Japan has close economic and military relations with the United States, with which it maintains a security alliance. It is the world’s fifth-largest donor of official development assistance, donating US$9.2 billion in 2014. Since the late 19th century, the judicial system has been largely based on the civil law of Europe, notably Germany. Historically influenced by Chinese law, the Japanese legal system developed independently during the Edo period through texts such as Kujikata Osadamegaki. It consists of a lower House of Representatives with 465 seats, elected by popular vote every four years or when dissolved, and an upper House of Councillors with 248 seats, whose popularly-elected members serve six-year terms.
With a population of over 123 million as of 2025, it is the world’s 11th most populous country. The Japanese archipelago consists of four major islands alongside 14,121 smaller islands. (The population of Tokyo Metropolitan Area as of June 1, 2021 is 13,999,568, approximately 10% of Japan’s total population.) Japan is the most successful Asian Rugby Union country and hosted the 2019 IRB Rugby World Cup. The country gained the hosting rights for the official Women’s Volleyball World Championship on five occasions, more than any other country.
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- In the early Heian period, the system of phonograms known as kana (hiragana and katakana) was developed.
- After rule by the Kamakura and Ashikaga shogunates and a century of warring states, Japan was unified in 1600 by the Tokugawa shogunate, which implemented an isolationist foreign policy.
- The country has therefore aimed to diversify its sources and maintain high levels of energy efficiency.
- Confucian ideals remain evident in the Japanese concept of society and the self, and in the organization of the government and the structure of society.
- The Japanese agricultural sector accounts for about 1.2% of the country’s total GDP as of 2018update.
Murasaki Shikibu’s The Tale of Genji and the lyrics of Japan’s national anthem “Kimigayo” were written during this time. This marked the beginning of the Heian period (794–1185), during which a distinctly indigenous Japanese culture emerged. A smallpox epidemic in 735–737 is believed to have killed as much as one-third of Japan’s population. The period is characterized by the appearance of a nascent literary culture with the completion of the Kojiki (712) and Nihon Shoki (720), as well as https://www.richyfox.co.uk/ the development of Buddhist-inspired artwork and architecture.
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Go-Daigo was defeated by Ashikaga Takauji in 1336, beginning the Muromachi period (1336–1573). After Yoritomo’s death, the Hōjō clan came to power as regents for the shōgun. Japan’s feudal era was characterized by the emergence and dominance of a ruling class of warriors, the samurai.
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As of 2019update, 37.1% of energy in Japan is produced from petroleum, 25.1% from coal, 22.4% from natural gas, 3.5% from hydropower and 2.8% from nuclear power, among other sources. The Keihin and Hanshin superport hubs are among the largest in the world, at 7.98 and 5.22 million TEU respectively as of 2017update. The largest domestic airport, Haneda Airport in Tokyo, was Asia’s second-busiest airport in 2019. The high-speed Shinkansen (bullet trains) that connect major cities are known for their safety and punctuality. The largest lunar mission since the Apollo program, its purpose was to gather data on the Moon’s origin and evolution. Japan’s plans in space exploration include building a Moon base and landing astronauts by 2030.
About Japan
The resignation of the shōgun led to the Boshin War and the establishment of a centralized state nominally unified under the emperor (the Meiji Restoration). Modern Japan’s economic growth began in this period, resulting in roads (Kaidō) and water transportation routes, as well as financial instruments such as futures contracts, banking and insurance of the Osaka rice brokers. When open war broke out, Ieyasu defeated rival clans in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Tokugawa Ieyasu served as regent for Hideyoshi’s son Toyotomi Hideyori within the Council of Five Elders and used his position to gain political and military support. During the 16th century, Portuguese traders and Jesuit missionaries reached Japan for the first time, initiating direct commercial and cultural exchange between Japan and the West (see Nanban trade and Nanban art).
- Tokugawa Ieyasu served as regent for Hideyoshi’s son Toyotomi Hideyori within the Council of Five Elders and used his position to gain political and military support.
- During the Edo period, the chōnin (“townspeople”) overtook the samurai aristocracy as producers and consumers of literature.
- Before 日本 was adopted in the early 8th century, the country was known in China as Wa (倭, changed in Japan around 757 to 和) and in Japan by the endonym Yamato.
- In 1853, an American fleet forced Japan to open trade to the West, which led to the end of the shogunate and the restoration of imperial power in 1868.
- The prime minister as the head of government has the power to appoint and dismiss Ministers of State, and is appointed by the emperor after being designated from among the members of the Diet.
- Japan’s plans in space exploration include building a Moon base and landing astronauts by 2030.
- (The population of Tokyo Metropolitan Area as of June 1, 2021 is 13,999,568, approximately 10% of Japan’s total population.)
Japan is in the top three globally for both automobile production and export, and is home to Toyota, the world’s largest automobile company by production. The country’s manufacturing output is the fourth highest in the world as of 2023update. Japan maintains one of the world’s largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch, prompting critiques that Japan’s fishing is leading to depletion in fish stocks such as tuna. 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 2018update. In 2024, Japan was the world’s eight-largest exporter and sixth-largest importer. The Japanese yen is the world’s third-largest reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro.
As a growing number of younger Japanese are not marrying or remaining childless, Japan’s population is expected to drop to around 88 million by 2065. As of 2025update, over 29.3% of the population is over 65, or more than one in four out of the Japanese population. The country has therefore aimed to diversify its sources and maintain high levels of energy efficiency. The Sendai Nuclear Power Plant restarted in 2015, and since then several other nuclear power plants have been restarted.
Oda Nobunaga used European technology and firearms to conquer many other daimyō; his consolidation of power began what was known as the Azuchi–Momoyama period. The Zen school of Buddhism was introduced from China in the Kamakura period (1185–1333) and became popular among the samurai class. 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. 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.
The culture of Japan is well known around the world, particularly its popular culture as expressed in animation, art, comics, cuisine, fashion, films, music, television, and video games. It has one of the world’s highest life expectancies, but is undergoing a population decline. Since the collapse of the Japanese asset price bubble in the early 1990s, it has experienced a prolonged period of economic stagnation referred to as the Lost Decades. It underwent rapid economic growth in the following decades and became one of the first major non-NATO allies of the U.S. The Meiji period saw Japan pursue rapid industrialization, modernization, militarism, and overseas colonization. In 1853, an American fleet forced Japan to open trade to the West, which led to the end of the shogunate and the restoration of imperial power in 1868.
In 1936, Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Nazi Germany; the 1940 Tripartite Pact made it one of the Axis powers. 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. The Japanese population doubled from 35 million in 1873 to 70 million by 1935, with a significant shift to urbanization. Adopting Western political, judicial, and military institutions, the Cabinet organized the Privy Council, introduced the Meiji Constitution (November 29, 1890), and assembled the Imperial Diet.
The country attracted 36.9 million international tourists in 2024, and was ranked eleventh in the world in 2019 for inbound tourism. Japan’s constitution prohibits racial and religious discrimination, and the country is a signatory to numerous international human rights treaties. It spent 1.4% of its total GDP on its defence budget and maintained the tenth-largest military budget in the world in 2024. The United States is a major market for Japanese exports and a major source of Japanese imports, and is committed to defending the country, with military bases in Japan.
By 2015, Japan had become the world’s fourth-largest PC game market by revenue, behind China, the United States, and South Korea. However, Japan’s video game sector remains a major industry; in 2014, Japan’s consumer video game market grossed $9.6 billion, with $5.8 billion coming from mobile gaming. 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.
