], [[Japanese clothing|fashion]], [[Japanese cinema|films]], [[Music of Japan|music]], [[Television in Japan|television]], and [[Video games in Japan|video games]].
{{TOClimit|3}}

==Etymology==
{{Main|Names of Japan}}

The name for Japan in [[Japanese language|Japanese]] is written using the [[kanji]] {{nihongo2|日本}} and is pronounced {{transliteration|ja|Nihon}} or {{transliteration|ja|Nippon}}.<ref name="schreiber">{{cite web|last1=Schreiber|first1=Mark|title=You say 'Nihon', I say 'Nippon', or let's call the whole thing 'Japan'?|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2019/11/26/language/nihon-nippon-japan/|website=[[The Japan Times]]|date=November 26, 2019|archivedate=October 27, 2022|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221027120630/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2019/11/26/language/nihon-nippon-japan/|url-status=live}}</ref> Before {{nihongo2|日本}} was adopted in the early 8th century, the country was known in China as {{transliteration|zh|[[Wa (name of Japan)|Wa]]}} ({{lang|zh|倭}}, changed in Japan around 757 to {{Nihongo2|和}}) and in Japan by the [[endonym]] {{transliteration|ja|Yamato}}.<ref name="carr">{{cite journal|last1=Carr|first1=Michael|title=Wa Wa Lexicography|journal=International Journal of Lexicography|date=March 1992|volume=5|issue=1|pages=1–31|doi=10.1093/ijl/5.1.1|url=https://academic.oup.com/ijl/article/5/1/1/950449|url-access=subscription}}</ref> {{transliteration|ja|Nippon}}, the original [[Sino-Japanese reading]] of the characters, is favored for official uses, including on [[Japanese banknotes]] and postage stamps.<ref name="schreiber" /> {{transliteration|ja|Nihon}} is typically used in everyday speech and reflects shifts in [[Japanese phonology]] during the [[Edo period]].<ref name="carr" /> The characters {{nihongo2|日本}} mean "sun origin",<ref name="schreiber" /> which is the source of the popular Western [[epithet]] "Land of the Rising Sun".<ref>{{cite book|title=The Emergence of Japanese Kingship|author1-link=Joan R. Piggott|first=Joan R.|last=Piggott|year=1997|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=978-0-8047-2832-4|pages=143–144|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BruaJSZmjHcC}}</ref>

The name "Japan" is based on [[Min Chinese|Min]] or [[Wu Chinese]] pronunciations of {{nihongo2|日本}} and was introduced to European languages through early trade.<ref name=Mancall /> In the 13th century, [[Marco Polo]] recorded the [[Early Mandarin]] Chinese pronunciation of the characters {{lang|zh|日本國}} as {{transliteration|cmn|Cipangu}}.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2008/07/27/general/cipangus-landlocked-isles/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180825151317/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2008/07/27/general/cipangus-landlocked-isles|archivedate=August 25, 2018|title=Cipangu's landlocked isles|newspaper=The Japan Times|date=July 27, 2008|last1=Hoffman|first1=Michael }}</ref> The old [[Malay language|Malay]] name for Japan, {{lang|ms|Japang}} or {{lang|ms|Japun}}, was borrowed from a southern coastal Chinese dialect and encountered by [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] traders in [[Southeast Asia]], who brought the word to Europe in the early 16th century.<ref>{{cite book|title=Asia in the Making of Europe|volume=I|page=157|year=2010|publisher=University of Chicago Press|last=Lach|first=Donald}}</ref> The first version of the name in English appears in a book published in 1577, which spelled the name as ''Giapan'' in a translation of a 1565 Portuguese letter.<ref>{{cite book|last=Mancall|first=Peter C.|title=Travel Narratives from the Age of Discovery: an anthology|year=2006|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=156–157|chapter=Of the Ilande of Giapan, 1565}}</ref><ref name=Mancall>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=giZnAgAAQBAJ&pg=PAPA79|title=London: The Selden Map and the Making of a Global City, 1549–1689|first=Robert K.|last=Batchelor|pages=76, 79|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-08079-6|year=2014}}</ref>

==History==
{{Main|History of Japan}}

{{For timeline|Timeline of Japanese history}}

===Prehistoric to classical history===
[[File:Emperor Jimmu.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Legend]]ary {{Nihongo|[[Emperor Jimmu]]|神武天皇|Jinmu-tennō}}]]
Modern humans arrived in Japan around 38,000 years ago (~36,000 BC), marking the beginning of the [[Japanese Paleolithic]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kondo |first=Y. |last2=Takeshita |first2=Y. |last3=Watanabe |first3=T. |last4=Seki |first4=M. |last5=Nojiri-ko Excavation Research Group |date=April 2018 |title=Geology and Quaternary environments of the Tategahana Paleolithic site in Nojiri-ko (Lake Nojiri), Nagano, central Japan |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1040618217300307 |journal=Quaternary International |language=en |volume=471 |pages=385–395 |doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2017.12.012}}</ref> Around 14,500&nbsp;BC (the start of the [[Jōmon period]]), a [[Mesolithic]] to [[Neolithic]] semi-sedentary [[hunter-gatherer]] culture characterized by [[pit dwelling]] and rudimentary agriculture emerged.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Habu |first1=Junko |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vGnAbTyTynsC&pg=PA43 |title=Ancient Jomon of Japan |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-521-77670-7 |page=43}}</ref> [[Jōmon pottery|Clay vessels]] from the period are among the oldest surviving examples of pottery.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/jomo/hd_jomo.htm|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art|title=Jōmon Culture (ca. 10,500–ca. 300 B.C.)|accessdate=August 28, 2020|archive-date=December 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213222716/https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/jomo/hd_jomo.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Japonic]]-speaking [[Yayoi people]] later entered the archipelago from the Korean Peninsula,<ref>{{cite news |last=Wade |first=Nicholas |date=May 4, 2011 |title=Finding on Dialects Casts New Light on the Origins of the Japanese People |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/04/science/04language.html |url-access=limited |archivedate=March 31, 2018 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180331175152/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/04/science/04language.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | surname = Vovin | given = Alexander | author-link = Alexander Vovin | chapter = Origins of the Japanese Language | doi = 10.1093/acrefore/9780199384655.013.277 | doi-access = free | title = Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 2017 | isbn = 978-0-19-938465-5}}</ref><ref name="Yayoi culture" /> intermingling with the [[Jōmon people]].<ref name="Yayoi culture">{{cite journal |last1= Watanabe |first1=Yusuke |last2=Naka |first2=Izumi |last3= Khor |first3=Seik-Soon |last4=Sawai |first4=Hiromi |last5=Hitomi |first5=Yuki |last6=Tokunaga |first6=Katsushi |last7=Ohashi |first7= Jun |title=Analysis of whole Y-chromosome sequences reveals the Japanese population history in the Jomon period |journal= Scientific Reports |date=June 17, 2019 |volume=9 |issue=1 |page =8556 |doi=10.1038/s41598-019-44473-z |doi-access=free }}</ref> The [[Yayoi period]] saw the introduction of innovative practices including [[Paddy field|wet-rice farming]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Road of rice plant|url=http://www.kahaku.go.jp/special/past/japanese/ipix/5/5-25.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430010530/http://www.kahaku.go.jp/special/past/japanese/ipix/5/5-25.html|archivedate=April 30, 2011|publisher=[[National Science Museum of Japan]]|accessdate=January 15, 2011}}</ref> a new [[Yayoi pottery|style of pottery]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Kofun Period (ca. 300–710)|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/kofu/hd_kofu.htm|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art|accessdate=August 28, 2020|archive-date=February 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221210151/https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/kofu/hd_kofu.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> and metallurgy from China and Korea.<ref>{{cite web|title=Yayoi Culture (ca. 300 B.C.–300 A.D.)|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/yayo/hd_yayo.htm|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art|accessdate=August 28, 2020|archive-date=January 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104161858/https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/yayo/hd_yayo.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> According to legend, [[Emperor Jimmu]] (descendant of [[Amaterasu]]) founded a kingdom in central Japan in 660 BC, beginning [[Imperial House of Japan|a continuous imperial line]].<ref name=":1">{{cite book |last=Hendry |first=Joy |url=https://archive.org/details/understandingjap00hend |title=Understanding Japanese Society |publisher=Routledge |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-136-27918-8 |page=9 |url-access=registration}}</ref>

Japan first appears in written history in the Chinese ''[[Book of Han]]'', completed in 111 AD, where it is described as having a hundred small kingdoms. A century later, the ''[[Book of Wei]]'' records that the kingdom of [[Yamatai]] (which may refer to [[Yamato Kingship|Yamato]]) unified most of these kingdoms.<ref>{{cite book |last=Henshall |first=Kenneth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vD76fF5hqf8C |title=A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-230-34662-8 |pages=14&ndash;16}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> [[Buddhism]] was introduced to Japan from [[Baekje]] (a Korean kingdom) in 552, but the development of [[Japanese Buddhism]] was primarily influenced by China.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Delmer M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A3_6lp8IOK8C&pg=PA141 |title=The Cambridge History of Japan |last2=Hall |first2=John Whitney |last3=Jansen |first3=Marius B. |last4=Shively |first4=Donald H. |last5=Twitchett |first5=Denis |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-521-22352-2 |volume=1 |pages=140–149, 275}}</ref> Despite early resistance, Buddhism was promoted by the ruling class, including figures like [[Prince Shōtoku]], and gained widespread acceptance beginning in the [[Asuka period]] (592–710).<ref>{{cite book |last=Beasley |first=William Gerald |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9AivK7yMICgC&pg=PA42 |title=The Japanese Experience: A Short History of Japan |publisher=University of California Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-520-22560-2 |page=42}}</ref>

In 645, the government led by [[Prince Naka no Ōe]] and [[Fujiwara no Kamatari]] devised and implemented the far-reaching [[Taika Reform]]s. The Reform began with land reform, based on Confucian ideas and [[Chinese philosophy|philosophies]] from [[China]].<ref name="Totman 2005">{{cite book|last=Totman|first=Conrad|title=A History of Japan|edition=2nd|year=2005|publisher=Blackwell|isbn=978-1-4051-2359-4|page=72|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z_a_QgAACAAJ}}</ref> It nationalized all land in Japan, to be [[Equal-field system|distributed equally]] among cultivators, and ordered the compilation of a household registry as the basis for a new system of taxation.<ref name="Sansom" /> The true aim of the reforms was to bring about greater centralization and to enhance the power of the imperial court, which was also based on the governmental structure of China. Envoys and students were dispatched to China to learn about Chinese writing, politics, art, and religion.<ref name = "Totman 2005"/> 

The [[Jinshin War]] of 672, a bloody conflict between [[Prince Ōama]] and his nephew [[Prince Ōtomo]], became a major catalyst for further administrative reforms.<ref name="ritsuryo" /> These reforms culminated with the promulgation of the [[Taihō Code]], which consolidated existing statutes and established the structure of the central and subordinate local governments.<ref name="Sansom">{{cite book|first=George|last=Sansom|year=1986|orig-year=1961|edition=reprint|title=A History of Japan: 1334–1615|publisher=Stanford University Press|pages=57, 68|isbn=978-0-8047-0525-7|url={{Google books|0syC6L77dpAC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} }}</ref> These legal reforms created the {{transliteration|ja|[[ritsuryō]]}} state, a system of Chinese-style centralized government that remained in place for half a millennium.<ref name="ritsuryo">{{cite book|first=Conrad|last=Totman|year=2002|title=A History of Japan|publisher=Blackwell|pages=107–108|isbn=978-1-4051-2359-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z_a_QgAACAAJ}}</ref>

The [[Nara period]] (710–784) marked the emergence of a Japanese state centered on the Imperial Court in [[Heijō Palace|Heijō-kyō]] (modern [[Nara, Nara|Nara]]). The period is characterized by the appearance of a nascent [[Japanese literature|literary culture]] with the completion of the {{transliteration|ja|[[Kojiki]]}} (712) and {{transliteration|ja|[[Nihon Shoki]]}} (720), as well as the development of Buddhist-inspired artwork and [[Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara|architecture]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Conrad|last=Totman|year=2002|title=A History of Japan|publisher=Blackwell|pages=64–79|isbn=978-1-4051-2359-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z_a_QgAACAAJ}}</ref><ref name="Courtiers">{{cite book |author=Henshall, Kenneth |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p5OL-k7A4mAC&pg=PT40 |title=A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-230-36918-4 |pages=24–52 |chapter=Of Courtiers and Warriors: Early and Medieval History (710–1600)}}</ref> A [[735–737 Japanese smallpox epidemic|smallpox epidemic in 735–737]] is believed to have killed as much as one-third of Japan's population.<ref name="Courtiers" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Hays |first=J.N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GyE8Qt-kS1kC&pg=PA31 |title=Epidemics and pandemics: their impacts on human history |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-85109-658-9 |page=31}}</ref> In 784, [[Emperor Kanmu]] moved the capital, settling on [[Heian-kyō]] (modern-day [[Kyoto]]) in 794.<ref name="Courtiers" /> This marked the beginning of the [[Heian period]] (794–1185), during which a distinctly indigenous Japanese culture emerged. [[Murasaki Shikibu]]'s ''[[The Tale of Genji]]'' and the lyrics of Japan's national anthem {{transliteration|ja|"[[Kimigayo]]"}} were written during this time.<ref>{{cite book|first=Conrad|last=Totman|year=2002|title=A History of Japan|publisher=Blackwell|pages=79–87, 122–123|isbn=978-1-4051-2359-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z_a_QgAACAAJ}}</ref>

===Feudal era===
[[File:Mokoshuraiekotoba.jpg|thumb|Japanese [[samurai]] boarding a Mongol vessel during the [[Mongol invasions of Japan]], depicted in the {{transliteration|ja|[[Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba]]}}, 1293]]
[[File:The Three Unifiers of Japan.jpg|thumb|Three unifiers of Japan. Left to right: [[Oda Nobunaga]], [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] and [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]].]]

Japan's feudal era was characterized by the emergence and dominance of a ruling class of warriors, the [[samurai]].<ref name="Leibo2015">{{cite book|first=Steven A.|last=Leibo|title=East and Southeast Asia 2015–2016|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1yX-CQAAQBAJ&pg=PA99|year=2015|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|isbn=978-1-4758-1875-8|pages=99–104}}</ref> In 1185, following the defeat of the [[Taira clan]] by the [[Minamoto clan]] in the [[Genpei War]], samurai [[Minamoto no Yoritomo]] established a [[military government]] at [[Kamakura]].<ref>{{cite book|title=World Monarchies and Dynasties|last=Middleton|first=John|year=2015|page=616|publisher=Routledge}}</ref> After Yoritomo's death, the [[Hōjō clan]] came to power as regents for the {{transliteration|ja|shōgun}}.<ref name="Courtiers" /> The [[Zen]] school of Buddhism was introduced from China in the [[Kamakura period]] (1185–1333) and became popular among the samurai class.<ref>{{cite book|last=Totman|first=Conrad|title=A History of Japan|edition=2nd|year=2005|publisher=Blackwell|isbn=978-1-4051-2359-4|pages=106–112|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z_a_QgAACAAJ}}</ref> 

The [[Kamakura shogunate]] repelled [[Mongol invasions of Japan|Mongol invasions]] in 1274 and 1281 but was eventually [[Kenmu Restoration|overthrown]] by [[Emperor Go-Daigo]].<ref name="Courtiers" /> Go-Daigo was defeated by [[Ashikaga Takauji]] in 1336, beginning the [[Muromachi period]] (1336–1573).<ref name="Shirane2012a">{{cite book|first=Haruo|last=Shirane|title=Traditional Japanese Literature: An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E8qq6zhhM5kC&pg=PA409|year=2012|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-15730-8|page=409}}</ref> The succeeding [[Ashikaga shogunate]] failed to control the feudal warlords ({{transliteration|ja|daimyō}}) and [[Ōnin War|a civil war]] began in 1467, opening the century-long [[Sengoku period]] ("Warring States").<ref>{{cite book|first=George|last=Sansom|year=1986|orig-year=1961|edition=reprint|title=A History of Japan: 1334–1615|publisher=Stanford University Press|pages=42, 217|isbn=978-0-8047-0525-7|url={{Google books|0syC6L77dpAC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} }}</ref>

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]]).<ref name="Courtiers" /><ref>{{cite book|title=Tanegashima|year=2005|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=0-203-47957-2|last=Lidin|first=Olof}}</ref> [[Oda Nobunaga]] used European technology and firearms to conquer many other {{transliteration|ja|daimyō}};<ref>{{cite journal|title=The impact of firearms on Japanese warfare, 1543–98|last=Brown|first=Delmer|journal=The Far Eastern Quarterly|volume=7|issue=3|date=May 1948|doi=10.2307/2048846|pages=236–253}}</ref> his consolidation of power began what was known as the [[Azuchi–Momoyama period]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://collections.dma.org/essay/dAg2pDvx|publisher=Dallas Museum of Art|title=Azuchi-Momoyama period (1573–1603)|accessdate=October 3, 2020|archive-date=November 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106110854/https://collections.dma.org/essay/dAg2pDvx|url-status=live}}</ref> After [[Honnō-ji Incident|the death of Nobunaga]] in 1582, his successor, [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]], unified the nation in the early 1590s and launched [[Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98)|two unsuccessful invasions of Korea in 1592 and 1597]].<ref name="Courtiers" />

[[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.<ref name="Turnbull2011">{{cite book|last=Turnbull|first=Stephen|title=Toyotomi Hideyoshi|year=2011|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1-84603-960-7|page=61|url={{Google books|x8govgAACAAJ|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}}}</ref> When open war broke out, Ieyasu defeated rival clans in the [[Battle of Sekigahara]] in 1600. He was appointed {{transliteration|ja|shōgun}} by [[Emperor Go-Yōzei]] in 1603 and established the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] at [[Edo]] (modern Tokyo).<ref name="Closed">{{cite book|chapter=The Closed Country: the Tokugawa Period (1600–1868)|pages=53–74|author=Henshall, Kenneth|title=A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower|isbn=978-0-230-36918-4|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2012}}</ref> The shogunate enacted measures including {{transliteration|ja|[[buke shohatto]]}}, as a code of conduct to control the autonomous {{transliteration|ja|daimyō}},<ref>{{cite book|last=Totman|first=Conrad|title=A History of Japan|edition=2nd|year=2005|publisher=Blackwell|isbn=978-1-4051-2359-4|pages=142–143|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z_a_QgAACAAJ}}</ref> and in 1639 the isolationist {{transliteration|ja|[[sakoku]]}} ("closed country") policy that spanned the two and a half centuries of tenuous political unity known as the [[Edo period]] (1603–1868).<ref name="Closed" /><ref>{{cite journal|last=Toby|first=Ronald P.|title=Reopening the Question of Sakoku: Diplomacy in the Legitimation of the Tokugawa Bakufu|journal=Journal of Japanese Studies|year=1977|volume=3|issue=2|pages=323–363|doi=10.2307/132115|jstor=132115}}</ref> 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 contract]]s, banking and insurance of the [[Osaka rice brokers]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Origins of Japanese Trade Supremacy|author=Howe, Christopher|publisher=Hurst & Company|year=1996|isbn=978-1-85065-538-1|pages=58ff|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XkCRcv0iXn0C}}</ref> The study of Western sciences ({{transliteration|ja|[[rangaku]]}}) continued through contact with the Dutch enclave in [[Nagasaki]].<ref name="Closed" /> The Edo period gave rise to {{transliteration|ja|[[kokugaku]]}} ("national studies"), the study of Japan by the Japanese.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ohtsu|first1=M.|last2=Imanari|first2=Tomio|title=Japanese National Values and Confucianism|journal=Japanese Economy|year=1999|volume=27|issue=2|pages=45–59|doi=10.2753/JES1097-203X270245}}</ref>

===Modern era===
{{multiple image
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 | image1 = Meiji tenno1.jpg
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 | caption1 =  {{nihongo|[[Emperor Meiji]]|明治天皇|Meiji-tennō}}; 1852–1912

 | image2 = Japanese Empire (orthographic projection).svg
 | alt2 = 
 | caption2 = The [[Empire of Japan]] and its influence, 1942
}}
The [[United States Navy]] sent Commodore [[Matthew C. Perry]] to force the opening of Japan to the outside world. Arriving at [[Uraga, Kanagawa|Uraga]] with four "[[Black Ships]]" in July 1853, the [[Perry Expedition]] resulted in the March 1854 [[Convention of Kanagawa]].<ref name="Closed"/> Subsequent similar treaties with other Western countries brought economic and political crises.<ref name="Closed"/> The resignation of the {{transliteration|ja|shōgun}} led to the [[Boshin War]] and the establishment of a [[Abolition of the han system|centralized state]] nominally unified under the emperor (the [[Meiji Restoration]]).<ref>{{cite book|last=Totman|first=Conrad|title=A History of Japan|edition=2nd|year=2005|publisher=Blackwell|isbn=978-1-4051-2359-4|pages=289–296|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z_a_QgAACAAJ}}</ref> Adopting Western political, judicial, and military institutions, the [[Cabinet of Japan|Cabinet]] organized the [[Privy Council (Japan)|Privy Council]], introduced the [[Meiji Constitution]] (November 29, 1890), and assembled the [[National Diet|Imperial Diet]].<ref name=modernnation>{{cite book|chapter=Building a Modern Nation: the Meiji Period (1868–1912)|pages=75–107|author=Henshall, Kenneth|title=A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower|isbn=978-0-230-36918-4|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2012}}</ref> 

During the [[Meiji period]] (1868–1912), the [[Empire of Japan]] emerged as the most developed state in [[Asia]] and as an industrialized world power that pursued military conflict to expand its sphere of influence.<ref>{{cite book|last=McCargo|first=Duncan|title=Contemporary Japan|year=2000|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0-333-71000-5|pages=18–19|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8au8QgAACAAJ}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Political Economy of Growth|last=Baran|first=Paul|publisher=Monthly Review Press|year=1962|isbn=|page=160}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Totman|first=Conrad|title=A History of Japan|edition=2nd|year=2005|publisher=Blackwell|isbn=978-1-4051-2359-4|pages=312–314|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z_a_QgAACAAJ}}</ref> 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]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Matsusaka|first=Y. Tak|title=Companion to Japanese History|year=2009|publisher=Blackwell|isbn=978-1-4051-1690-9|pages=224–241|editor=Tsutsui, William M.|chapter=The Japanese Empire}}</ref><ref name=modernnation/> and annexed Korea in 1910.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=October 15, 2019 |title=Japanese Colonial Ideology In Korea (1905&ndash;1945)|journal=The Yale Review of International Studies |url=https://yris.yira.org/essays/japanese-colonial-ideology-in-korea-1905-1945/S|author=Yi Wei}}</ref> The Japanese population doubled from 35&nbsp;million in 1873 to 70&nbsp;million by 1935, with a significant shift to urbanization.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hiroshi|first=Shimizu|title=Japan and Singapore in the world economy: Japan's economic advance into Singapore, 1870–1965|year=1999|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-19236-1|author2=Hitoshi, Hirakawa|page=17|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7k0F8YoZ6P0C}}</ref><ref name=excesses>{{cite book|chapter=The Excesses of Ambition: the Pacific War and its Lead-Up|pages=108–141|author=Henshall, Kenneth|title=A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower|isbn=978-0-230-36918-4|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2012}}</ref>

The early 20th century saw a period of [[Taishō period|Taishō democracy]] (1912–1926) overshadowed by increasing [[expansionism]] and [[Japanese militarism|militarization]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Pursuit of Power in Modern Japan 1825–1995|chapter=Taisho Democracy and the First World War|doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198205890.001.0001|last=Tsuzuki|first=Chushichi|year=2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-820589-0}}</ref><ref name=ramesh>{{cite book|chapter=The Taisho Period (1912–1926): Transition from Democracy to a Military Economy|title=China's Economic Rise|last=Ramesh|first=S|pages=173–209|isbn=978-3-030-49811-5|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2020}}</ref> [[Japan during World War I|World War I]] allowed Japan, which joined the side of the victorious [[Allies of World War I|Allies]], to capture [[German colonial empire|German possessions]] in the [[Pacific]] and China in [[Treaty of Versailles|1920]].<ref name=ramesh/> The 1920s saw a political shift towards [[Statism in Shōwa Japan|statism]], a period of lawlessness following the 1923 [[Great Tokyo Earthquake]], the passing of [[Peace Preservation Law|laws against political dissent]], and a series of [[May 15 Incident|attempted coups]].<ref name=excesses/><ref>{{cite book|title=Nationalism Today: Extreme Political Movements around the World|page=20|editor=Burnett, M. Troy|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|page=268|title=Embracing 'Asia' in China and Japan|year=2018|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|last=Weber|first=Torsten}}</ref> 

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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Young |first=Louise |chapter=The Breakdown in Democracy in 1930s Japan |date=2024 |title=When Democracy Breaks |pages=108–141 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-776078-3}}</ref> In 1931, Japan [[Japanese invasion of Manchuria|invaded China and occupied Manchuria]], which led to the establishment of [[puppet state]] of [[Manchukuo]] in 1932; following [[Lytton Report|international condemnation of the occupation]], it resigned from the [[League of Nations]] in 1933.<ref name="Inc1945">{{cite magazine|title=The Japanese Nation: It has a history of feudalism, nationalism, war and now defeat|magazine=LIFE|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t0kEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA109|date=September 17, 1945|volume=19|issue=12|pages=109–111}}</ref> In 1936, Japan signed the [[Anti-Comintern Pact]] with [[Nazi Germany]]; the 1940 [[Tripartite Pact]] made it one of the [[Axis powers]].<ref name=excesses/>

[[File:Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the Instrument of Surrender, officially ending the Second World War.jpg|thumb|On September 2, 1945, Japan [[Surrender of Japan|surrendered to the Allies]].]]
The Empire of Japan invaded other parts of China in 1937, precipitating the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] (1937–1945).<ref name="Paine2012">{{cite book|first=S. C. M.|last=Paine|title=The Wars for Asia, 1911–1949|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bAYgAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA123|year=2012|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-56087-0|pages=123–125}}</ref> In 1940, the Empire [[Japanese invasion of French Indochina|invaded French Indochina]], after which the United States placed an oil embargo on Japan.<ref name=excesses/><ref>{{cite book| first=Roland H. Jr. |last=Worth|title=No Choice But War: the United States Embargo Against Japan and the Eruption of War in the Pacific|publisher=McFarland|year=1995|pages=56, 86|isbn=978-0-7864-0141-3|url={{Google books|ezBnAAAAMAAJ|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} }}</ref> On December 7–8, 1941, Japanese forces carried out surprise [[attacks on Pearl Harbor]], as well as on British forces in [[Battle of Malaya|Malaya]], [[Bombing of Singapore (1941)|Singapore]], and [[Battle of Hong Kong|Hong Kong]], among others, beginning [[World War II in the Pacific]].<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Introduction: December 7/8, 1941|last1=Bailey|first1=Beth|last2=Farber|first2=David|pages=1–8|title=Beyond Pearl Harbor: A Pacific History|year=2019|publisher=University Press of Kansas}}</ref> Throughout areas occupied by Japan during the war, [[Japanese war crimes|numerous abuses]] were committed against local inhabitants. Many women were forced into [[Comfort women|sexual slavery]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Yōko|first=Hayashi|title=Issues Surrounding the Wartime "Comfort Women"|journal=Review of Japanese Culture and Society|year=1999–2000|volume=11/12|issue=Special Issue|pages=54–65|jstor=42800182}}</ref>   

After [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] victories during the next four years, which culminated in the [[Soviet invasion of Manchuria]] and the [[atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki]] in 1945, Japan agreed to [[Surrender of Japan|an unconditional surrender]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Pape|first=Robert A.|title=Why Japan Surrendered|journal=International Security|year=1993|volume=18|issue=2|pages=154–201|doi=10.2307/2539100}}</ref> The war cost Japan millions of lives and many of its [[Territorial conquests of the Empire of Japan|conquered territories]], including ''[[de jure]]'' parts of Japan such as [[Korea under Japanese rule|Korea]], [[Taiwan under Japanese rule|Taiwan]], [[Karafuto]], and the [[Kurils]].<ref name=excesses/> The Allies, led by the United States, repatriated millions of [[Japanese diaspora|Japanese settlers]] from their former colonies and military camps throughout Asia, largely eliminating the [[Empire of Japan]] and its influence over the territories it conquered.<ref>{{cite book|last=Watt|first=Lori|title=When Empire Comes Home: Repatriation and Reintegration in Postwar Japan|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=2010|isbn=978-0-674-05598-8|pages=1–4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_F3AN6x6AQ8C}}</ref><ref name=phoenix/> The Allies convened the [[International Military Tribunal for the Far East]] to prosecute Japanese leaders except [[Hirohito|the Emperor]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Frank|first=Richard|date=August 26, 2020 |title=The Fate of Emperor Hirohito |url=https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/what-happened-to-emperor-hirohito |publisher=The National WWII Museum |archivedate=May 9, 2024 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509105645/https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/what-happened-to-emperor-hirohito |url-status=live }}</ref> for [[Japanese war crimes]].<ref name=phoenix>{{cite book|chapter=A Phoenix from the Ashes: Postwar Successes and Beyond|pages=142–180|author=Henshall, Kenneth|title=A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower|isbn=978-0-230-36918-4|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2012}}</ref>

In 1947, Japan adopted [[Constitution of Japan|a new constitution]] emphasizing liberal democratic practices.<ref name=phoenix/> The [[Occupation of Japan|Allied occupation]] ended with the [[Treaty of San Francisco]] in 1952,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2007/03/06/national/52-coup-plot-bid-to-rearm-japan-cia/|title='52 coup plot bid to rearm Japan: CIA|first=Joseph|last=Coleman|date=March 6, 2007|newspaper=The Japan Times|archive-date=April 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411091335/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2007/03/06/national/52-coup-plot-bid-to-rearm-japan-cia/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and Japan was granted membership in the [[United Nations]] in 1956.<ref name=phoenix/> [[Japanese economic miracle|A period of record growth]] propelled Japan to become the world's [[List of countries by largest historical GDP|second-largest economy at that time]];<ref name=phoenix/> this ended in the mid-1990s after the popping of [[Japanese asset price bubble|an asset price bubble]], beginning the "[[Lost Decade (Japan)|Lost Decade]]" characterized by economic stagnation and low inflation.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/1467-9701.00522|title=The bubble and the lost decade|last1=Saxonhouse|first1=Gary|last2=Stern|first2=Robert|journal=The World Economy|year=2003|pages=267–281|volume=26|issue=3|hdl=2027.42/71597|hdl-access=free}}</ref> In 2011, Japan suffered one of the largest earthquakes in its recorded history—the [[Tōhoku earthquake]]—triggering the [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster]].<ref name="nytimes-tsunami">{{cite news|last1=Fackler|first1=Martin|author1-link=Martin Fackler (journalist)|last2=Drew|first2= Kevin|title=Devastation as Tsunami Crashes Into Japan|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/12/world/asia/12japan.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220103/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/12/world/asia/12japan.html |archive-date=January 3, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 11, 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref> On May 1, 2019, after the historic [[abdication of Emperor Akihito]], his son [[Naruhito]] became Emperor, beginning the {{Lang|ja-latn|[[Reiwa]]}} era (2019-).<ref>{{cite web|title=Japan's emperor thanks country, prays for peace before abdication|url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Japan-s-Reiwa-era/Japan-s-emperor-thanks-country-prays-for-peace-before-abdication|website=Nikkei Asian Review|date=April 30, 2019|archivedate=May 11, 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511172939/https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Japan-s-Reiwa-era/Japan-s-emperor-thanks-country-prays-for-peace-before-abdication|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Geography==
{{Main|Geography of Japan|Geology of Japan}}

[[File:Japan topo en.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|A topographic map of Japan]]
Japan comprises [[List of islands of Japan|14,125 islands]] extending along the Pacific coast of Asia.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/16/japan-sees-its-number-of-islands-double-after-recount |title=Japan sees its number of islands double after recount |first=Justin |last=McCurry |date=February 16, 2023 |work=The Guardian |archivedate=March 1, 2023 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230301154105/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/16/japan-sees-its-number-of-islands-double-after-recount |url-status=live }}</ref> It stretches over {{convert|3000|km|mi|abbr=on|comma=5}} northeast–southwest from the [[Sea of Okhotsk]] to the [[East China Sea]].<ref name=water>{{cite web|title = Water Supply in Japan|url = https://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/policy/health/water_supply/1.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126130519/https://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/policy/health/water_supply/1.html|archivedate = January 26, 2018|publisher = Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare|accessdate = September 26, 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=An Invitation to Japan's Borderlands: At the Geopolitical Edge of the Eurasian Continent|last=Iwashita|first=Akihiro|pages=279–282|doi=10.1080/08865655.2011.686969|year=2011|journal=Journal of Borderlands Studies|volume=26|issue=3}}</ref> The country's five main islands, from north to south, are [[Hokkaido]], [[Honshu]], [[Shikoku]], [[Kyushu]] and [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]].<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.imic.2012.04.004|title=The development of small islands in Japan: An historical perspective|last=Kuwahara|first=Sueo|year=2012|volume=1|issue=1|journal=Journal of Marine and Island Cultures|pages=38–45|doi-access=free}}</ref> The [[Ryukyu Islands]], which include Okinawa, are a chain to the south of Kyushu. The [[Nanpō Islands]] are south and east of the main islands of Japan. Together they are often known as the [[Japanese archipelago]].<ref>{{cite book|last=McCargo|first=Duncan|title=Contemporary Japan|year=2000|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0-333-71000-5|pages=8–11|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8au8QgAACAAJ}}</ref> {{As of|2019}}, Japan's territory is {{convert|comma=5|377,975.24|km²|sqmi|abbr=on}}.<ref name="area-2019" /> Japan has the [[List of countries by length of coastline|sixth-longest coastline]] in the world at {{convert|comma=5|29751|km|mi|abbr=on}}. Because of its far-flung outlying islands, [[Exclusive economic zone of Japan|Japan's exclusive economic zone]] is the [[List of countries by length of exclusive economic zones|eighth-largest]] in the world, covering {{convert|comma=5|4470000|km²|sqmi|abbr=on}}.<ref name=cia/><ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1080/08865655.2011.686972|last=Yamada|first=Yoshihiko|title=Japan's New National Border Strategy and Maritime Security|pages=357–367|year=2011|volume=26|issue=3|journal=Journal of Borderlands Studies}}</ref>

The Japanese archipelago is 67% [[Forestry in Japan|forests]] and 14% [[Agriculture in Japan|agricultural]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.env.go.jp/en/nature/npr/ncj/section1.html|publisher=Ministry of the Environment|title=Natural environment of Japan: Japanese archipelago|accessdate=August 4, 2022|archive-date=August 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220805032536/https://www.env.go.jp/en/nature/npr/ncj/section1.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The primarily rugged and mountainous terrain is restricted for habitation.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=Shouji|last1=Fujimoto|first2=Takayuki|last2=Mizuno|first3=Takaaki|last3= Ohnishi|first4=Chihiro|last4=Shimizu|first5=Tsutomu|last5=Watanabe|title=Relationship between population density and population movement in inhabitable lands|journal=Evolutionary and Institutional Economics Review|year=2017|volume=14|pages=117–130|doi=10.1007/s40844-016-0064-z|doi-access=free}}</ref> Thus the habitable zones, mainly in the coastal areas, have very high population densities: Japan is the [[List of countries by population density|40th most densely populated country]] even without considering that local concentration.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://statisticstimes.com/demographics/countries-by-population-density.php|website=Statistics Times|title=List of countries by population density|accessdate=October 12, 2020|archive-date=September 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926222139/http://statisticstimes.com/demographics/countries-by-population-density.php|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite conference|title=Geographic Dependency of Population Distribution|conference=International Conference on Social Modeling and Simulation, plus Econophysics Colloquium 2014 |pages=151–162|first1=Shouji|last1=Fujimoto|first2=Takayuki|last2= Mizuno|first3=Takaaki|last3=Ohnishi|first4=Chihiro|last4=Shimizu|first5=Tsutomu|last5=Watanabe|series=Springer Proceedings in Complexity|year=2015|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-20591-5_14|isbn=978-3-319-20590-8|url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-20591-5_14}}</ref> Honshu has the highest population density at 450 persons/km<sup>2</sup> (1200/sq mi) {{as of|2010|lc=y}}, while Hokkaido has the lowest density of 64.5 persons/km<sup>2</sup> {{as of|2016|lc=y}}.<ref name="JPCensus">{{cite web|url=http://www.soumu.go.jp/main_sosiki/jichi_gyousei/c-gyousei/daityo/index.html|script-title=ja:総務省｜住基ネット|trans-title=Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Resident Registration net|work=soumu.go.jp|accessdate=November 13, 2021|archive-date=February 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224144613/https://www.soumu.go.jp/main_sosiki/jichi_gyousei/c-gyousei/daityo/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> {{As of|2014}}, approximately 0.5% of Japan's total area is [[reclaimed land]] ({{transliteration|ja|umetatechi}}).<ref>{{cite journal|first=Yang|last=Hua|title=Legal Regulation of Land Reclamation in China's Coastal Areas|journal=Coastal Management|volume=42|issue=1|year=2014|pages=59–79|doi=10.1080/08920753.2013.865008}}</ref> [[Lake Biwa]] is an [[ancient lake]] and the country's largest freshwater lake.<ref name=Tabata2016>{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1002/ece3.2070|title = Phylogeny and historical demography of endemic fishes in Lake Biwa: The ancient lake as a promoter of evolution and diversification of freshwater fishes in western Japan|year = 2016|last1 = Tabata|first1 = Ryoichi|last2 = Kakioka|first2 = Ryo|last3 = Tominaga|first3 = Koji|last4 = Komiya|first4 = Takefumi|last5 = Watanabe|first5 = Katsutoshi|journal = Ecology and Evolution|volume = 6|issue = 8|pages = 2601–2623|pmid = 27066244|pmc = 4798153}}</ref>

Japan is substantially prone to [[Earthquakes in Japan|earthquakes]], [[tsunami]] and [[volcanic eruptions]] because of its location along the Pacific Ring of Fire.<ref>{{cite web|last=Israel|first=Brett|date=March 14, 2011|title=Japan's Explosive Geology Explained|url=http://www.livescience.com/30226-japan-tectonics-explosive-geology-ring-of-fire-110314.html|website=Live Science|archivedate=August 5, 2019|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805085127/https://www.livescience.com/30226-japan-tectonics-explosive-geology-ring-of-fire-110314.html|url-status=live}}</ref> It has the [[List of countries by natural disaster risk|17th highest natural disaster risk]] as measured in the 2016 World Risk Index.<ref name=wri>{{Cite web|title=World Risk Report 2016|url=http://collections.unu.edu/view/UNU:5763#viewMetadata|publisher=UNU-EHS|accessdate=November 8, 2020|archive-date=September 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923203844/https://collections.unu.edu/view/UNU:5763#viewMetadata|url-status=live}}</ref> Japan has 111 active volcanoes.<ref>{{cite journal|title=A New Japan Volcanological Database|last1=Fujita|first1=Eisuke|last2=Ueda|first2=Hideki|last3=Nakada|first3=Setsuya|journal=Frontiers in Earth Science|date=July 2020|volume=8|page=205|doi=10.3389/feart.2020.00205|doi-access=free}}</ref> Destructive earthquakes, often resulting in tsunami, occur several times each century;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/north_asia/japan_tec.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070204064754/http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/north_asia/japan_tec.html|archivedate=February 4, 2007|title=Tectonics and Volcanoes of Japan|publisher=Oregon State University|accessdate=March 27, 2007}}</ref> the [[1923 Tokyo earthquake]] killed over 140,000 people.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-great-japan-earthquake-of-1923-1764539/|website=Smithsonian Magazine|last=Hammer|first=Joshua|date=May 2011|title=The Great Japan Earthquake of 1923|archive-date=March 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318031207/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-great-japan-earthquake-of-1923-1764539/|url-status=live}}</ref> More recent major quakes are the 1995 [[Great Hanshin earthquake]] and the [[2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami|2011 Tōhoku earthquake]], which triggered a large tsunami.<ref name="nytimes-tsunami" />

===Climate===
{{Main|Climate of Japan}}

[[File:Series-N700a-Mt.Fuji.jpg|thumb|[[Mount Fuji]] and [[Shinkansen]]]]
The climate of Japan is predominantly temperate but varies greatly from north to south. The northernmost region, Hokkaido, has a [[humid continental climate]] with long, cold winters and very warm to cool summers. [[Precipitation]] is not heavy, but the islands usually develop deep snowbanks in the winter.<ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite book|last=Karan|first=Pradyumna Prasad|title=Japan in the 21st century|year=2005|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|isbn=978-0-8131-2342-4|pages=18–21, 41|author2=Gilbreath, Dick|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oze_mWihnU0C}}</ref>

In the [[Sea of Japan]] region on Honshu's west coast, northwest winter winds bring heavy snowfall during winter. In the summer, the region sometimes experiences extremely hot temperatures because of the [[Foehn]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.data.jma.go.jp/gmd/cpd/longfcst/en/tourist/file/Hokuriku.html|publisher=Japan Meteorological Agency|title=Climate of Hokuriku district|accessdate=October 24, 2020|archive-date=November 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115152056/https://www.data.jma.go.jp/gmd/cpd/longfcst/en/tourist/file/Hokuriku.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Central Highland (Japan)|Central Highland]] has a typical inland humid continental climate, with large temperature differences between summer and winter. The mountains of the [[Chūgoku]] and Shikoku regions shelter the [[Seto Inland Sea]] from seasonal winds, bringing mild weather year-round.<ref name=autogenerated2 />

The Pacific coast features a [[humid subtropical]] climate that experiences milder winters with occasional snowfall and hot, humid summers because of the southeast seasonal wind. The Ryukyu and Nanpō Islands have a [[subtropical climate]], with warm winters and hot summers. Precipitation is very heavy, especially during the rainy season.<ref name=autogenerated2 /> The main [[East Asian rainy season|rainy season]] begins in early May in Okinawa, and the rain front gradually moves north. In late summer and early autumn, [[typhoon]]s often bring heavy rain.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.data.jma.go.jp/gmd/cpd/longfcst/en/tourist_japan.html|publisher=Japan Meteorological Association|title=Overview of Japan's climate|accessdate=December 11, 2020|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112031532/https://www.data.jma.go.jp/gmd/cpd/longfcst/en/tourist_japan.html|url-status=live}}</ref> According to the Environment Ministry, heavy rainfall and increasing temperatures have caused problems in the agricultural industry and elsewhere.<ref name=climatechange>{{Cite web|title=Japan 2030: Tackling climate issues is key to the next decade|url=https://features.japantimes.co.jp/climate-crisis-2030/|website=The Japan Times|last=Ito|first=Masami|accessdate=September 24, 2020|archive-date=March 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309021632/https://features.japantimes.co.jp/climate-crisis-2030///|url-status=live}}</ref> The highest temperature ever measured in Japan, {{convert|comma=5|41.8|°C}}, was recorded on August 5, 2025.<ref>{{Cite web|date=August 5, 2025|url=https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20250805_14/|title=Japan record high of 41.8 degrees Celsius observed north of Tokyo|website=NHK}}</ref>

===Biodiversity===
{{Main|Wildlife of Japan}}

Japan has nine forest [[Ecoregions in Japan|ecoregions]] which reflect the climate and geography of the islands. They range from [[subtropical moist broadleaf forests]] in the Ryūkyū and [[Bonin Islands]], to [[temperate broadleaf and mixed forests]] in the mild climate regions of the main islands, to [[temperate coniferous forest]]s in the cold, winter portions of the northern islands.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/jicc/spotflora.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070213035135/http://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/jicc/spotflora.htm|archivedate=February 13, 2007|title=Flora and Fauna: Diversity and regional uniqueness|publisher=Embassy of Japan in the USA|accessdate=April 1, 2007}}</ref> Japan has over 90,000 species of wildlife {{as of|2019|lc=y}},<ref name="Sakurai2019">{{cite book|first=Ryo|last=Sakurai|title=Human Dimensions of Wildlife Management in Japan: From Asia to the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=68OWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA12|year=2019|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-981-13-6332-0|pages=12–13}}</ref> including the [[brown bear]], the [[Japanese macaque]], the [[Japanese raccoon dog]], the [[small Japanese field mouse]], and the [[Japanese giant salamander]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Wildlife in Japan|url=https://www.env.go.jp/nature/yasei/pamph/pamph01/WildlifePamphlet-EN_151126.pdf|publisher=[[Ministry of the Environment (Japan)|Ministry of the Environment]]|date=March 2015|archive-date=December 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221054522/http://www.env.go.jp/nature/yasei/pamph/pamph01/WildlifePamphlet-EN_151126.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> There are 53 [[Ramsar sites in Japan|Ramsar wetland sites]] in Japan.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ramsar.org/wetland/japan|publisher=Ramsar|title=Japan|accessdate=December 11, 2020|archive-date=October 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021083523/https://ramsar.org/wetland/japan|url-status=live}}</ref> [[World Heritage Sites in Japan|Five sites]] have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for their outstanding natural value.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Japan|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/jp |accessdate=September 29, 2024 |publisher=UNESCO World Heritage Centre }}</ref>

===Environment===
{{Main|Environmental issues in Japan|Climate change in Japan}}

[[File:Kongobuji Koyasan07n3200.jpg|thumb|Autumn [[Maple tree|maple leaves]] ({{transliteration|ja|[[momiji]]}}) at [[Kongōbu-ji]] on [[Mount Kōya]], a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]]]]
In the period of rapid economic growth after World War II, environmental policies were downplayed by the government and industrial corporations; as a result, [[Four Big Pollution Diseases of Japan|environmental pollution]] was widespread in the 1950s and 1960s. Responding to rising concerns, the government introduced environmental protection laws in 1970.<ref>{{cite web|script-title=ja:日本の大気汚染の歴史|trans-title=Historical Air Pollution in Japan|url=http://www.erca.go.jp/taiki/history/ko_syousyu.html|publisher=Environmental Restoration and Conservation Agency|accessdate=March 2, 2014|language=Japanese|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501085231/http://www.erca.go.jp/taiki/history/ko_syousyu.html|archivedate=May 1, 2011}}</ref> The [[1973 oil crisis|oil crisis in 1973]] also encouraged the efficient use of energy because of Japan's lack of natural resources.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sekiyama|first=Takeshi|title=Japan's international cooperation for energy efficiency and conservation in Asian region|url=http://nice.erina.or.jp/en/pdf/C-SEKIYAMA.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216005103/http://nice.erina.or.jp/en/pdf/C-SEKIYAMA.pdf|archivedate=February 16, 2008|publisher=Energy Conservation Center|accessdate=January 16, 2011}}</ref>

Japan ranks 20th in the 2018 [[Environmental Performance Index]], which measures a country's commitment to environmental sustainability.<ref>{{cite web|title=Environmental Performance Index: Japan|url=https://epi.envirocenter.yale.edu/epi-country-report/JPN|publisher=Yale University|accessdate=February 26, 2018|archive-date=November 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119100506/https://epi.envirocenter.yale.edu/epi-country-report/JPN|url-status=dead}}</ref> Japan is the world's [[List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions|fifth-largest emitter]] of [[carbon dioxide]].<ref name=climatechange/> As the host and signatory of the 1997 [[Kyoto Protocol]], Japan is under treaty obligation to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions and to take other steps to curb climate change.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUST191967|title=Japan sees extra emission cuts to 2020 goal&nbsp;– minister|date=June 24, 2009|publisher=Reuters|archive-date=October 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012011542/https://www.reuters.com/article/idUST191967|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2020, the government of Japan announced a target of [[carbon-neutral]]ity by 2050.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Davidson|first1=Jordan|title=Japan Targets Carbon Neutrality by 2050|url=https://www.ecowatch.com/japan-carbon-neutral-2648499409.html|website=Ecowatch|date=October 26, 2020|archive-date=November 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101101328/https://www.ecowatch.com/japan-carbon-neutral-2648499409.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Environmental issues include urban air pollution ([[NOx]], suspended [[particulate matter]], and [[toxics]]), [[waste management]], water [[eutrophication]], [[nature conservation]], [[Climate change in Japan|climate change]], chemical management and international co-operation for conservation.<ref>{{cite web|title=Environmental Performance Review of Japan|url=http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/0/17/2110905.pdf|publisher=[[OECD]]|accessdate=January 16, 2011|archive-date=February 15, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100215084051/http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/0/17/2110905.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Government and politics==
{{Main|Government of Japan|Politics of Japan}}

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| caption1          = [[Naruhito]]<br /><small>[[Emperor of Japan|Emperor]] </small>
| caption2          = [[Sanae Takaichi]]<br /><small>[[Prime Minister of Japan|Prime Minister]] </small>
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}}

Japan is a [[unitary state]] and [[constitutional monarchy]] in which the power of the [[Emperor of Japan|emperor]] (''Tennō'') is limited to a [[ceremonial head of state|ceremonial role]].<ref name=euparl>{{cite web|url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_BRI%282020%29651951|publisher=European Parliament|title=Japan's Parliament and other political institutions|date=June 9, 2020|archive-date=October 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019205439/https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_BRI(2020)651951|url-status=live}}</ref> Executive power is instead wielded by the [[Prime Minister of Japan|prime minister]] and the [[Cabinet of Japan|Cabinet]], whose sovereignty is vested in the Japanese people.<ref name="Constitution">{{cite web|url=http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/constitution_and_government_of_japan/constitution_e.html|title=The Constitution of Japan|publisher=Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet|date=November 3, 1946|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214104438/http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/constitution_and_government_of_japan/constitution_e.html|archivedate=December 14, 2013}}</ref> [[Naruhito]] is the Emperor of Japan, having succeeded his father [[Akihito]] upon his accession to the [[Chrysanthemum Throne]] in 2019.<ref name=euparl/>

[[File:Diet of Japan Kokkai 2009.jpg|thumb|The [[National Diet Building]]]]
Japan's legislative organ is the [[National Diet]], a [[bicameral]] [[parliament]].<ref name=euparl/> It consists of a lower [[House of Representatives (Japan)|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.<ref name=sec>{{cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/837056/000119312520211213/d477441dex1.htm|publisher=US Securities and Exchange Commission|date=August 6, 2020|title=Japan|archive-date=November 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106133727/https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/837056/000119312520211213/d477441dex1.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> There is [[universal suffrage]] for adults over 18 years of age,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/youthenvoy/2016/07/japan-youth-can-make-difference-new-voting-rights-u-n-envoy/|publisher=UN Envoy on Youth|title=Japan Youth Can Make Difference with New Voting Rights: UN Envoy|date=July 2016|archive-date=October 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028222010/https://www.un.org/youthenvoy/2016/07/japan-youth-can-make-difference-new-voting-rights-u-n-envoy/|url-status=live}}</ref> with a [[secret ballot]] for all elected offices.<ref name="Constitution" /> The prime minister as the [[head of government]] has the power to appoint and dismiss [[Ministers of State]], and is [[Imperial Investiture|appointed]] by the emperor after being designated from among the members of the Diet.<ref name=sec/> [[Sanae Takaichi]] is Japan's prime minister; she took office after winning the [[2025 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) presidential election|2025 Liberal Democratic Party leadership election]] and securing a [[confidence and supply]] agreement with [[Japan Innovation Party|Ishin]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ninivaggi |first=Gabriele |date=October 21, 2025 |title=Sanae Takaichi makes history as Japan's first female prime minister |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/21/japan/politics/sanae-takaichi-elected-japan-prime-minister/ |website=The Japan Times }}</ref>

Historically influenced by [[Chinese law]], the Japanese legal system developed independently during the Edo period through texts such as {{transliteration|ja|[[Kujikata Osadamegaki]]}}.<ref name=dean>{{cite book|last=Dean|first=Meryll|title=Japanese legal system: text, cases & materials|year=2002|publisher=Cavendish|isbn=978-1-85941-673-0|pages=55–58, 131|edition=2nd|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lt9jB5CjfRIC}}</ref> Since the late 19th century, [[judicial system of Japan|the judicial system]] has been largely based on the [[civil law (legal system)|civil law]] of Europe, notably Germany. In 1896, Japan established a [[civil code]] based on the German [[Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch]], which remains in effect with post–World War II modifications.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kanamori|first=Shigenari|title=German influences on Japanese Pre-War Constitution and Civil Code|journal=European Journal of Law and Economics|date=January 1, 1999|volume=7|issue=1|pages=93–95|doi=10.1023/A:1008688209052}}</ref> The [[Constitution of Japan]], adopted in 1947, is the oldest unamended constitution in the world.<ref name="anomalous-constitution">{{cite news|last=McElwain|first=Kenneth Mori|title=The Anomalous Life of the Japanese Constitution|url=https://www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/a05602/the-anomalous-life-of-the-japanese-constitution.html|date=August 15, 2017|website=Nippon.com|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190811213143/https://www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/a05602/the-anomalous-life-of-the-japanese-constitution.html|url-status=live|archivedate=August 11, 2019}}</ref> 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. The main body of Japanese statutory law is called the [[Six Codes]].<ref name=dean/> Japan's court system is divided into four basic tiers: the [[Supreme Court of Japan|Supreme Court]] and three levels of lower courts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/judiciary/0620system.html|publisher=Office of the Prime Minister of Japan|title=The Japanese Judicial System|date=July 1999|archive-date=January 16, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116032711/http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/judiciary/0620system.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Administrative divisions===
{{Main|Administrative divisions of Japan|Prefectures of Japan}}

Japan is divided into 47 prefectures, each overseen by an elected [[Governor (Japan)|governor]] and legislature.<ref name=euparl/> In the following table, the prefectures are grouped by [[List of regions of Japan|region]]:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web-japan.org/factsheet/en/pdf/e02_regions.pdf|title=Regions of Japan|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|accessdate=January 13, 2021|archive-date=January 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119041311/https://web-japan.org/factsheet/en/pdf/e02_regions.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
{|
|rowspan="2"|[[File:Regions and Prefectures of Japan 2.svg|thumb|center|upright=1.3|Prefectures of Japan with colored regions]]
|style="padding-right:1em; padding-left:2em; vertical-align:top;"|
<div class="center">{{color box|#EF7979}} '''[[Hokkaido]]'''</div>
----
1.&nbsp;[[Hokkaido]]{{pb}}
|style="padding-right:1em; vertical-align:top;"|
<div class="center">'''{{color box|#EFE979}} [[Tōhoku]]'''</div>
----
2.&nbsp;[[Aomori Prefecture|Aomori]]{{pb}}
3.&nbsp;[[Iwate Prefecture|Iwate]]{{pb}}
4.&nbsp;[[Miyagi Prefecture|Miyagi]]{{pb}}
5.&nbsp;[[Akita Prefecture|Akita]]{{pb}}
6.&nbsp;[[Yamagata Prefecture|Yamagata]]{{pb}}
7.&nbsp;[[Fukushima Prefecture|Fukushima]]
|style="padding-right:1em; vertical-align:top;"|
<div class="center">'''{{color box|#87EF79}} [[Kantō]]'''</div>
----
8.&nbsp;[[Ibaraki Prefecture|Ibaraki]]{{pb}}
9.&nbsp;[[Tochigi Prefecture|Tochigi]]{{pb}}
10.&nbsp;[[Gunma]]{{pb}}
11.&nbsp;[[Saitama Prefecture|Saitama]]{{pb}}
12.&nbsp;[[Chiba Prefecture|Chiba]]{{pb}}
13.&nbsp;[[Tokyo]]{{pb}}
14.&nbsp;[[Kanagawa]]
|style="padding-right:1em; vertical-align:top;"|
<div class="center">'''{{color box|#79EFDB}} [[Chūbu]]'''</div>
----
15.&nbsp;[[Niigata Prefecture|Niigata]]{{pb}}
16.&nbsp;[[Toyama Prefecture|Toyama]]{{pb}}
17.&nbsp;[[Ishikawa Prefecture|Ishikawa]]{{pb}}
18.&nbsp;[[Fukui Prefecture|Fukui]]{{pb}}
19.&nbsp;[[Yamanashi Prefecture|Yamanashi]]{{pb}}
20.&nbsp;[[Nagano Prefecture|Nagano]]{{pb}}
21.&nbsp;[[Gifu Prefecture|Gifu]]{{pb}}
22.&nbsp;[[Shizuoka Prefecture|Shizuoka]]{{pb}}
23.&nbsp;[[Aichi]]
|-
|style="padding-right:1em; padding-left:2em; vertical-align:top;"|
<div class="center">'''{{color box|#9579EF}} [[Kansai]]'''</div>
----
24.&nbsp;[[Mie Prefecture|Mie]]{{pb}}
25.&nbsp;[[Shiga]]{{pb}}
26.&nbsp;[[Kyoto Prefecture|Kyoto]]{{pb}}
27.&nbsp;[[Osaka Prefecture|Osaka]]{{pb}}
28.&nbsp;[[Hyōgo]]{{pb}}
29.&nbsp;[[Nara Prefecture|Nara]]{{pb}}
30.&nbsp;[[Wakayama Prefecture|Wakayama]]
|style="padding-right:1em; vertical-align:top;"|
<div class="center">'''{{color box|#EFB179}} [[Chūgoku]]'''</div>
----
31.&nbsp;[[Tottori Prefecture|Tottori]]{{pb}}
32.&nbsp;[[Shimane]]{{pb}}
33.&nbsp;[[Okayama Prefecture|Okayama]]{{pb}}
34.&nbsp;[[Hiroshima Prefecture|Hiroshima]]{{pb}}
35.&nbsp;[[Yamaguchi Prefecture|Yamaguchi]]
|style="padding-right:1em; vertical-align:top;"|
<div class="center">'''{{color box|#CC79EF}} [[Shikoku]]'''</div>
----
36.&nbsp;[[Tokushima]]{{pb}}
37.&nbsp;[[Kagawa Prefecture|Kagawa]]{{pb}}
38.&nbsp;[[Ehime]]{{pb}}
39.&nbsp;[[Kōchi Prefecture|Kōchi]]
|style="padding-right:1em; vertical-align:top;"|
<div class="center">'''{{color box|#B4B4B4}} [[Kyūshū]]'''</div>
----
40.&nbsp;[[Fukuoka Prefecture|Fukuoka]]{{pb}}
41.&nbsp;[[Saga Prefecture|Saga]]{{pb}}
42.&nbsp;[[Nagasaki Prefecture|Nagasaki]]{{pb}}
43.&nbsp;[[Kumamoto Prefecture|Kumamoto]]{{pb}}
44.&nbsp;[[Ōita Prefecture|Ōita]]{{pb}}
45.&nbsp;[[Miyazaki Prefecture|Miyazaki]]{{pb}}
46.&nbsp;[[Kagoshima Prefecture|Kagoshima]]{{pb}}
47.&nbsp;[[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]]
|}
<!--{{Japan Regions and Prefectures Labelled Map}}-->
{{clear}}

===Foreign relations===
{{Main|Foreign relations of Japan}}

[[File:G7 in het Catshuis.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Japan is a member of both the [[G7]] and the [[G20]].]]
A member state of the United Nations since 1956, Japan is one of the [[G4 nations|G4 countries]] seeking reform of the [[Security Council]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/other/bluebook/2017/html/chapter3/c030105.html|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|title=Japan's Efforts at the United Nations (UN)|work=Diplomatic Bluebook 2017|accessdate=December 11, 2020|archive-date=February 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214051435/https://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/other/bluebook/2017/html/chapter3/c030105.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Japan is a member of the [[G7]], [[APEC]], and "[[ASEAN Free Trade Area#ASEAN Plus Three|ASEAN Plus Three]]", and is a participant in the [[East Asia Summit]].<ref name=terada>{{cite book|url=https://www.jcie.org/researchpdfs/PacificNation/Terada.pdf|last=Terada|first=Takashi|chapter=The United States and East Asian Regionalism|title=A Pacific Nation|editor1=Borthwick, Mark|editor2=Yamamoto, Tadashi|editor2-link=Tadashi Yamamoto|year=2011|isbn=978-4-88907-133-7|publisher=Japan Center for International Exchange|archive-date=November 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106123037/https://www.jcie.org/researchpdfs/PacificNation/Terada.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> It is the world's [[List of development aid sovereign state donors|fifth-largest donor]] of [[Official Development Assistance (Japan)|official development assistance]], donating US$9.2&nbsp;billion in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|title=Statistics from the Development Co-operation Report 2015|url=http://www.oecd.org/dac/japan.htm|publisher=OECD|accessdate=November 15, 2015|archive-date=January 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123081241/http://www.oecd.org/dac/Japan.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2024, Japan had the [[List of countries by number of diplomatic missions|fourth-largest diplomatic network]] in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Diplomacy Index&nbsp;– Country Rank |url=https://globaldiplomacyindex.lowyinstitute.org/country_rank.html |accessdate=February 26, 2024 |publisher=[[Lowy Institute]] |archive-date=February 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190201012801/http://globaldiplomacyindex.lowyinstitute.org/country_rank.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Japan is widely considered to be a [[great power]] due to its [[economic power]] and political, cultural, and military influence.<ref name="Milena Steriob">{{cite book |last1=Sterio |first1=Milena |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-QuI6n_OVMYC |title=The right to self-determination under international law: "selfistans", secession and the rule of the great powers |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-66818-7 |page=xii (preface)}}</ref><ref name="PaulWirtz2004">{{cite book |first1=T.V.|last1= Paul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9jy28vBqscQC&pg=PA59 |title=Balance of Power: Theory and Practice in the 21st century |first2=James |last2=Wirtz |first3=Michel|last3= Fortmann |date=2004 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-0-8047-5017-2 |page=59}}</ref>

Japan has close economic and military [[Japan–United States relations|relations with the United States]], with which it maintains [[Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan|a security alliance]].<ref name=us-relations>{{cite web|url=https://www.state.gov/u-s-relations-with-japan/|publisher=US Department of State|title=US Relations with Japan|date=January 21, 2020|archive-date=May 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503135404/https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/4142.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref name=us-relations/> In 2016, Japan announced the Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision, which frames its regional policies.<ref>{{Cite web |last2=Hosoya |first1=Nicholas |last1=Szechenyi |first2=Yuichi |title=Working Toward a Free and Open Indo-Pacific |url=https://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2019/10/working-toward-a-free-and-open-indo-pacific?lang=en |access-date=May 8, 2024 |publisher=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |language=en |archive-date=October 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029041716/https://carnegieendowment.org/2019/10/10/working-toward-free-and-open-indo-pacific-pub-80023 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Achieving the 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)' Vision: Japan Ministry of Defense's Approach |url=https://www.mod.go.jp/en/d_act/exc/india_pacific/india_pacific-en.html |accessdate=May 8, 2024 |publisher=Japan Ministry of Defence |archive-date=May 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240508095151/https://www.mod.go.jp/en/d_act/exc/india_pacific/india_pacific-en.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Japan is also a member of the [[Quadrilateral Security Dialogue]] ("the Quad"), a multilateral security dialogue reformed in 2017 aiming to limit Chinese influence in the [[Indo-Pacific]] region, along with the United States, Australia, and India.<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep17325 |title=Japan, the Indo-Pacific, and the "Quad" |last=Chanlett-Avery |first=Emma |date=2018 |publisher=Chicago Council on Global Affairs }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Quad in the Indo-Pacific: What to Know |first=Sheila A. |last=Smith |date=May 27, 2021 |url=https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/quad-indo-pacific-what-know |accessdate=January 26, 2022 |publisher=Council on Foreign Relations |archive-date=May 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230503162143/https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/quad-indo-pacific-what-know |url-status=live }}</ref>

Japan is engaged in several territorial disputes with its neighbors. It contests Russia's control of the [[Kuril Islands dispute|Southern Kuril Islands]], which were occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/europe/russia/territory/index.html|title=Japanese Territory, Northern Territories|date=April 4, 2014|publisher=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]]|archive-date=June 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626202149/https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/europe/russia/territory/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> South Korea's control of the [[Liancourt Rocks]] is acknowledged but not accepted as they are claimed by Japan.<ref name="takeshima">{{cite web|url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/takeshima/index.html|title=Japanese Territory, Takeshima|date=July 30, 2014|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs|archive-date=June 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190613022420/https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/takeshima/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Japan has strained relations with China over the [[Senkaku Islands]] and the status of [[Okinotorishima]].<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1177/0920203X16665778|date=September 2016|title=The Senkaku Shoto/Diaoyu Islands and Okinotorishima disputes: Ideational and material influences|last=Fox|first=Senan|journal=China Information|volume=30|issue=3|pages=312–333}}</ref>

===Military===
{{Main|Japan Self-Defense Forces}}

[[File:US Navy 051115-N-8492C-125 The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) destroyer JDS Kongou (DDG 173) sails in formation with other JMSDF ships and ships assigned to the USS Kitty Hawk Carrier Strike Group.jpg|thumb|[[Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force|JMSDF]] [[Kongō-class destroyer|{{transliteration|ja|Kongō}}-class destroyer]]]]

Japan is the third highest-ranked Asian country in the 2024 [[Global Peace Index]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=2024 Global Peace Index |url=https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GPI-2024-web.pdf|publisher=Institute for Economics & Peace|date=June 2024}}</ref> It spent 1.4% of its total GDP on [[Military budget of Japan|its defence budget]] and maintained the [[List of countries by military expenditures|tenth-largest military budget]] in the world in 2024.<ref name="SIPRI-2020">{{Cite web |date=April 2025 |title=Trends in Military Expenditure 2024 |url=https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2025-04/2504_fs_milex_2024.pdf#page=2|publisher=[[Stockholm International Peace Research Institute]]}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/law/help/japan-constitution/article9.php|publisher=Library of Congress|title=Japan: Article 9 of the Constitution|date=February 2006|archive-date=November 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191113230055/https://www.loc.gov/law/help/japan-constitution/article9.php|url-status=live}}</ref> The military is governed by the [[Ministry of Defense (Japan)|Ministry of Defense]], and primarily consists of the [[Japan Ground Self-Defense Force]], the [[Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force]], and the [[Japan Air Self-Defense Force]]. The [[Japanese Iraq Reconstruction and Support Group|deployment of troops to Iraq]] and Afghanistan marked the first overseas use of Japan's military since World War II.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/japan-and-its-military|last=Teslik|first=Lee Hudson|date=April 13, 2006|publisher=Council on Foreign Relations|title=Japan and its military|archive-date=November 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111193330/https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/japan-and-its-military|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Government of Japan]] has been making changes to its security policy which include the establishment of the [[National Security Council (Japan)|National Security Council]], the adoption of the National Security Strategy, and the development of the National Defense Program Guidelines.<ref name="Japan's Security Policy">{{cite news|title= Japan's Security Policy|publisher= Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|url= http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/security/|date= April 6, 2016|archive-date= January 28, 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150128132310/http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/security/|url-status= live}}</ref> In 2015, the Japanese parliament passed the [[Legislation for Peace and Security]], allowing the JSDF to participate in foreign conflicts in an "existential crisis situation".<ref name="kuro2">{{Cite journal |last=Kurosaki|first=Masahiro|date=January 18, 2023|title=Japan's Evolving Position on the Use of Force in Collective Self-Defense|url=https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/japans-evolving-position-use-force-collective-self-defense|journal=Lawfare}}</ref> In December 2022, Prime Minister [[Fumio Kishida]] instructed the government to increase spending by 65% until 2027.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Liff |first=Adam P. |date=May 22, 2023 |title=No, Japan is not planning to 'double its defense budget' |url=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2023/05/22/no-japan-is-not-planning-to-double-its-defense-budget/ |publisher=[[Brookings Institution]]|archive-date=May 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523074432/https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2023/05/22/no-japan-is-not-planning-to-double-its-defense-budget/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Recent tensions, particularly with North Korea and China, have reignited the debate over the status of the JSDF and its relation to Japanese society.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://thediplomat.com/2020/09/japan-dealing-with-north-koreas-growing-missile-threat/|work=The Diplomat|last=Yoji|first=Koda|date=September 18, 2020|title=Japan: Dealing with North Korea's Growing Missile Threat|archive-date=November 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111164739/https://thediplomat.com/2020/09/japan-dealing-with-north-koreas-growing-missile-threat/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/japan-china-military-provocations-revival-disputed-islands-pacifism-11594735596|work=The Wall Street Journal|title=China Provocations Hasten Japan's Military Revival|last1=Gale|first1=Alastair|last2=Tsuneoka|first2=Chieko|date=July 14, 2020|archive-date=November 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111145238/https://www.wsj.com/articles/japan-china-military-provocations-revival-disputed-islands-pacifism-11594735596|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Law enforcement===
{{Main|Law enforcement in Japan|Law of Japan}}

[[File:警視庁 - panoramio.jpg|thumb|The headquarters of the [[Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department]]]]
Domestic security in Japan is provided mainly by the [[prefectural police department]]s, under the oversight of the [[National Police Agency (Japan)|National Police Agency]].<ref>{{Cite web|publisher=Supreme Court of Japan|year=2005|title=Who will conduct the investigation?|url=http://www.courts.go.jp/saiban/qa_keizi/qa_keizi_09/index.html|accessdate=November 1, 2018|archive-date=September 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924211451/http://www.courts.go.jp/saiban/qa_keizi/qa_keizi_09/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> As the central coordinating body for the Prefectural Police Departments, the National Police Agency is administered by the [[National Public Safety Commission (Japan)|National Public Safety Commission]].<ref name="NPA1977-2">{{Cite book|editor=National Police Agency Police History Compilation Committee|year=1977|title=Japan post-war police history|publisher=[[:ja:警察協会|Japan Police Support Association]]|language=Japanese}}</ref> The [[Special Assault Team]] comprises national-level [[counter-terrorism]] tactical units that cooperate with territorial-level [[Riot Police Unit#Specialist squads|Anti-Firearms Squads and Counter-NBC Terrorism Squads]].<ref name="WP">{{cite web|url=http://www.npa.go.jp/english/kokusai9/White_Paper_2009_7.pdf|title=Chapter IV. Maintenance of Public Safety and Disaster Countermeasures|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110323151825/https://www.npa.go.jp/english/kokusai9/White_Paper_2009_7.pdf|accessdate=March 25, 2011|archivedate=March 23, 2011|publisher=[[Japanese National Police Agency]]|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Japan Coast Guard]] guards territorial waters surrounding Japan and uses surveillance and control countermeasures against smuggling, marine [[environmental crime]], poaching, piracy, spy ships, unauthorized foreign fishing vessels, and illegal immigration.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kaiho.mlit.go.jp/e/image/15_b%20of%20jcg.pdf|title=Japan Coast Guard|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708235951/https://www.kaiho.mlit.go.jp/e/image/15_b%20of%20jcg.pdf|accessdate=July 8, 2019|archivedate=July 8, 2019|publisher=[[Japan Coast Guard]]|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Firearm and Sword Possession Control Law]] strictly regulates the civilian ownership of guns, swords, and other weaponry.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2008/11/29/national/diet-tightens-laws-on-knives-guns/#.XS9faShKi01|title=Diet tightens laws on knives, guns|date=November 29, 2008|work=The Japan Times|archive-date=April 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413233016/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2008/11/29/national/diet-tightens-laws-on-knives-guns/#.XS9faShKi01|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/07/a-land-without-guns-how-japan-has-virtually-eliminated-shooting-deaths/260189/|title=A Land Without Guns: How Japan Has Virtually Eliminated Shooting Deaths|date=July 23, 2012|first=Max|last=Fisher|work=[[The Atlantic]]|archive-date=December 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151216014947/http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/07/a-land-without-guns-how-japan-has-virtually-eliminated-shooting-deaths/260189/|url-status=live}}</ref> According to the [[United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime]], among the member states of the UN that report statistics {{as of|2018|lc=y}}, the incidence rates of violent crimes such as murder, abduction, sexual violence, and robbery are very low in Japan.<ref>{{Cite web|publisher=UNODC|title=Victims of intentional homicide, 1990–2018|url=https://dataunodc.un.org/content/data/homicide/homicide-rate|accessdate=November 11, 2020|archive-date=March 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328012947/https://dataunodc.un.org/content/data/homicide/homicide-rate|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=UNODC|url=https://dataunodc.un.org/data/crime/kidnapping|title=Kidnapping: 2018|accessdate=November 11, 2020|archive-date=October 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021235926/https://dataunodc.un.org/data/crime/kidnapping|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=UNODC|title=Sexual violence|url=https://dataunodc.un.org/data/crime/sexual-violence|accessdate=November 11, 2020|archive-date=November 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107001709/https://dataunodc.un.org/data/crime/sexual-violence|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=UNODC|title=Robbery: 2018|url=https://dataunodc.un.org/data/crime/Robbery|accessdate=November 11, 2020|archive-date=November 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111163831/https://dataunodc.un.org/data/crime/Robbery|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Human rights ===
{{Main|Human rights in Japan}}

Japanese society traditionally places a strong emphasis on [[Wa (Japanese culture)|collective harmony]] and [[Collectivism|conformity]], which has led to the suppression of [[individual rights]].<ref name="h191">{{cite journal | last=Matsui | first=Shigenori | title=Fundamental Human Rights and 'Traditional Japanese Values': Constitutional Amendment and Vision of the Japanese Society | journal=Asian Journal of Comparative Law | volume=13 | issue=1 | date=February 22, 2018 | doi=10.1017/asjcl.2017.25 | doi-access=free | pages=59–86}}</ref> [[Constitution of Japan|Japan's constitution]] prohibits racial and religious discrimination,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination started consideration of the initial and second periodic reports of Japan |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2009/10/committee-elimination-racial-discrimination-started-consideration-initial |accessdate=May 8, 2024 |publisher=Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights |archive-date=May 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240508101622/https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2009/10/committee-elimination-racial-discrimination-started-consideration-initial |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite wikisource|title=Constitution of Japan|wslanguage=en}}</ref> and the country is a signatory to numerous international human rights treaties.<ref name="q456">{{cite web |title=Japan Strengthening Its Presence in the International Community|work=Diplomatic Bluebook | publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan | url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/other/bluebook/2021/en_html/chapter4/c040207.html | year=2021}}</ref> However, it lacks any laws against discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity and does not have a national human rights institution.<ref name="p620">{{cite book | author=Human Rights Watch | title=World Report 2024: Events of 2023 | publisher=Seven Stories Press | year=2024 | isbn=978-1-64421-338-4 | url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=HjrBEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT425| page=425}}</ref>

Japan has faced criticism for [[Gender inequality in Japan|its gender inequality]],<ref name="p015">{{cite journal | last=Iida | first=Aki | title=Gender inequality in Japan: The status of women, and their promotion in the workplace | journal=Corvinus Journal of International Affairs | volume=3 | issue=3 | year=2018 | doi=10.14267/cojourn.2018v3n3a5 | doi-access=free | pages=43–52}}</ref> [[Same-sex marriage in Japan|not allowing same-sex marriages]],<ref name="h253">{{cite web | last=Shiraishi | first2=Frances|last2= Mao |first1=Sakiko | title=Japan same-sex marriage ban ruled unconstitutional again by courts | publisher=BBC | date=March 14, 2024 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-68561968}}</ref> use of [[racial profiling]] by police,<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 17, 2022 |title=Racial profiling, discrimination in Japan far more serious than stats reported by police |url=https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20221217/p2a/00m/0na/010000c |work=Mainichi Daily News |archive-date=May 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240508101627/https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20221217/p2a/00m/0na/010000c |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Japan |url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/japan/ |accessdate=May 8, 2024 |publisher=U.S. Department of State |archive-date=September 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230924171500/https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/japan/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Capital punishment in Japan|allowing capital punishment]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa22/006/2006/en/|title=Japan: 'Will this day be my last?' The death penalty in Japan|publisher=[[Amnesty International]]|date=July 6, 2006}}</ref> Other human rights issues include the treatment of marginalized groups, such as [[Racism in Japan|ethnic minorities]],<ref name="r037">{{cite web | title=Japan: Long-standing discrimination unchanged |publisher=Amnesty International | url=https://www.amnesty.org/es/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/ASA2257602022ENGLISH.pdf |year=2023}}</ref> [[Immigration to Japan#Refugees and asylum seekers|refugees and asylum seekers]].<ref name="v702">{{cite web | title=Japan's new deportation rule for asylum seekers raises rights concerns | website=Nikkei Asia | date=June 10, 2024 | url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Japan-immigration/Japan-s-new-deportation-rule-for-asylum-seekers-raises-rights-concerns}}</ref>

==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of Japan}}

[[File:Nakanoshima Skyscrapers in 201504 001.jpg|thumb|Skyscrapers in [[Nakanoshima]], [[Osaka]]; a major [[financial center]] in Japan]]
Japan has the world's [[List of countries by GDP (nominal)|fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP]], after that of the United States, China, Germany and India; and the [[List of countries by GDP (PPP)|fifth-largest by PPP-adjusted GDP]].<ref>{{cite web |date=April 22, 2025 |title=World Economic Outlook Database, April 2025 |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2025/April/weo-report?c=512,914,612,171,614,311,213,911,314,193,122,912,313,419,513,316,913,124,339,638,514,218,963,616,223,516,918,748,618,624,522,622,156,626,628,228,924,233,632,636,634,238,662,960,423,935,128,611,321,243,248,469,253,642,643,939,734,644,819,172,132,646,648,915,134,652,174,328,258,656,654,336,263,268,532,944,176,534,536,429,433,178,436,136,343,158,439,916,664,826,542,967,443,917,544,941,446,666,668,672,946,137,546,674,676,548,556,678,181,867,682,684,273,868,921,948,943,686,688,518,728,836,558,138,196,278,692,694,962,142,449,564,565,283,853,288,293,566,964,182,359,453,968,922,714,862,135,716,456,722,942,718,724,576,936,961,813,726,199,733,184,524,361,362,364,732,366,144,146,463,528,923,738,578,537,742,866,369,744,186,925,869,746,926,466,112,111,298,927,846,299,582,487,474,754,698,&s=NGDPD,&sy=2021&ey=2028&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]]}}</ref> {{As of|2023}}, [[Labor market of Japan|Japan's labor force]] is the world's [[List of countries by labour force|tenth-largest]], consisting of over 69.2&nbsp;million workers.<ref name="cia" /> {{As of|2024}}, Japan has a [[List of countries by unemployment rate|low unemployment rate]] of around 2.6%.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS?locations=JP|title=Unemployment, total (% of the total labor force) (modeled ILO estimate): Japan|publisher=[[World Bank]]|accessdate=July 31, 2022|archive-date=July 31, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220731125918/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS?locations=JP|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Poverty in Japan|Its poverty rate]] is the second highest among the G7 countries,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Komiya|first1=Kantaro|last2=Kihara|first2=Leiha|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-confronts-rising-inequality-after-abenomics-2021-10-12/|title=Japan confronts rising inequality after Abenomics|publisher=[[Reuters]]|date=October 31, 2021|archive-date=July 31, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220731125918/https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-confronts-rising-inequality-after-abenomics-2021-10-12/|url-status=live}}</ref> and exceeds 15.7% of the population.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/03/japans-middle-class-is-disappearing-as-poverty-rises-warns-economist.html|title=Japan's middle class is 'disappearing' as poverty rises, warns economist|date=July 2, 2020|publisher=[[CNBC]]|last=Huang|first=Eustance|archive-date=July 31, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220731125917/https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/03/japans-middle-class-is-disappearing-as-poverty-rises-warns-economist.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Japan has the highest ratio of public debt to GDP among advanced economies,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ímrohoroğlu|first1=Selahattin|last2=Kitao|first2=Sagiri|last3=Yamada|first3=Tomoaki|title=Achieving fiscal balance in Japan|volume=57|number=1|pages=117–154|journal=[[International Economic Review]]|date=February 2016|doi=10.1111/iere.12150|jstor=44075341}}</ref> with [[National debt of Japan|a national debt]] estimated at 248% relative to GDP {{as of|2022|lc=y}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fitchratings.com/research/sovereigns/monetary-tightening-poses-medium-term-risks-to-japans-debt-dynamics-06-05-2022|publisher=[[Fitch Ratings]]|title=Monetary Tightening Poses Medium-Term Risks to Japan's Debt Dynamics|date=May 6, 2022|archive-date=May 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519084011/https://www.fitchratings.com/research/sovereigns/monetary-tightening-poses-medium-term-risks-to-japans-debt-dynamics-06-05-2022|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Japanese yen]] is the world's third-largest [[reserve currency]] after the US dollar and the euro.<ref>{{cite web|title=Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserve|publisher=IMF|url=https://data.imf.org/regular.aspx?key=41175|accessdate=October 10, 2021|archive-date=May 12, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160512202858/https://data.imf.org/regular.aspx?key=41175|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2024, Japan was the world's [[List of countries by exports|eight-largest exporter]]<ref>{{cite web |title=List of importing markets for the product exported by Japan in 2022 |url=https://www.trademap.org/Country_SelProductCountry.aspx?nvpm=1%7c392%7c%7c%7c%7cTOTAL%7c%7c%7c2%7c1%7c1%7c2%7c1%7c%7c2%7c1%7c1%7c1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410225438/https://www.trademap.org/Country_SelProductCountry.aspx?nvpm=1%7C392%7C%7C%7C%7CTOTAL%7C%7C%7C2%7C1%7C1%7C2%7C1%7C%7C2%7C1%7C1%7C1 |archive-date=April 10, 2023 |accessdate=August 11, 2023 |publisher=[[International Trade Centre]]}}</ref> and [[List of countries by imports|sixth-largest importer]].<ref>{{cite web |title=List of supplying markets for the product imported by Japan in 2022 |url=https://www.trademap.org/Country_SelProductCountry.aspx?nvpm=1%7c392%7c%7c%7c%7cTOTAL%7c%7c%7c2%7c1%7c1%7c1%7c1%7c%7c2%7c1%7c1%7c1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410225448/https://www.trademap.org/Country_SelProductCountry.aspx?nvpm=1%7C392%7C%7C%7C%7CTOTAL%7C%7C%7C2%7C1%7C1%7C1%7C1%7C%7C2%7C1%7C1%7C1 |archive-date=April 10, 2023 |accessdate=August 11, 2023 |publisher=[[International Trade Centre]]}}</ref> Its exports amounted to 21.9% of its total GDP in 2023.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.EXP.GNFS.ZS?locations=JP|publisher=World Bank|title=Exports of goods and services (% of GDP): Japan|accessdate=November 11, 2020|archive-date=November 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171130064945/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.EXP.GNFS.ZS?locations=JP|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2024, [[List of the largest trading partners of Japan|Japan's main export markets]] were China (22.2%, including Hong Kong) and the United States (20.6%).<ref name="STATJETRO">{{cite web |title=Japanese Trade and Investment Statistics |url=https://www.jetro.go.jp/en/reports/statistics/ |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301094344/https://www.jetro.go.jp/en/reports/statistics/ |archivedate=March 1, 2021 |accessdate=March 3, 2021 |publisher=[[Japan External Trade Organization]]}}</ref> [[List of exports of Japan|Its main exports]] are motor vehicles, iron and steel products, semiconductors, and auto parts.<ref name="cia">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/japan/|title=World Factbook: Japan|publisher=CIA|accessdate=September 24, 2022|archive-date=January 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105105736/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/japan/|url-status=live}}</ref> Japan's main import markets in 2024 were China (22.3%), the United States (10.5%), and Australia (7.1%).<ref name="STATJETRO" /> Japan's main imports are machinery and equipment, fossil fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, and raw materials.<ref name="STATJETRO" />

The Japanese variant of capitalism has many distinct features: [[keiretsu]] enterprises are influential, and [[lifetime employment]] and seniority-based career advancement are common in the [[Japanese work environment]].<ref name="oecd2008">{{cite web|url=http://www.oecd.org/document/17/0,3343,en_2649_34111_40353553_1_1_1_1,00.html|title=Economic survey of Japan 2008|publisher=[[OECD]]|accessdate=August 25, 2010|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101109122744/http://www.oecd.org/document/17/0%2C3343%2Cen_2649_34111_40353553_1_1_1_1%2C00.html|archivedate=November 9, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/leaders/2006/07/20/free-at-last|title=Japan's Economy: Free at last|newspaper=The Economist|date=July 20, 2006|archive-date=April 30, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430001614/http://www.economist.com/node/7193984?story_id=7193984|url-status=live}}</ref> Japan has a large [[cooperative]] sector, with three of the world's ten largest cooperatives, including the largest [[consumer cooperative]] and the largest [[agricultural cooperative]] {{as of|2018|lc=y}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ica.coop/sites/default/files/publication-files/wcm2018-printx50-227290600.pdf|title=The 2018 World Cooperative Monitor: Exploring the Cooperative Economy|date=October 2018|publisher=[[International Co-operative Alliance]]|archive-date=February 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202042643/https://www.ica.coop/sites/default/files/publication-files/wcm2018-printx50-227290600.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> It [[International rankings of Japan#Economy|ranks highly]] for [[Competition (companies)|competitiveness]] and [[economic freedom]]. The country attracted 36.9&nbsp;million international tourists in 2024,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://statistics.jnto.go.jp/en/graph/#graph--inbound--travelers--transition|title=Trends in the Visitor Arrivals to Japan by Year|publisher=Japan National Tourism Organization|accessdate=December 11, 2020|archive-date=November 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126123636/https://statistics.jnto.go.jp/en/graph/#graph--inbound--travelers--transition|url-status=live}}</ref> and was [[World Tourism rankings|ranked eleventh]] in the world in 2019 for [[Inbound tourism (Japan)|inbound tourism]].<ref name="WTOB">{{cite journal|date=August–September 2020|title=Statistical Annex|journal=UNWTO World Tourism Barometer|volume=18|issue=5|page=18|doi=10.18111/wtobarometereng.2020.18.1.5|doi-access=free}}</ref> The 2024 ''[[Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report]]'' ranked Japan third in the world out of 117 countries.<ref>{{cite web |date=May 2024 |title=The Travel & Tourism Development Index 2024 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Travel_and_Tourism_Development_Index_2024.pdf |accessdate=July 24, 2025 |publisher=[[World Economic Forum]]}}</ref> Its international tourism receipts in 2019 amounted to $46.1&nbsp;billion.<ref name="WTOB"/>

===Agriculture and fishery===
{{Main|Agriculture, forestry, and fishing in Japan}}

[[File:Rice Paddies In Aizu, Japan.JPG|thumb|A [[rice paddy]] in [[Aizu]], [[Fukushima Prefecture]]]]
The Japanese agricultural sector accounts for about 1.2% of the country's total GDP {{as of|2018|lc=yes}}.<ref name=sec/> Only 11.2% of Japan's land is suitable for cultivation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.ARBL.ZS|title=Arable land (% of land area)|publisher=World Bank|accessdate=November 11, 2020|archive-date=November 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107201125/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.ARBL.ZS|url-status=live}}</ref> Because of this lack of arable land, a system of [[Terrace (earthworks)|terraces]] is used to farm in small areas.<ref name="Urbanites Help Sustain Japan's Historic Rice Paddy Terraces">{{cite web|url=http://ourworld.unu.edu/en/the-people-who-sustain-japans-historic-terraced-rice-fields|title=Urbanites Help Sustain Japan's Historic Rice Paddy Terraces|website=Our World|date=May 22, 2012|author1=Nagata, Akira|author2=Chen, Bixia|archive-date=September 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924164244/http://ourworld.unu.edu/en/the-people-who-sustain-japans-historic-terraced-rice-fields|url-status=live}}</ref> This results in one of the world's highest levels of crop yields per unit area, with an agricultural self-sufficiency rate of about 50% {{as of|2018|lc=y}}.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The spatial patterns in long-term temporal trends of three major crops' yields in Japan|doi=10.1080/1343943X.2018.1459752|year=2018|volume=21|last=Chen|first=Hungyen|journal=Plant Production Science|issue=3|pages=177–185|doi-access=free}}</ref> Japan's small agricultural sector is highly subsidized and [[Agricultural Protectionism in Japan|protected]].<ref>{{cite web|work=Agricultural Policy Monitoring and Evaluation|title=Japan: Support to agriculture|year=2020|publisher=OECD|accessdate=November 11, 2020|url=https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/751935f0-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/751935f0-en|archive-date=June 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210620151745/https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/751935f0-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/751935f0-en|url-status=live}}</ref> There has been a growing concern about farming as farmers are aging with a difficult time finding successors.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2019/12/31/grown-from-necessity-vertical-farming-takes-off-in-ageing-japan.html|title=Grown from necessity: Vertical farming takes off in aging Japan|last=Nishimura|first=Karyn|agency=Agence France-Presse|date=January 1, 2020|website=The Jakarta Post|archive-date=February 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205084025/https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2019/12/31/grown-from-necessity-vertical-farming-takes-off-in-ageing-japan.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Japan ranked seventh in the world in [[fishing industry by country|tonnage of fish caught]] and captured 3,167,610 metric tons of fish in 2016, down from an annual average of 4,000,000 tons over the previous decade.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/3/i9540en/i9540en.pdf|title=The state of world fisheries and aquaculture|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization|date=2018|accessdate=May 25, 2020|archive-date=February 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211011147/http://www.fao.org/3/I9540EN/i9540en.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch,<ref name=cia /> prompting critiques that Japan's fishing is leading to depletion in fish stocks such as [[tuna]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/24/japan-criticised-exceed-bluefin-tuna-fishing-quota|newspaper=The Guardian|last=McCurry|first=Justin|title=Japan to exceed bluefin tuna quota amid warnings of commercial extinction|date=April 24, 2017|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112024926/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/24/japan-criticised-exceed-bluefin-tuna-fishing-quota|url-status=live}}</ref> Japan has sparked controversy by supporting commercial [[whaling in Japan|whaling]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48821797|work=BBC News|title=Japan resumes commercial whaling after 30 years|date=July 1, 2019|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112020054/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48821797|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Industry and services ===
{{Main|Manufacturing in Japan|Trade and services in Japan|Electronics industry in Japan|Automotive industry in Japan}}

[[File:2018 Nissan GT-R Premium in Super Silver, Front Right, 10-11-2022.jpg|thumb|The [[Nissan GT-R]], a [[sports car]] manufactured by [[Nissan]]. Japan is the [[List of countries by motor vehicle production|third-largest producer of motor vehicles]] in the world.<ref name=":0" />]]
Japan has a large industrial capacity and is home to some of the "largest and most technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, [[machine tool]]s, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, [[chemical substance]]s, textiles, and [[processed foods]]".<ref name="cia"/> Japan's industrial sector makes up approximately 27.5% of its GDP.<ref name=cia/> The country's manufacturing output is the [[List of countries by manufacturing output|fourth highest]] in the world {{as of|2023|lc=yes}}.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Manufacturing, value added (current US$)|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NV.IND.MANF.CD?most_recent_value_desc=true|accessdate=March 17, 2020|publisher=World Bank|archive-date=January 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200107135049/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NV.IND.MANF.CD?most_recent_value_desc=true|url-status=live}}</ref>

Japan is in the top three globally for both automobile production<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=2022 Production Statistics |url=https://www.oica.net/category/production-statistics/2022-statistics/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408125523/https://www.oica.net/category/production-statistics/2022-statistics/ |archive-date=April 8, 2023 |accessdate=May 22, 2023 |website= |publisher=OICA}}</ref> and export,<ref>{{cite web |last1=He |first1=Laura |last2=Semans |first2=Himari |date=February 2, 2024 |title=Is China now the world's top car exporter? It's complicated |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/02/cars/japan-china-top-car-exporter-data-intl-hnk/index.html |publisher=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Cars |url=https://oec.world/en/profile/hs/cars |accessdate=July 27, 2024 |website=The Observatory of Economic Complexity}}</ref> and is home to [[Toyota]], the world's [[List of manufacturers by motor vehicle production|largest automobile company by production]]. The Japanese shipbuilding industry faces increasing competition from its East Asian neighbors, South Korea and China; a 2020 government initiative identified this sector as a target for increasing exports.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://japan-forward.com/japan-targets-to-export-more-ships-revive-global-market-share/|website=Japan Forward|title=Japan Targets to Export More Ships, Revive Global Market Share|last=Okada|first=Mizuki|date=September 5, 2020|archive-date=January 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123140851/https://japan-forward.com/japan-targets-to-export-more-ships-revive-global-market-share/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Once considered the strongest in the world, the [[Japanese consumer electronics industry]] is in a state of decline as regional competition arises in neighboring East Asian countries such as South Korea and China.<ref>{{cite web |last=Pham |first=Sherisse |date=May 4, 2017 |title=How things got ugly for some of Japan's biggest brands |url=https://money.cnn.com/2017/05/04/technology/japanese-companies-fall-toshiba-olympus-sanyo-sharp/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204154837/https://money.cnn.com/2017/05/04/technology/japanese-companies-fall-toshiba-olympus-sanyo-sharp/index.html |archive-date=December 4, 2020 |website=CNN Money}}</ref> However, [[Video games in Japan|Japan's video game sector]] remains a major industry; in 2014, Japan's consumer video game market grossed $9.6&nbsp;billion, with $5.8&nbsp;billion coming from mobile gaming.<ref>{{cite web |last=Nutt |first=Christian |date=June 19, 2015 |title=Japan's game market hits record high as consoles decline and mobile grows |url=http://gamasutra.com/view/news/246644/Japans_game_market_hits_record_high_as_consoles_decline_and_mobile_grows.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922173536/http://gamasutra.com/view/news/246644/Japans_game_market_hits_record_high_as_consoles_decline_and_mobile_grows.php |archive-date=September 22, 2018 |website=Gamasutra}}</ref> By 2015, Japan had become the world's [[List of video games markets by country|fourth-largest]] [[PC game]] market by revenue, behind [[Video games in China|China]], the [[Video games in the United States|United States]], and [[Video games in South Korea|South Korea]].<ref>{{cite web |date=August 2, 2016 |title=PC games revenue to hit $42 billion in 2020 – DFC |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2016-08-02-pc-games-revenue-to-hit-usd42-billion-in-2020-dfc |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210180401/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2016-08-02-pc-games-revenue-to-hit-usd42-billion-in-2020-dfc |archive-date=February 10, 2022 |website=[[GamesIndustry.biz]]}}</ref>

Japan's service sector accounts for about 69.8% of its total economic output {{as of|2023|lc=y}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Services, value added (% of GDP) |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NV.SRV.TOTL.ZS?locations=JP |accessdate=November 11, 2020 |publisher=World Bank |archive-date=May 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516063109/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NV.SRV.TOTL.ZS?locations=JP |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Banking in Japan|Banking]], retail, [[transportation in Japan|transportation]], and [[Telecommunications in Japan|telecommunications]] are all major industries, with companies such as Toyota, [[Honda]], [[Yamaha Motor Company|Yamaha]], [[Mitsubishi UFJ]], [[Nippon Telegraph and Telephone|NTT]], [[Aeon (company)|Aeon]], [[SoftBank]], [[Hitachi]], [[Mitsui]] and [[Itochu]] listed as among the largest in the world.<ref name="Fortune Global 500 ">{{cite news|url=https://fortune.com/global500/2020/search/?fg500_country=Japan&non-us-cos-y-n=true|title=Fortune Global 500|accessdate=November 11, 2020|website=Fortune|archive-date=November 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117130030/https://fortune.com/global500/2020/search/?fg500_country=Japan&non-us-cos-y-n=true|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/global2000/#2cb352db335d|title=The World's Largest Public Companies|work=Forbes|accessdate=November 11, 2020|archive-date=December 21, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121221222151/http://www.forbes.com/global2000/#2cb352db335d|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Science and technology===
{{Main|Science and technology in Japan}}

[[File:Kibo PM and ELM-PS.jpg|thumb|The [[Japanese Experiment Module]] (Kibō) at the [[International Space Station]]]]

Relative to gross domestic product, Japan's [[Research and development in Japan|research and development]] budget is the [[List of sovereign states by research and development spending|sixth or seventh highest]] in the world,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uis.unesco.org/apps/visualisations/research-and-development-spending/|publisher=UNESCO|title=How much does your country invest in R&D?|accessdate=November 11, 2020|archive-date=January 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123180417/http://uis.unesco.org/apps/visualisations/research-and-development-spending/|url-status=live}}</ref> with 907,400 researchers sharing a 22-trillion-yen research and development budget {{as of|2023|lc=y}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Statistics Bureau Home Page/Survey of Research and Development/Summary of Results (2024) |url=https://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/kagaku/1551.html |access-date=2025-07-24 |website=Statistics Bureau}}</ref> Japan has the second highest number of researchers in science and technology per capita in the world with 14 per 1000 employees.<ref>{{cite web |title=Science, technology, and innovation: Researchers by sex, per million inhabitants, per thousand labour force, per thousand total employment (FTE and HC) |url=http://data.uis.unesco.org/index.aspx?queryid=64 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205173957/http://data.uis.unesco.org/index.aspx?queryid=64 |archive-date=December 5, 2020 |accessdate=November 11, 2020 |publisher=UNESCO}}</ref> The country has produced twenty-two [[Nobel Prize|Nobel laureates]] in either physics, chemistry or medicine,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/lists/all-nobel-prizes/|publisher=Nobel Foundation|title=All Nobel Prizes|accessdate=November 11, 2020|archive-date=August 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813202249/https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/lists/all/|url-status=live}}</ref> and three [[Fields Medal|Fields medalists]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mathunion.org/imu-awards/fields-medal|publisher=International Mathematical Union|title=Fields Medal|accessdate=November 11, 2020|archive-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226015744/https://www.mathunion.org/imu-awards/fields-medal|url-status=live}}</ref>

Japan is a leading [[Japanese robotics|robotics]] producer, supplying 38% of the world's 2024 total,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Takki |first=Karri |date=September 25, 2024 |title=Global Robotics Market Surges: Comprehensive Analysis of IFR World Robotics Report 2024 |url=https://statzon.com/insights/global-robotics-market-surges-comprehensive-analysis-of-ifr-world-robotics-report-2024 |access-date=July 25, 2025 |website=Statzon}}</ref> down from 55% in 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ifr.org/post/why-japan-leads-industrial-robot-production|title=Why Japan leads industrial robot production|publisher=International Federation of Robotics|date=December 17, 2018|last=Fujiwara|first=Hiroshi|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112002714/https://ifr.org/post/why-japan-leads-industrial-robot-production|url-status=live}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.space.com/22672-japan-aerospace-exploration-agency.html|website=Space|first=Elizabeth|last=Howell|date=May 19, 2016|title=JAXA: Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency|archive-date=November 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111105102/https://www.space.com/22672-japan-aerospace-exploration-agency.html|url-status=live}}</ref> It is a participant in the [[International Space Station]]: the [[Japanese Experiment Module]] (Kibō) was added to the station during [[Space Shuttle]] assembly flights in 2008.<ref>{{cite web|title=Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Homepage|publisher=Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency|date=August 3, 2006|url=http://www.jaxa.jp/index_e.html|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070321160909/http://www.jaxa.jp/index_e.html|archivedate=March 21, 2007}}</ref> The [[space probe]] ''[[Akatsuki (spacecraft)|Akatsuki]]'' was launched in 2010 and achieved orbit around Venus in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/akatsuki/in-depth/|publisher=NASA|title=Akatsuki|accessdate=November 11, 2020|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112195838/https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/akatsuki/in-depth/|url-status=live}}</ref> Japan's plans in [[space exploration]] include building a [[colonization of the Moon|Moon base]] and landing astronauts by 2030.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.space.com/japan-robots-build-moon-base.html|first=Elizabeth|last=Howell|date=April 7, 2019|website=Space|title=Can Robots Build a Moon Base for Astronauts? Japan Hopes to Find Out|archive-date=November 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107232039/https://www.space.com/japan-robots-build-moon-base.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2007, it launched lunar explorer [[SELENE]] (Selenological and Engineering Explorer) from [[Tanegashima Space Center]]. The largest lunar mission since the [[Apollo program]], its purpose was to gather data on the [[Moon#Formation|Moon's origin and evolution]]. The explorer entered a lunar orbit on October 4, 2007,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.japancorp.net/Article.Asp?Art_ID=15429|title=Japan Successfully Launches Lunar Explorer 'Kaguya'|publisher=Japan Corporate News Network|date=September 14, 2007|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430010519/http://www.japancorp.net/Article.Asp?Art_ID=15429|archivedate=April 30, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6994272.stm|title=Japan launches first lunar probe|work=BBC News|date=September 14, 2007|archive-date=May 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511101523/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6994272.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> and was deliberately crashed into the Moon on June 11, 2009.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8094863.stm|title=Japanese probe crashes into Moon|work=BBC News|date=June 11, 2009|archive-date=September 30, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930160652/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8094863.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Infrastructure==
===Transportation===
{{Main|Transport in Japan}}

[[File:Japan Airlines, Boeing 787-9 JA861J NRT (19455285040).jpg|thumb|[[Japan Airlines]], the [[flag carrier]] of Japan]]
Japan has invested heavily in transportation infrastructure since the 1990s.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-19893379|work=BBC News|last=Wingfield-Hayes|first=Rupert|title=Japan's high-spending legacy|date=October 10, 2012|archive-date=August 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809172340/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-19893379|url-status=live}}</ref> The country has approximately {{convert|comma=5|1200000|km|abbr=off|sp=us}} of roads made up of {{convert|comma=5|1000000|km|abbr=off|sp=us}} of city, town and village roads, {{convert|comma=5|130000|km|abbr=off|sp=us}} of prefectural roads, {{convert|comma=5|54736|km|abbr=off|sp=us}} of general national highways and {{convert|comma=5|7641|km|abbr=off|sp=us}} of [[Expressways of Japan|national expressways]] {{as of|2017|lc=y}}.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1007/s12544-017-0255-7|title=Japan's transport planning at the national level, natural disasters, and their interplays|year=2017|journal=European Transport Research Review|last=Shibayama|first=Takeru|volume=9|issue=3|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Since privatization in 1987,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2017/04/04/editorials/privatization-jnr-30-years/|website=The Japan Times|date=April 4, 2017|title=Privatization of JNR, 30 years on|archive-date=April 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404110226/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2017/04/04/editorials/privatization-jnr-30-years/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[List of railway companies in Japan|dozens of Japanese railway companies]] compete in regional and local passenger transportation markets; major companies include seven [[Japan Railways Group|JR]] enterprises, [[Kintetsu Railway|Kintetsu]], [[Seibu Railway]] and [[Keio Corporation]]. The high-speed [[Shinkansen]] (bullet trains) that connect major cities are known for their safety and punctuality.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-10-07/can-japan-s-bullet-trains-get-back-up-to-speed|publisher=Bloomberg|date=October 7, 2020|last=Sieloff|first=Sarah|title=Japan's Bullet Trains Are Hitting a Speed Bump|archive-date=October 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008005117/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-10-07/can-japan-s-bullet-trains-get-back-up-to-speed|url-status=live}}</ref>

There are [[List of airports in Japan|280 airports in Japan]] {{as of|2025|lc=y}}.<ref name="cia" /> The largest domestic airport, [[Haneda Airport]] in Tokyo, was Asia's [[List of busiest airports by passenger traffic|second-busiest airport]] in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/asia-busiest-airports-2019/index.html|publisher=CNN|date=April 22, 2019|last=Falcus|first=Matt|title=Asia's 9 busiest airports in 2019|archive-date=April 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422235856/https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/asia-busiest-airports-2019/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Keihin and Hanshin superport hubs are among the largest in the world, at 7.98 and 5.22&nbsp;million [[twenty-foot equivalent unit|TEU]] respectively {{as of|2017|lc=y}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.worldshipping.org/about-the-industry/global-trade/top-50-world-container-ports|publisher=World Shipping Council|title=Top 50 World Container Ports|accessdate=November 16, 2020|archive-date=November 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119000412/https://www.worldshipping.org/about-the-industry/global-trade/top-50-world-container-ports|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Energy===
{{Main|Energy in Japan}}

[[File:Setokazenooka-park01.jpg|thumb|right |Part of the [[Seto Windhill|Seto Hill Windfarm]]]]
{{As of|2019}}, 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 in Japan|nuclear power]], among other sources. Nuclear power was down from 11.2% in 2010.<ref>{{cite report|title=Statistical Handbook of Japan 2021|url=https://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/handbook/index.html|section=Chapter 7: Energy – 1. Supply and Demand|section-url=http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/handbook/pdf/2021all.pdf#page=93|pp=77, 79|publisher=Statistics Bureau of Japan|accessdate=January 8, 2021|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120232017/http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/handbook/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> By May 2012 all of [[List of nuclear power plants in Japan|the country's nuclear power plants]] had been taken offline because of ongoing public opposition following the [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster]] in March 2011, though government officials continued to try to sway public opinion in favor of returning at least some to service.<ref>{{cite news|last=Tsukimori|first=Osamu|title=Japan nuclear power-free as last reactor shuts|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nuclear-japan-idUSBRE84405820120505|publisher=Reuters|date=May 5, 2012|archivedate=September 24, 2015|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924163821/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/05/us-nuclear-japan-idUSBRE84405820120505|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Sendai Nuclear Power Plant]] restarted in 2015,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-asia-33858628|title=Nuclear power back in Japan for the first time since Fukushima|work=BBC News|date=August 11, 2015|archive-date=August 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801113235/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-asia-33858628/nuclear-power-back-in-japan-for-first-time-since-fukushima|url-status=live}}</ref> and since then several other nuclear power plants have been restarted.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsmixed-progress-for-japans-nuclear-plant-restarts-7887062|work=Nuclear Engineering International|date=April 23, 2020|title=Mixed progress for Japan's nuclear plant restarts|archive-date=June 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609023614/https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsmixed-progress-for-japans-nuclear-plant-restarts-7887062|url-status=live}}</ref> Japan lacks significant domestic reserves and has a heavy dependence on [[List of countries by oil imports|imported energy]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oxfordenergy.org/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/A-Review-of-the-Evolution-of-the-Japanese-Oil-Industry-Oil-Policy-and-its-Relationship-with-the-Middle-East-WPM-76.pdf|pages=5–12|title=A Review of the Evolution of the Japanese Oil Industry, Oil Policy and its Relationship with the Middle East|date=April 2018|publisher=Oxford Institute for Energy Studies|last=Thorarinsson|first=Loftur|archive-date=April 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180410013607/https://www.oxfordenergy.org/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/A-Review-of-the-Evolution-of-the-Japanese-Oil-Industry-Oil-Policy-and-its-Relationship-with-the-Middle-East-WPM-76.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The country has therefore aimed to diversify its sources and maintain high levels of energy efficiency.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Japan's 2014 Strategic Energy Plan: A Planned Energy System Transition|doi=10.1155/2017/4107614|last1=Kucharski|first1=Jeffrey|last2=Unesaki|first2=Hironobu|year=2017|journal=Journal of Energy|volume=2017|pages=1–13|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{Main|Demographics of Japan}}

{{See also|Japanese people|Ethnic groups of Japan}}
[[File:Tokyo from the top of the SkyTree.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|View of Tokyo from the top of the [[Tokyo Skytree]]. The [[Greater Tokyo Area]] is ranked as the [[List of metropolitan areas by population|most populous metropolitan area]] in the world.]]
Japan has a population of over 123&nbsp;million, of whom nearly 120&nbsp;million are Japanese nationals (2024 estimates).<ref name="November 2020 population estimate">{{cite web|url=https://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/jinsui/tsuki/index.html|title=Population Estimates Monthly Report November 2020|date=June 20, 2019|publisher=Statistics Bureau of Japan|accessdate=April 29, 2021|archive-date=April 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180405030144/https://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/jinsui/tsuki/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A small population of foreign residents makes up the remainder.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20190710/p2g/00m/0dm/075000c|title=Japan population drops by record number to 124.8 mil.: gov't|last=|first=|date=July 10, 2019|website=The Mainichi|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190711174837/https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20190710/p2g/00m/0dm/075000c|archivedate= July 11, 2019}}</ref> Japan is the world's [[Aging of Japan|fastest aging country]] and has the highest proportion of [[Elderly people in Japan|elderly citizens]] of any country, comprising [[List of countries by age structure|one-third of its total population]];<ref name="EUAgeing">{{cite web|url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2020/659419/EPRS_BRI(2020)659419_EN.pdf|title=Japan's ageing society|publisher=[[European Parliament]]|last=D'Ambrogio|first=Enrico|date=December 2020|archive-date=December 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201216060510/https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2020/659419/EPRS_BRI(2020)659419_EN.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> this is the result of a [[post–World War II baby boom]], which was followed by an increase in life expectancy and a decrease in [[birth rate]]s.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/01/05/national/numbers-tell-tale-japans-postwar-rise-fall/|website=The Japan Times|title=Numbers tell tale of Japan's postwar rise and fall|last=Yoshida|first=Reiji|date=January 5, 2015|archive-date=January 7, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150107180452/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/01/05/national/numbers-tell-tale-japans-postwar-rise-fall/|url-status=live}}</ref> 

Japan has a [[total fertility rate]] of 1.2, which is below the [[Sub-replacement fertility|replacement rate]] of 2.1, and is among the world's [[List of countries by total fertility rate|lowest]]:<ref>{{Cite news |last=Takenaka |first=Kiyoshi |date=February 27, 2025 |title=Japan's births fell to record low in 2024 |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japans-new-births-fall-9-straight-years-record-low-2024-2025-02-27/ |access-date=April 25, 2025 |work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> it has a [[median age]] of 48.4, the [[List of countries by median age|highest]] in the world.<ref name="IMFAgeing">{{cite web|url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2020/02/10/na021020-japan-demographic-shift-opens-door-to-reforms|title=Japan: Demographic Shift Opens Door to Reforms|publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]]|date=February 10, 2020|archive-date=February 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212164106/https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2020/02/10/na021020-japan-demographic-shift-opens-door-to-reforms|url-status=live}}</ref> {{as of|2025}}, over 29.3% of the population is over 65, or more than one in four out of the Japanese population.<ref name="November 2020 population estimate" /> As a growing number of younger Japanese are not marrying or remaining childless,<ref name="Walia">{{cite news|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2019/11/19/commentary/japan-commentary/economic-challenge-japans-aging-crisis/|website=The Japan Times|title=The economic challenge of Japan's aging crisis|last=Walia|first=Simran|date=November 19, 2019|archive-date=November 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191119155159/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2019/11/19/commentary/japan-commentary/economic-challenge-japans-aging-crisis/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/07/japan-mystery-low-birth-rate/534291/|website=The Atlantic|title=The Mystery of Why Japanese People Are Having So Few Babies|last=Semuels|first=Alana|date=July 20, 2017|archive-date=July 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170720214203/https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/07/japan-mystery-low-birth-rate/534291/|url-status=live}}</ref> Japan's population is expected to drop to around 88&nbsp;million by 2065.<ref name="EUAgeing"/>

The changes in demographic structure have created several social issues, particularly a decline in the workforce population and an increase in the cost of social security benefits.<ref name=Walia/> The Government of Japan projects that there will be almost one elderly person for each person of working age by 2060.<ref name="IMFAgeing"/> [[Immigration to Japan|Immigration]] and birth incentives are sometimes suggested as a solution to provide younger workers to support the nation's aging population.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/07/health/japan-child-population-record-low-intl/index.html|publisher=CNN|last1=Wakatsuki|first1=Yoko|last2=Griffiths|first2=James|date=May 7, 2018|title=Number of children in Japan shrinks to new record low|archive-date=May 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180507083400/https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/07/health/japan-child-population-record-low-intl/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20181210-more-seniors-more-foreigners-how-japan-is-rapidly-changing|publisher=BBC|title=More seniors, more foreigners: How Japan is changing|last=Lufkin|first=Bryan|date=December 10, 2018|archive-date=July 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190727073218/https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20181210-more-seniors-more-foreigners-how-japan-is-rapidly-changing|url-status=live}}</ref> On April 1, 2019, Japan's revised immigration law was enacted, protecting the rights of foreign workers to help reduce labor shortages in certain sectors.<ref>{{cite web|title=New immigration rules to stir up Japan's regional rentals scene&nbsp;— if they work|url=https://www.rethinktokyo.com/2019/03/27/new-immigration-visa-rules-japan-foreign-workers|website= REthink Tokyo|date=March 27, 2019|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702124120/https://www.rethinktokyo.com/2019/03/27/new-immigration-visa-rules-japan-foreign-workers|archivedate=July 2, 2019}}</ref>

In 2023, 92% of the Japanese population lived in cities.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS?locations=JP|publisher=World Bank|title=Urban population (% of total population)|accessdate=November 19, 2020|archive-date=January 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121222411/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS?locations=JP|url-status=live}}</ref> The capital city, Tokyo, has a population of 13.9&nbsp;million (2022).<ref name="toukei-metro">{{cite web|url=http://www.toukei.metro.tokyo.jp/jsuikei/js-index.htm|script-title=ja:東京都の人口（推計）|trans-title=Population of Tokyo (estimate)|publisher=Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Statistics Department|accessdate=October 22, 2018|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002162446/http://www.toukei.metro.tokyo.jp/jsuikei/js-index.htm|archivedate=October 2, 2018}}</ref> It is part of the [[Greater Tokyo Area]], the [[List of metropolitan areas by population|biggest metropolitan area]] in the world with 37.4&nbsp;million people (2024).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cutmore |first=James |date=2024-12-05 |title=Top 14 largest cities in the world |url=https://www.sciencefocus.com/planet-earth/in-pictures-the-largest-cities-in-the-world |access-date=2024-12-18 |website=[[BBC Science Focus]] |language=en}}</ref> Japan is an ethnically and culturally [[List of countries ranked by ethnic and cultural diversity level|homogeneous society]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://apjjf.org/-Chris-Burgess/2389/article.html|last=Burgess|first=Chris|title=Multicultural Japan? Discourse and the 'Myth' of Homogeneity|date=March 1, 2007|volume=5|issue=3|journal=The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus|archive-date=November 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124154805/https://apjjf.org/-Chris-Burgess/2389/article.html|url-status=live}}</ref> with the [[Japanese people]] forming 97.4% of the country's population.<ref>{{cite web|title=Population Estimates by Age (Five-Year Groups) and Sex|url=https://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/jinsui/tsuki/index.html|publisher=[[Statistics Bureau of Japan]]|accessdate=September 10, 2024}}</ref> Minority ethnic groups in the country include the indigenous [[Ainu people|Ainu]] and [[Ryukyuan people]].<ref>{{cite journal|author=Japanese Archipelago Human Population Genetics Consortium|title=The history of human populations in the Japanese Archipelago inferred from genome-wide SNP data with a special reference to the Ainu and the Ryukyuan populations|journal=Journal of Human Genetics|volume=57|pages=787–795|year=2012|issue=12|doi=10.1038/jhg.2012.114|pmid=23135232|doi-access=free}}</ref> [[Zainichi Koreans]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2018/06/13/zainichi-being-korean-in-japan/|publisher=Al Jazeera|title=Zainichi: Being Korean in Japan|last1=Ambrose|first1=Drew|last2=Armont|first2=Rhiona-Jade|date=June 13, 2018|archive-date=November 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128055446/https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2018/06/13/zainichi-being-korean-in-japan/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Chinese people in Japan|Chinese]],<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|doi=10.1007/978-0-387-29904-4_70|title=Chinese in Japan|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Diasporas|last=Chen|first=Lara Tien-shi|year=2005|pages=680–688|isbn=978-0-306-48321-9}}</ref> [[Filipinos in Japan|Filipinos]],<ref>{{cite journal|title='Mixed' Japanese-Filipino identities under Japanese multiculturalism|journal=Social Identities|last=Seiger|first=Fiona-Katharina|pages=392–407|doi=10.1080/13504630.2018.1499225|volume=25|issue=3|year=2019|doi-access=free}}</ref> Brazilians mostly [[Japanese Brazilian|of Japanese descent]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-33114120|work=BBC News|title=The Brazilians winning in Japan|date=July 17, 2015|last=Tobace|first=Ewerthon|archive-date=August 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220814090917/https://www.bbc.com/news/business-33114120|url-status=live}}</ref> and Peruvians mostly [[Japanese Peruvian|of Japanese descent]] are also among Japan's small minority groups.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nippon.com/en/people/e00054/|last=Escala|first=Elard|website=Nippon.com|title=Peruvians Struggling to Find a Place in Japanese Society|date=February 13, 2014|archive-date=February 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140213181022/https://www.nippon.com/en/people/e00054/|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Burakumin]]'' make up a social minority group.<ref>{{cite news|title=Japan's hidden caste of untouchables|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34615972|work=BBC News|date=October 23, 2015|archive-date=September 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220902111214/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34615972|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{Largest cities of Japan}}

===Languages===
{{Main|Languages of Japan}}

[[File:豚骨らーめん 博多天神 いらっしゃい 2010 (5023366778).jpg|thumb|''[[Kanji]]'' and ''[[hiragana]]'' signs]]
The [[Japanese language]] is Japan's ''de facto'' national language and the primary written and spoken language of most people in the country.<ref name="LangPolicy">{{Cite book |last=Fujita-Round |first=Sachiyo |title=Language Policy and Political Issues in Education |last2=Maher |first2=John C. |date=2017 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-319-02343-4 |editor-last=McCarty |editor-first=Teresa L. |edition=3rd |series=Encyclopedia of Language and Education |pages=491–505 |chapter=Language Policy and Education in Japan |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-02344-1_36 |editor-last2=May |editor-first2=Stephen |chapter-url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-02344-1_36}}</ref> [[Japanese writing]] uses [[kanji]] ([[Chinese character]]s) and two sets of [[kana]] ([[syllabaries]] based on [[Cursive script (East Asia)|cursive script]] and [[Radical (Chinese characters)|radicals]] used by kanji), as well as the [[Latin alphabet]] and [[Arabic numerals]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Miyagawa|first=Shigeru|title=The Japanese Language|url=http://web.mit.edu/jpnet/articles/JapaneseLanguage.html|publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology|accessdate=January 16, 2011|archive-date=April 13, 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000413210711/http://web.mit.edu/jpnet/articles/JapaneseLanguage.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://education.jnto.go.jp/en/school-in-japan/japanese-education-system/|title=Japanese Educational System|accessdate=November 4, 2024|publisher=Japan National Tourism Organization}}</ref> [[Japanese Sign Language]] is the primary [[sign language]] used in Japan and has gained some official recognition, but its usage has been historically hindered by discriminatory policies and a lack of educational support.<ref name="LangPolicy"/>

Besides Japanese, the [[Ryukyuan languages]] ([[Amami Ōshima language|Amami]], [[Kunigami language|Kunigami]], [[Okinawan language|Okinawan]], [[Miyakoan language|Miyako]], [[Yaeyama language|Yaeyama]], [[Yonaguni language|Yonaguni]]), part of the [[Japonic language family]], are spoken in the Ryukyu Islands chain.<ref>{{cite book|last=Anderson|first=Mark|chapter=Language shift in the Ryukyu Islands|pages=370–388|title=Routledge Handbook of Japanese Sociolinguistics|editor=Heinrich, Patrick|editor2=Ohara, Yumiko|year=2019|isbn=978-1-315-21337-8|publisher=Routledge}}</ref> Few children learn these languages,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Fujita-Round|first1=Sachiyo|last2=Maher|first2=John|chapter=Language Policy and Education in Japan|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-02320-5_36-2|editor-last1=McCarty|editor-first1=T|editor-last2=May|editor-first2=S|title=Language Policy and Political Issues in Education|year=2017|publisher=Springer|pages=1–15|isbn=978-3-319-02320-5}}</ref> but local governments have sought to increase awareness of the traditional languages.<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Language Revitalization Efforts in the Ryukyus|last=Ishihara|first=Masahide|pages=67–82|year=2016|title=Self-determinable Development of Small Islands|publisher=Springer|editor=Ishihara, Masahide|editor2=Hoshino, Eiichi|editor3=Fujita, Yoko|isbn=978-981-10-0132-1}}</ref> The [[Ainu language]], which is a [[language isolate]], is [[moribund language|moribund]], with only a few native speakers remaining {{as of|2014|lc=y}}.<ref>{{cite book|page=1058|chapter=The ethnohistory and anthropology of 'modern' hunter-gatherers: north Japan (Ainu)|last=Hudson|first=Mark|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2014|isbn=978-0-19-955122-4|title=The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology and Anthropology of Hunter-Gatherers|editor=Cummings, Vicki|editor2=Jordan, Peter|editor3=Zvelebil, Marek}}</ref> Additionally, a number of other languages are taught and used by ethnic minorities, immigrant communities, and a growing number of foreign-language students, such as [[Korean language|Korean]] (including a distinct [[Zainichi Korean language|Zainichi Korean dialect]]), [[Chinese language|Chinese]] and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]].<ref name="LangPolicy"/>

===Religion===
{{Main|Religion in Japan}}

[[File:Itsukushima Shrine Torii Gate (13890465459).jpg|thumb|The [[torii]] of [[Itsukushima Shinto Shrine]] near [[Hiroshima]]]]
Japan's constitution guarantees full religious freedom.<ref name="Inoue2007">{{cite book|first=Kyoko|last=Inoue|title=MacArthur's Japanese Constitution|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ffeE989AWrAC&pg=PA132|year=2007|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-38391-0|pages=132–133|edition=2nd}}</ref> Upper estimates suggest that 84–96% of the Japanese population subscribe to [[Shinto]] as its indigenous religion.<ref>{{cite web|title=A View of Religion in Japan|url=https://www.japansociety.org/a_view_of_religion_in_japan|accessdate=January 29, 2017|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160123023617/http://www.japansociety.org/a_view_of_religion_in_japan|archivedate=January 23, 2016|last=McQuaid|first=John|publisher=Japan Society}}</ref> However, these estimates are based on people [[Danka system|affiliated]] with a temple, rather than the number of true believers. Many Japanese people practice both Shinto and [[Buddhism in Japan|Buddhism]]; they can identify with both religions or describe themselves as non-religious or spiritual.<ref>{{cite web|title=How religious are Japanese people?|url=https://japantoday.com/category/features/opinions/how-religious-are-japanese-people|date=October 27, 2013|website=Japan Today|archive-date=December 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223021631/https://japantoday.com/category/features/opinions/how-religious-are-japanese-people|url-status=live}}</ref> The level of participation in religious ceremonies as a cultural tradition remains high, especially during [[Japanese festivals|festivals]] and occasions such as the [[Hatsumōde|first shrine visit]] of the [[Japanese New Year|New Year]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Women between Religion and Spirituality: Observing Religious Experience in Everyday Japanese Life|last=Cavaliere|first=Paola|journal=Religions|year=2019|volume=10|issue=6|page=377|doi=10.3390/rel10060377|doi-access=free}}</ref> [[Taoism in Japan|Taoism]] and [[Confucianism in Japan|Confucianism]] from China have also influenced Japanese beliefs and customs.<ref name="Totman 2005"/>

In 2018, 1%<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2018/may/japan-unesco-hidden-christian-persecution-world-heritage.html|website=Christianity Today|title=Why Japan Wants Its Past Persecution of Christians to Be World Renowned|last=Shellnutt|first=Kate|date=May 29, 2018|archive-date=May 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503143743/https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2018/may/japan-unesco-hidden-christian-persecution-world-heritage.html|url-status=live}}</ref> to 1.5% of the population were [[Christianity in Japan|Christians]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.bunka.go.jp/tokei_hakusho_shuppan/hakusho_nenjihokokusho/shukyo_nenkan/pdf/r01nenkan.pdf#page=49|title=Shūkyō nenkan reiwa gan'nen-ban|publisher=[[Agency for Cultural Affairs]]|year=2019|page=35|language=ja|script-title=ja:宗教年鑑 令和元年版|trans-title=Religious Yearbook 2019|archive-date=December 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225124108/https://www.bunka.go.jp/tokei_hakusho_shuppan/hakusho_nenjihokokusho/shukyo_nenkan/pdf/r01nenkan.pdf#page=49|url-status=live}}</ref> Throughout the latest century, Western customs originally related to Christianity, including [[marriage in Japan|Western style weddings]], [[Valentine's Day]] and [[Christmas]], have become popular as secular customs among many Japanese.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kato|first=Mariko|title=Christianity's long history in the margins|newspaper=The Japan Times|date=February 24, 2009}}</ref>

About 90% of those practicing [[Islam in Japan]] are foreign-born migrants {{as of|2016|lc=y}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2016/07/13/issues/shadow-surveillance-looms-japans-muslims/|website=The Japan Times|title=Shadow of surveillance looms over Japan's Muslims|last=Blakkarly|first=Jarni|date=July 13, 2016|archive-date=December 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205035509/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2016/07/13/issues/shadow-surveillance-looms-japans-muslims/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2018, there were an estimated 105 [[mosque]]s and 200,000 Muslims in Japan, 43,000 of which were Japanese nationals.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20191128/p2a/00m/0fe/014000c|website=The Mainichi|date=November 29, 2019|title=No. of Muslims, mosques on the rise in Japan amid some misconceptions, prejudice|archive-date=February 10, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240210235636/https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20191128/p2a/00m/0fe/014000c|url-status=live}}</ref> Other minority religions include [[Hinduism in Japan|Hinduism]], [[Judaism in Japan|Judaism]], and [[Baháʼí Faith in Japan|Baháʼí Faith]], as well as the [[animist]] beliefs of the Ainu.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/JAPAN-2018-INTERNATIONAL-RELIGIOUS-FREEDOM-REPORT.pdf|publisher=US Department of State|title=Japan 2018 International Religious Freedom Report|accessdate=November 20, 2020|archive-date=January 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128074718/https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/JAPAN-2018-INTERNATIONAL-RELIGIOUS-FREEDOM-REPORT.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Education===
{{Main|Education in Japan}}

[[File:Tokyo University Entrance Exam Results 6.JPG|thumb|Students celebrating after the announcement of the results of the [[Higher education in Japan#University entrance|entrance examinations]] to the [[University of Tokyo]]]]

Since the 1947 [[Fundamental Law of Education]], compulsory education in Japan comprises [[Elementary schools in Japan|elementary]] and [[Secondary education in Japan#Junior high school|junior high school]], which together last for nine years.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.jica.go.jp/jica-ri/IFIC_and_JBICI-Studies/english/publications/reports/study/topical/educational/pdf/educational_02.pdf|page=23|chapter=The Modernization and Development of Education in Japan|publisher=Japan International Cooperation Agency Research Institute|date=March 2004|title=The History of Japan's Educational Development|archive-date=November 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201105093000/https://www.jica.go.jp/jica-ri/IFIC_and_JBICI-Studies/english/publications/reports/study/topical/educational/pdf/educational_02.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Almost all children continue their education at a three-year [[Secondary education in Japan|senior high school]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ncee.org/what-we-do/center-on-international-education-benchmarking/top-performing-countries/japan-overview/japan-instructional-systems/|publisher=Center on International Education Benchmarking|title=Japan: Learning Systems|accessdate=November 22, 2020|archive-date=November 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127083408/https://ncee.org/what-we-do/center-on-international-education-benchmarking/top-performing-countries/japan-overview/japan-instructional-systems/|url-status=live}}</ref> The top-ranking university in Japan is the [[University of Tokyo]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.topuniversities.com/world-university-rankings?countries=jp | title=QS World University Rankings – 2025 | publisher=QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited | access-date=7 June 2024}}</ref> Starting in April 2016, various schools began the academic year with elementary school and junior high school integrated into one nine-year compulsory schooling program. [[MEXT]] plans for this approach to be adopted nationwide.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/06/10/national/compulsory-nine-year-school-system-kicks-off-japan/|title=Compulsory nine-year school system kicks off in Japan|date=June 10, 2016|newspaper=The Japan Times|archive-date=October 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021063018/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/06/10/national/compulsory-nine-year-school-system-kicks-off-japan|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Programme for International Student Assessment]] (PISA) coordinated by the OECD ranks the knowledge and skills of Japanese 15-year-olds as the third best in the world.<ref name="OECD Student performance">{{cite web|title=Japan&nbsp;– Student performance (PISA 2015)|publisher=OECD|url=http://gpseducation.oecd.org/CountryProfile?plotter=h5&primaryCountry=JPN&treshold=10&topic=PI|accessdate=December 6, 2020|archive-date=September 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922235259/https://gpseducation.oecd.org/CountryProfile?plotter=h5&primaryCountry=JPN&treshold=10&topic=PI|url-status=live}}</ref> Japan is one of the top-performing [[OECD]] countries in reading literacy, math, and sciences with the average student scoring 520 and has one of the world's highest-educated labor forces among OECD countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nier.go.jp/kokusai/pisa/pdf/2018/01_point-eng.pdf|title=Key Features of OECD Programme for International Student Assessment 2018 (PISA 2018)|page=2|publisher=[[National Institute for Educational Policy Research]]|accessdate=September 1, 2022|archive-date=May 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200509072224/https://www.nier.go.jp/kokusai/pisa/pdf/2018/01_point-eng.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="OECD Student performance" /><ref>{{cite web|title=PISA&nbsp;– Results in Focus – Japan|publisher=OECD|url=https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA2018_CN_JPN.pdf|page=1|accessdate=December 6, 2020|year=2018|archive-date=December 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203151025/https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA2018_CN_JPN.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> It spent 7.4% of its total GDP on education in 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.XPD.TOTL.GB.ZS?locations=JP|title=Government expenditure on education, total (% of government expenditure) – Japan|publisher=World Bank|accessdate=September 7, 2022|archive-date=December 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202163842/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.XPD.TOTL.GB.ZS?locations=JP|url-status=live}}</ref> 

In 2023, Japan ranked third for the percentage of 25- to 64-year-olds that have attained tertiary education, at 56%.<ref name="OECD GPS Education">{{cite web|url=https://gpseducation.oecd.org/CountryProfile?plotter=h5&primaryCountry=JPN&treshold=10&topic=EO|title=Japan|publisher=OECD|accessdate=January 29, 2023|archive-date=August 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815110716/https://gpseducation.oecd.org/CountryProfile?plotter=h5&primaryCountry=JPN&treshold=10&topic=EO|url-status=live}}</ref> Approximately 65.5% of Japanese aged 25 to 34 have some form of tertiary education qualification, with bachelor's degrees being held by 34.8% of Japanese aged 25 to 64, the second most in the OECD after [[Education in South Korea|South Korea]].<ref name="OECD GPS Education" /> Japanese women are more highly educated than the men: 59% of women possess a university degree, compared to 52% of men.<ref>{{cite web|title=Womenomics, Will women help solve Japan's economic problems?|publisher=[[Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada]]|url=https://asiapacificcurriculum.ca/sites/default/files/2019-10/Japan%20-%20Womenomics%20-V3-October%202019.pdf|page=4|year=2019|archive-date=October 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027141529/https://asiapacificcurriculum.ca/sites/default/files/2019-10/Japan%20-%20Womenomics%20-V3-October%202019.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Health===
{{Main|Health in Japan|Health care system in Japan}}

[[File:University of Tokyo Hospital.JPG|thumb|[[University of Tokyo Hospital]]]]
Health care in Japan is provided by national and local governments. Payment for personal medical services is offered through a universal health insurance system that provides relative equality of access, with fees set by a government committee. People without insurance through employers can participate in a national health insurance program administered by local governments.<ref name="Ikegami2014">{{cite book|first=Naoki|last=Ikegami|title=Universal Health Coverage for Inclusive and Sustainable Development: Lessons from Japan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q6m1BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA16|date=October 14, 2014|publisher=World Bank Publications|isbn=978-1-4648-0408-3|pages=16–17}}</ref> Since 1973, all elderly persons have been covered by government-sponsored insurance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nyu.edu/projects/rodwin/lessons.html|first=Victor|last=Rodwin|title=Health Care in Japan|publisher=New York University|accessdate=March 10, 2007|archive-date=June 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190619212526/https://www.nyu.edu/projects/rodwin/lessons.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Japan spent 11.42% of its total GDP on healthcare in 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.CHEX.GD.ZS?locations=JP|title=Current healthcare expenditure (% of GDP): Japan|publisher=World Bank|accessdate=July 25, 2022|archive-date=July 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220725125322/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.CHEX.GD.ZS?locations=JP|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2020, the overall life expectancy in Japan at birth was 85 years (82 years for men and 88 years for women),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.MA.IN?end=2020&locations=JP|title=Life expectancy at birth, male (years)|publisher=World Bank|accessdate=August 21, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.FE.IN?end=2020&locations=JP|title=Life expectancy at birth, female (years)|publisher=World Bank|accessdate=August 21, 2024}}</ref> the [[List of countries by life expectancy|highest]] in the world;<ref>{{cite web|title=Life expectancy at birth, total|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN?end=2020&locations=JP|publisher=World Bank|accessdate=July 25, 2022|archive-date=May 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501205550/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN?end=2020|url-status=live}}</ref> while it had a very low [[infant mortality rate]] (2 per 1,000 [[live birth (human)|live births]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.IMRT.IN?Locations=RU&locations=JP|title=Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births): Japan|publisher=World Bank|accessdate=July 25, 2022|archive-date=July 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220725125128/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.IMRT.IN?Locations=RU&locations=JP|url-status=live}}</ref> Since 1981, the principal cause of death in Japan is [[cancer]], which accounted for 27% of the total deaths in 2018—followed by [[cardiovascular disease]]s, which led to 15% of the deaths.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Tsugane|first=Shoichiro|title=Why has Japan become the world's most long-lived country: insights from a food and nutrition perspective|date=July 2020|volume=75|pages=921–928|doi=10.1038/s41430-020-0677-5|journal=[[European Journal of Clinical Nutrition]]|doi-access=free}}</ref> Japan has one of the world's [[Suicide in Japan|highest suicide rates]], which is considered a major social issue.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Cultural influences on suicide in Japan|last1=Russell|first1=Roxanne|last2=Metraux|first2=Daniel|last3=Tohen|first3=Mauricio|journal=Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences|doi=10.1111/pcn.12428|volume=71|year=2017|issue=1|pages=2–5|pmid=27487762|doi-access=free}}</ref> Another significant public health issue is [[smoking in Japan|smoking among Japanese men]].<ref>{{cite journal|doi= 10.1016/j.je.2016.12.017|last1=Akter|first1=Shamima|last2=Goto|first2=Atsushi|last3=Mizoue|first3=Tetsuya|title=Smoking and the risk of type 2 diabetes in Japan: A systematic review and meta-analysis|journal=Journal of Epidemiology|year=2017|volume=27|issue=12|pages=553–561|doi-access=free}}</ref> Japan has the lowest rate of heart disease in the OECD, and the lowest level of [[dementia]] among developed countries.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Britnell|first1=Mark|title=In Search of the Perfect Health System|date=2015|publisher=Palgrave|isbn=978-1-137-49661-4|page=18}}</ref>

==Culture==
{{Main|Culture of Japan}}

{{See also|Japanese popular culture}}
Contemporary Japanese culture combines influences from Asia, Europe, and North America.<ref name="Haffner">{{Cite book|title=Japan's Open Future: An Agenda for Global Citizenship|last1=Haffner|first1=John|last2=Klett|first2=Tomas|last3=Lehmann|first3=Jean-Pierre|publisher=Anthem Press|year=2009|isbn=978-1-84331-311-3|page=17}}</ref> Traditional Japanese arts include [[Japanese handicrafts|crafts]] such as [[Japanese pottery and porcelain|ceramics]], [[Kimono|textiles]], [[Japanese lacquerware|lacquerware]], [[Japanese sword|swords]], and [[Japanese traditional dolls|dolls]]; performances of [[bunraku]], [[kabuki]], [[noh]], [[Japanese traditional dance|dance]], and [[rakugo]]; and other practices, the [[Japanese tea ceremony|tea ceremony]], [[ikebana]], [[Japanese martial arts|martial arts]], [[Japanese calligraphy|calligraphy]], [[origami]], [[onsen]], [[Geisha]], and [[List of Japanese games|games]]. Japan has a developed system for the protection and promotion of both tangible and intangible [[Cultural Properties of Japan|Cultural Properties]] and [[National Treasures of Japan|National Treasures]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bunka.go.jp/english/index.html|title=Administration of Cultural Affairs in Japan|publisher=Agency for Cultural Affairs|accessdate=May 11, 2011|archive-date=October 31, 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021031062304/http://www.bunka.go.jp/english/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[List of World Heritage Sites in Japan|Twenty-two sites]] have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, eighteen of which are of cultural significance.<ref name="unesco1">{{cite web |title=Japan |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/jp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805220232/http://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/JP/ |archive-date=August 5, 2020 |accessdate=December 11, 2020 |publisher=UNESCO}}</ref> Japan is considered a [[cultural superpower]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2002/jun/01/artsfeatures.features|title=The other superpower|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=June 1, 2001|archive-date=November 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221121170416/https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2002/jun/01/artsfeatures.features|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spectator.co.uk/2015/01/how-japan-became-a-pop-culture-superpower/|title=How Japan became a pop culture superpower|date=January 31, 2015|website=The Spectator|last=Hoskin|first=Peter|archive-date=December 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210190111/https://www.spectator.co.uk/2015/01/how-japan-became-a-pop-culture-superpower/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title='Pure Invention': How Japan's pop culture became the 'lingua franca' of the internet|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2020/07/18/books/pure-invention-jpop-culture/|work=[[The Japan Times]]|date=July 18, 2020|last=Schley|first=Matt|archive-date=December 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214054619/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2020/07/18/books/pure-invention-jpop-culture/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=How Japan's global image morphed from military empire to eccentric pop-culture superpower|url=https://qz.com/1806376/japans-image-has-changed-from-fierce-to-lovable-over-the-decades/|work=[[Quartz (publication)|Quartz]]|date=May 27, 2020|last=Bain|first=Marc|archive-date=October 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021121139/https://qz.com/1806376/japans-image-has-changed-from-fierce-to-lovable-over-the-decades/amp/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Art and architecture===
{{Main|Japanese art|Japanese architecture}}

{{Further|Japanese garden|Japanese esthetics|Japanese painting|Japanese sculpture}}
{{multiple image
| total_width       = 320
| caption1          = [[Hokusai]]'s 19th-century [[ukiyo-e]] [[Woodblock printing in Japan|woodblock print]] ''[[The Great Wave off Kanagawa]]''
| caption2          = [[Ritsurin Garden]], one of the most famous strolling gardens in Japan
| direction         = horizontal
| image1            = The Great Wave off Kanagawa.jpg
| image2            = 150504 Ritsurin Park Takamatsu Kagawa pref Japan01s3.jpg
}}

The history of Japanese painting exhibits synthesis and competition between native Japanese esthetics and imported ideas.<ref name=autogenerated3>{{cite book|last=Arrowsmith|first=Rupert Richard|title=Modernism and the Museum: Asian, African, and Pacific Art and the London Avant-Garde|year=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-959369-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MIBNXScRj3QC}}</ref> The interaction between Japanese and European art has been significant: for example [[ukiyo-e]] prints, which began to be exported in the 19th century in the movement known as [[Japonism]], had a significant influence on the development of modern art in the West, most notably on [[post-Impressionism]].<ref name=autogenerated3 />

Japanese architecture is a combination of local and other influences. It has traditionally been typified by wooden or mud plaster structures, elevated slightly off the ground, with tiled or thatched roofs.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=njnRAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT26|pages=26–27|title=Traditional Japanese Architecture: An Exploration of Elements and Forms|last=Locher|first=Mira|publisher=Tuttle Publishing|year=2012|isbn=978-1-4629-0606-2}}</ref> [[Minka|Traditional housing]] and many [[Japanese Buddhist architecture|temple buildings]] see the use of [[tatami]] mats and [[Shōji|sliding doors]] that break down the distinction between rooms and indoor and outdoor space.<ref>{{cite book|title=What is Japanese Architecture?: A Survey of Traditional Japanese Architecture with a List of Sites and a Map|author1=Kazuo, Nishi|author2=Kazuo, Hozumi|year=1995|publisher=Kodansha|isbn=978-4-7700-1992-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oZl_yEJGtUYC}}</ref> Since the 19th century, Japan has incorporated much of Western [[modern architecture]] into construction and design.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Early Western Architecture in Japan|last=Abe|first=K|volume=13|issue=2|journal=Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians|pages=13–18|date=May 1954|doi=10.2307/987685|jstor=987685}}</ref> It was not until after World War II that Japanese architects made an impression on the international scene, firstly with the work of architects like [[Kenzō Tange]] and then with movements like [[Metabolist Movement|Metabolism]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Inagaki|first=Eizo|title=Japan: Architecture after 1868 (Meiji and after)|doi=10.1093/oao/9781884446054.013.90000369666|year=2003|encyclopedia=Oxford Art Online}}</ref>

===Literature and philosophy===
{{Main|Japanese literature|Japanese philosophy}}

[[File:Genji emaki 01003 001.jpg|thumb|12th-century [[Genji Monogatari Emaki|illustrated handscroll]] of ''[[The Tale of Genji]]'', a [[National Treasures of Japan|National Treasure]]]]
The earliest works of Japanese literature include the {{Lang|ja-latn|[[Kojiki]]}} and {{Lang|ja-latn|[[Nihon Shoki]]}} chronicles and the {{lang|ja-latn|[[Man'yōshū]]}} [[List of Japanese poetry anthologies|poetry anthology]], all from the 8th century and written in Chinese characters.<ref>{{cite book|title=Seeds in the Heart: Japanese Literature from Earliest Times to the Late Sixteenth Century|author=Keene, Donald|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=2000|isbn=978-0-231-11441-7|url={{Google books|_DEwTJq3TbcC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.meijigakuin.ac.jp/~ascj/2000/200015.htm|title=Asian Studies Conference, Japan (2000)|publisher=Meiji Gakuin University|accessdate=April 1, 2007|archive-date=January 16, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116015033/http://www.meijigakuin.ac.jp/~ascj/2000/200015.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> In the early Heian period, the system of [[Phonogram (linguistics)|phonograms]] known as ''kana'' ([[hiragana]] and [[katakana]]) was developed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/heia/hd_heia.htm|publisher=The Met|title=Heian Period (794–1185)|date=October 2002}}</ref> ''[[The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter]]'' is considered the oldest extant Japanese narrative.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://calisphere.org/item/35b0ea2b3cd767b5ae9e0df7b07f43db/|website=Calisphere|title=Tale of the bamboo cutter|accessdate=November 23, 2020}}</ref> An account of court life is given in ''[[The Pillow Book]]'' by [[Sei Shōnagon]], while ''[[The Tale of Genji]]'' by [[Murasaki Shikibu]] is often described as the world's first novel.<ref>{{cite book|last=Totman|first=Conrad|title=A History of Japan|edition=2nd|year=2005|publisher=Blackwell|isbn=978-1-4051-2359-4|pages=126–127|url={{Google books|Z_a_QgAACAAJ|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Tale of Genji|editor=Royall, Tyler|publisher=Penguin Classics|year=2003|isbn=978-0-14-243714-8|pages=i–ii, xii|url={{Google books|AIUvc9FnZ5AC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}}}</ref>

During the Edo period, the [[chōnin]] ("townspeople") overtook the samurai aristocracy as producers and consumers of literature. The popularity of the works of [[Saikaku]], for example, reveals this change in readership and authorship, while [[Bashō]] revivified the poetic tradition of the [[Kokinshū]] with his [[haikai]] ([[haiku]]) and wrote the poetic travelogue ''[[Oku no Hosomichi]]''.<ref>{{cite book|title=World Within Walls: Japanese Literature of the Pre-Modern Era, 1600–1867|author=Keene, Donald|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=1999|isbn=978-0-231-11467-7|url={{Google books|gwQTF-9axqoC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} }}</ref> The Meiji era saw the decline of traditional literary forms as Japanese literature integrated Western influences. [[Natsume Sōseki]] and [[Mori Ōgai]] were significant novelists in the early 20th century, followed by [[Ryūnosuke Akutagawa]], [[Jun'ichirō Tanizaki]], [[Kafū Nagai]] and, more recently, [[Haruki Murakami]] and [[Kenji Nakagami]]. Japan has two [[Nobel Prize in Literature|Nobel Prize-winning]] authors&nbsp;– [[Yasunari Kawabata]] (1968) and [[Kenzaburō Ōe]] (1994).<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Japanese literature|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|last=Keene|first=Donald|url=https://www.britannica.com/art/Japanese-literature|accessdate=July 7, 2024}}</ref>

Japanese philosophy has historically been a [[Information fusion|fusion]] of both foreign, particularly [[Chinese philosophy|Chinese]] and [[Western philosophy|Western]], and uniquely Japanese elements. In its literary forms, Japanese philosophy began about fourteen centuries ago. Confucian ideals remain evident in the [[Japanese society|Japanese concept of society]] and the self, and in the organization of the government and the structure of society.<ref name="Japanese Confucian Philosophy">{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/japanese-confucian/|title=Japanese Confucian Philosophy|date=May 20, 2008|encyclopedia=[[Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]]}}</ref> Buddhism has profoundly impacted Japanese psychology, metaphysics, and esthetics.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2011/entries/japanese-aesthetics/|title=Japanese aesthetics|first=Graham|last=Parkes|editor-first=Edward N.|editor-last=Zalta|date=January 1, 2011|encyclopedia=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy}}</ref>

===Performing arts===
{{Main|Music of Japan|Theatre of Japan}}

[[File:春日神社ー篠山ー翁奉納P1011774.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Noh]]'' performance at a Shinto shrine]]
Japanese music is eclectic and diverse. Many [[Traditional Japanese musical instruments|instruments]], such as the [[Koto (instrument)|koto]], were introduced in the 9th and 10th centuries. The popular [[Music of Japan#Folk music|folk music]], with the guitar-like [[shamisen]], dates from the 16th century.<ref>{{cite book|last=Malm|first=William P.|title=Traditional Japanese music and musical instruments|year=2000|publisher=Kodansha International|isbn=978-4-7700-2395-7|pages=[https://archive.org/details/traditionaljapan0000malm/page/31 31–45]|edition=New|url=https://archive.org/details/traditionaljapan0000malm/page/31}}</ref> Western classical music, introduced in the late 19th century, forms an integral part of Japanese culture.<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Katsu Watanabe, Akane Oki, and Yasushi Ishii, Librarians of the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo|pages=156–167|title=Conversations with the World's Leading Orchestra and Opera Librarians|last=Lo|first=Patrick|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2016}}</ref> [[Kumi-daiko]] (ensemble drumming) was developed in post-war Japan and became very popular in North America.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.stanford.edu/group/stanfordtaiko/cgi-bin/history.html|publisher=Stanford Taiko|title=History of Taiko|accessdate=November 24, 2020}}</ref> Popular music in post-war Japan has been heavily influenced by American and European trends, which has led to the evolution of [[J-pop]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/aug/21/popandrock3|title= J-Pop History|work=The Observer|first=Chris|last=Campion|date=August 22, 2005}}</ref> [[Karaoke]] is a significant cultural activity.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/karaoke-in-japan|work=Thrillist|title=What Karaoke Means to the Country That Invented It|last=Caracciolo|first=Frankie|date=September 18, 2020}}</ref>

The four traditional theaters from Japan are ''[[noh]]'', ''[[kyōgen]]'', ''[[kabuki]]'', and ''[[bunraku]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/art/traditional-japanese-theatre-overview|website=Time Out Tokyo|date=September 27, 2009|title=Traditional Japanese theatre: overview}}</ref> Noh is one of the oldest continuous theater traditions in the world.<ref>{{cite web|first=Edwin|last=Lee|date=December 6, 2018|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/577531/noh-japanese/|title=The Oldest Surviving Form of Theater|website=The Atlantic}}</ref>

===Media===
{{Main|Mass media in Japan}}

[[File:Pokemon Center Tohoku.JPG|thumb|The Japanese media franchise ''[[Pokémon]]'' is the [[List of highest-grossing media franchises|highest grossing media franchise]] of all time.]]

According to the 2015 NHK survey on television viewing in Japan, 79% of Japanese watch television daily.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nhk.or.jp/bunken/english/reports/pdf/report_16042101.pdf|title=Television Viewing and Media Use Today: From "The Japanese and Television 2015" Survey|publisher=NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute|date= April 2016}}</ref> [[Japanese television drama]]s are viewed both within Japan and internationally.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Iwabuchi|editor-first=Koichi|title=Feeling Asian Modernities: Transnational Consumption of Japanese TV Dramas|publisher= Hong Kong University Press|year=2004|jstor=j.ctt2jc5b9|isbn=978-962-209-631-8}}</ref> Many Japanese [[media franchise]]s have gained considerable global popularity and are among the world's [[highest-grossing media franchises]]. [[Japanese newspapers]] are among the most circulated in the world {{as of|2016|lc=y}}.<ref>{{cite web|page=19|title=World Press Trends 2016|publisher=WAN-IFRA|url=http://anp.cl/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/WAN-IFRA_WPT_2016_3.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724194049/http://anp.cl/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/WAN-IFRA_WPT_2016_3.pdf|accessdate=November 11, 2020|archivedate=July 24, 2020}}</ref>

Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries globally.<ref>{{cite book|page=xi|title=Historical Dictionary of Japanese Cinema|last=Sharp|first=Jasper|publisher=Scarecrow Press|year=2011}}</ref> [[Ishirō Honda]]'s ''[[Godzilla (1954 film)|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nypl.org/blog/2014/05/21/godzilla|publisher=New York Public Library|last=Ingoglia|first=Jesse|date=May 21, 2014|title=Godzilla: monster, metaphor, pop icon}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|chapter=Introduction|year=2017|publisher=McFarland|last=Kalat|first=David|edition=2nd|title=A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series}}</ref> Japanese comics, known as [[manga]], developed in the mid-20th century and have become popular [[Manga outside Japan|worldwide]].<ref name="Kinko Ito 456–475">{{cite journal|first=Kinko|last=Ito|title=A History of Manga in the Context of Japanese Culture and Society|journal=Journal of Popular Culture|volume=38|issue=3|pages=456–475|date=February 2005|doi=10.1111/j.0022-3840.2005.00123.x}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Ro|first=Christine|title=Did manga shape how the world sees Japan?|url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20190610-did-manga-shape-how-the-world-sees-japan|publisher=BBC|date=June 12, 2019}}</ref> A large number of [[List of best-selling manga|manga series]] have become some of the [[List of best-selling comic series|best-selling comics series]] of all time, rivalling the [[American comic book|American comics industry]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Medina|first=Cynthia|title= Why are manga outselling superhero comics?|url=https://www.rutgers.edu/news/why-are-manga-outselling-superhero-comics|website=Rutgers Today|date=December 5, 2019}}</ref> Japanese animated films and television series, known as [[anime]], were largely influenced by Japanese manga and have become highly popular globally.<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Miyazaki and Takahata anime cinema|pages=105–136|last=Hu|first=Tze-Yue|title=[[Frames of Anime: Culture and Image-Building]]|year=2010|publisher=Hong Kong University Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/japan-anime-global-identity-hnk-intl/index.html|last=Jozuka|first=Emiko|title=Japanese anime: From 'Disney of the East' to a global industry worth billions|publisher= CNN|date=July 29, 2019}}</ref>

===Holidays===
{{Main|Public holidays in Japan}}

{{See also|Japanese festivals}}
[[File:Young ladies at Harajuku.jpg|thumb|Young women celebrate {{Nihongo|[[Coming of Age Day]]|成人の日|Seijin no Hi}} in [[Harajuku]], [[Tokyo]].]]
Officially, Japan has 16 national, government-recognized holidays. Public holidays in Japan are regulated by the {{Nihongo|Public Holiday Law|国民の祝日に関する法律|Kokumin no Shukujitsu ni Kansuru Hōritsu}} of 1948.<ref>{{cite news|author=Nakamura, Akemi|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080408i1.html|title=National holidays trace roots to China, ancients, harvests|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090713203247/http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080408i1.html|archivedate=July 13, 2009|newspaper=The Japan Times|date=April 8, 2008}}</ref> Beginning in 2000, Japan implemented the [[Happy Monday System]], which moved a number of national holidays to Monday in order to obtain a long weekend.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/596910.stm|work=BBC News|title=Happy Monday in Japan|last=Hindell|first=Juliet|date=January 10, 2000}}</ref> The national holidays in Japan are [[Japanese New Year|New Year's Day]] on January 1, [[Coming of Age Day]] on the second Monday of January, [[National Foundation Day (Japan)|National Foundation Day]] on February 11, [[The Emperor's Birthday]] on February 23, [[Vernal Equinox Day]] on March 20 or 21, [[Shōwa Day]] on April 29, [[Constitution Memorial Day]] on May 3, [[Greenery Day]] on May 4, [[Children's Day (Japan)|Children's Day]] on May 5, [[Marine Day]] on the third Monday of July, [[Mountain Day]] on August 11, [[Respect for the Aged Day]] on the third Monday of September, [[September equinox|Autumnal Equinox]] on September 23 or 24, [[Health and Sports Day]] on the second Monday of October, [[Culture Day]] on November 3, and [[Labor Thanksgiving Day]] on November 23.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h00738/|website=Nippon.com|title=Japan's National Holidays in 2021|date=June 10, 2020}}</ref>

===Cuisine===
{{Main|Japanese cuisine}}

[[File:East West sushi 01.jpg|thumb|A plate of ''[[sushi|nigiri-zushi]]'']]
Japanese cuisine offers a vast array of [[Japanese regional cuisine|regional specialties]] that use traditional recipes and local ingredients.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.frommers.com/destinations/japan/in-depth/food--drink|publisher=Frommer's|title=Food & Drink in Japan|accessdate=December 1, 2020|archive-date=November 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127114557/https://www.frommers.com/destinations/japan/in-depth/food--drink|url-status=dead}}</ref> Seafood and [[Japanese rice]] or [[Japanese noodles|noodles]] are traditional staples.<ref>{{cite book|title=Street Foods|last=von Bargen|first=Hinnerk|page=14|publisher=Wiley|year=2015}}</ref> [[Japanese curry]], since its introduction to Japan from [[British Raj|British India]], is so widely consumed that it can be termed a [[national dish]], alongside [[ramen]] and [[sushi]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Makalintal |first=Bettina |date=February 11, 2018 |title=A brief history of how curry ended up in Japan |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/a-brief-history-of-how-curry-ended-up-in-japan/ |website=Vice}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=McCurry |first=Justin |date=June 18, 2010 |title=Ramen: Japan's super slurpy noodles |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jun/18/ramen-japan-national-dish |website=The Guardian}}</ref> Traditional Japanese sweets are known as ''wagashi''.<ref name="Goldstein2015">{{cite book|first=Darra|last=Goldstein|title=The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets|url={{Google books|jbi6BwAAQBAJ|page=PA777|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|year=2015|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-931339-6|page=777}}</ref> Ingredients such as [[red bean paste]] and [[mochi]] are used. More modern-day tastes include [[green tea ice cream]].<ref name="FujitaStallings2008">{{cite book|first1=Hiroko|last1=Fujita|first2=Fran|last2=Stallings|title=Folktales from the Japanese Countryside|url={{Google books|p7nNJAt75XQC|page=PA148|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|year=2008|publisher=Libraries Unlimited|isbn=978-1-59158-488-9|page=148}}</ref>

Popular Japanese beverages include [[sake]], a brewed rice beverage that typically contains 14–17% alcohol and is made by multiple fermentation of rice.<ref name="Batt2014">{{cite book|first=Carl A.|last=Batt|title=Encyclopedia of Food Microbiology|url={{Google books|1b1CAgAAQBAJ|page=PA846|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|year=2014|publisher=Academic Press|isbn=978-0-12-384733-1|page=846}}</ref> Beer has been brewed in Japan since the late 17th century.<ref name="BoultonQuain2013">{{cite book|first1=Christopher|last1=Boulton|first2=David|last2=Quain|title=Brewing Yeast and Fermentation|url={{Google books|QpDVsu-vaBcC|page=PT20|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|year=2013|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-118-68534-1|page=20}}</ref> [[Green tea]] is produced in Japan and prepared in forms such as [[matcha]], used in the [[Japanese tea ceremony]].<ref>{{hosking-jfood|30}}</ref>

===Sports===
{{Main|Sport in Japan}}

[[File:Aki basho dohyō-iri on Sept. 28 2014.jpg|thumb|left|[[Sumo]] wrestlers form around the referee during the ring-entering ceremony.]]
Traditionally, [[sumo]] is considered Japan's national sport.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/sumoeastandwest/sumo.html|title=Sumo: East and West|publisher=PBS|accessdate=March 10, 2007|archive-date=March 7, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070307073410/http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/sumoeastandwest/sumo.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Japanese martial arts such as [[judo]] and [[kendo]] are taught as part of the compulsory junior high school curriculum.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/04/24/reference/prewar-bayonetting-martial-art-makes-return-schools/|website=The Japan Times|title=Prewar bayonetting martial art makes a return to schools|last=Aoki|first=Mizuho|date=April 24, 2017}}</ref> [[Karate]], which originated in the Ryukyu Kingdom, is popular across the world and has been [[Karate at the Summer Olympics|included in the Olympic Games]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thebka.co.uk/a-brief-history-of-karate/|title=A Brief History of Karate &#124; British Karate Association|work=British Karate Association &#124; The UK's Multi–Style Karate Association |date=October 22, 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=August 3, 2022 |title=Motorsport, cricket and karate among sports on shortlist for Los Angeles 2028 |url=https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1126540/cricket-los-angeles-2028 |access-date=September 16, 2023 |website=www.insidethegames.biz}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 2, 2009 |title=History of Okinawan Karate |url=http://www.wonder-okinawa.jp/023/eng/001/001/index.html |access-date=September 16, 2023 |archive-date=March 2, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302085743/http://www.wonder-okinawa.jp/023/eng/001/001/index.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Baseball in Japan|Baseball]] is the most popular sport in the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mlb.com/news/featured/japan-baseball-history|last=Adler|first=David|date=February 21, 2023|publisher=Major League Baseball|title=History of baseball in Japan}}</ref> Japan's top professional league, [[Nippon Professional Baseball]] (NPB), was established in 1936.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Nagata, Yoichi|author2=Holway, John B.|editor=Palmer, Pete|title=Total Baseball|edition=4th|year=1995|publisher=Viking Press|page=547|chapter=Japanese Baseball}}</ref> Since the establishment of the [[Japan Professional Football League]] (J.League) in 1992, association football gained a wide following.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tjf.or.jp/takarabako/PDF/TB09_JCN.pdf|title= Soccer as a Popular Sport: Putting Down Roots in Japan|work= The Japan Forum|accessdate=April 1, 2007}}</ref> The country co-hosted the [[2002 FIFA World Cup]] with South Korea.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/worldcup/2018/05/24/every-fifa-world-cup-winner-germany-brazil-italy/540978002/|website=USA Today|title=Every FIFA World Cup champion: Brazil, Germany, Italy historically dominate tournament|last=Reineking|first=Jim|date=May 25, 2018}}</ref> Japan has one of the most successful football teams in Asia, winning the [[Asian Cup]] four times,<ref>{{cite web|title=Team Japan|url=http://www.afcasiancup.com/team/en/Japan|publisher=Asian Football Confederation|accessdate=March 2, 2014|archive-date=January 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125085954/http://www.afcasiancup.com/team/en/Japan|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the [[2011 FIFA Women's World Cup|FIFA Women's World Cup]] in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/womensworldcup/matches/round=255989/match=300144437/summary.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718121005/http://www.fifa.com/womensworldcup/matches/round=255989/match=300144437/summary.html|url-status=dead|archivedate=July 18, 2011|title=Japan edge USA for maiden title|date=July 17, 2011|publisher=FIFA}}</ref> Golf is also popular in Japan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://metropolis.co.jp/tokyo/604/sports.asp|title= Japanese Golf Gets Friendly|website=[[Metropolis (English magazine in Japan)|Metropolis]]|first=Fred|last=Varcoe|accessdate=April 1, 2007|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070926215517/http://metropolis.co.jp/tokyo/604/sports.asp|archivedate = September 26, 2007}}</ref>

In [[motorsport]], Japanese automotive manufacturers have been successful in multiple different categories, with titles and victories in series such as [[Formula One]], [[Grand Prix motorcycle racing|MotoGP]], and the [[World Rally Championship]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 13, 2021 |title=Honda Wins F1 Championship in Its Final Season |url=https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2021121200336/ |website=Nippon.com |archive-date=December 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213075303/https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2021121200336/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wrc.com/en/more/wrc-history/group-a/|title=Group A|publisher=World Rally Championship|accessdate=February 21, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.motogp.com/en/news/2017/10/11/japanese-industry-in-motogp/241690|title=Japanese industry in MotoGP|date=October 11, 2017|website=MotoGP|accessdate=February 21, 2020}}</ref> Drivers from Japan have victories at the [[Indianapolis 500]] and the [[24 Hours of Le Mans]] as well as podium finishes in Formula One, in addition to success in domestic championships.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Nagatsuka|first=Kaz|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2017/06/14/more-sports/auto-racing/sato-revels-glow-historic-indy-500-triumph/|title=Sato revels in glow of historic Indy 500 triumph|date=June 14, 2017|work=The Japan Times }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.autosport.com/general/news/the-man-behind-japans-only-le-mans-winner-5110896/5110896/|work=Autosport|title=The man behind Japan's only Le Mans winner|last=Newbold|first=James|date=June 7, 2018}}</ref> [[Super GT]] is the most popular national racing series in Japan, while [[Super Formula]] is the top-level domestic open-wheel series.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://metropolis.co.jp/tokyo/623/sports.asp|title=Japanese Omnibus: Sports|last=Clarke|first=Len|website=Metropolis|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926215524/http://metropolis.co.jp/tokyo/623/sports.asp|archivedate=September 26, 2007|accessdate=April 1, 2007}}</ref> The country hosts major races such as the [[Japanese Grand Prix]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tokyoweekender.com/2018/04/for-the-love-of-cars-auto-racing-in-japan/|website=Tokyo Weekender|date=April 18, 2018|title=For the Love of Cars: Auto Racing in Japan}}</ref>

Japan hosted the Summer Olympics in [[1964 Summer Olympics|Tokyo in 1964]] and the Winter Olympics in [[1972 Winter Olympics|Sapporo in 1972]] and [[1998 Winter Olympics|Nagano in 1998]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Olympic History in Japan|url=http://www.joc.or.jp/english/historyjapan/history_japan_bid.html|publisher=Japanese Olympic Committee|accessdate=January 7, 2011}}</ref> The country hosted the official [[2006 Basketball World Championship]]<ref>{{cite web|title=2006 FIBA World Championship|url=http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fe/06_wcm/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060903040643/http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fe/06_wcm/|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 3, 2006|publisher=FIBA|accessdate=May 10, 2017}}</ref> and co-hosted the [[2023 Basketball World Championship]].<ref>{{cite web|title=FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023|url=http://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2023|accessdate=September 24, 2020|publisher=FIBA}}</ref> Tokyo hosted the [[2020 Summer Olympics]] in 2021, making Tokyo the first Asian city to host the Olympics twice.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.olympic.org/news/ioc-selects-tokyo-as-host-of-2020-summer-olympic-games/208784|title=IOC selects Tokyo as host of 2020 Summer Olympic Games|date=July 21, 2016|publisher=International Olympic Committee}}</ref> The country gained the hosting rights for the official [[Women's Volleyball World Championship]] on five occasions, more than any other country.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Game&nbsp;– World Championships&nbsp;– FIVB Women's World Championships Finals|url=http://www.fivb.org/TheGame/TheGame_WorldChampionships.htm|publisher=FIVB|accessdate=June 13, 2017}}</ref> Japan is the most successful Asian [[Rugby Union]] country<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.asiarugby.com/about-asia-rugby/history/|title=History|publisher=Asia Rugby|accessdate=December 5, 2020}}</ref> and hosted the 2019 IRB [[Rugby World Cup]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/rugbyworldcup2019/news/newsid=2069327.html#japan+reaches+rest+asia|title=Japan reaches out to the rest of Asia|date=November 1, 2013|publisher=Rugby World Cup|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217224929/http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/rugbyworldcup2019/news/newsid%3D2069327.html|archivedate=December 17, 2013 }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Japan}}
*[[Index of Japan-related articles]]
*[[Outline of Japan]]{{clear}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}
{{Reflist|group=nb}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
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{{Sister project links|voy=Japan}}
'''Government'''
*[https://www.japan.go.jp/ JapanGov&nbsp;– The Government of Japan]
*[https://japan.kantei.go.jp/index.html Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet Official website]
*[https://www.kunaicho.go.jp/eindex.html The Imperial Household Agency] – official site of the Imperial House of Japan
*[https://www.ndl.go.jp/en/index.html National Diet Library]

'''General information'''
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090421051351/http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/japan.htm Japan] from ''[[University of Colorado Boulder|UCB]] Libraries GovPubs'' (archived April 21, 2009)
*[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-14918801 Japan] from [[BBC News]]
*[https://www.oecd.org/japan/ Japan] from the [[OECD]]
*{{OSM relation|382313}}

{{Anchor|Related information}}
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