Japan

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## Japan (constitutional monarchy)

**Japan** (i/dʒəˈpæn/; Japanese: 日本 *Nippon* [nip̚põ̞ɴ] or *Nihon* [nihõ̞ɴ]; formally 日本国 *Nippon-koku* or *Nihon-koku*, "State of Japan") is anisland country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea, China, North Korea,South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The kanji that make up Japan's name mean "sun origin", and it is often called the "Land of the Rising Sun".

## History

A Paleolithic culture around 30,000 BC constitutes the first known habitation of the Japanese archipelago. This was followed from around 14,000 BC (the start of the Jōmon period) by a Mesolithic to Neolithic semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer culture, who include ancestors of both the contemporary Ainu people and Yamato people, characterized by pit dwelling and rudimentary agriculture. Decorated clay vessels from this period are some of the oldest surviving examples of pottery in the world.

Japan first appears in written history in the Chinese *Book of Han*. According to the *Records of the Three Kingdoms*, the most powerful kingdom on the archipelago during the 3rd century was called Yamataikoku. Buddhism was first introduced to Japan from Baekje of Korea, but the subsequent development of Japanese Buddhism was primarily influenced by China. Despite early resistance, Buddhism was promoted by the ruling class and gained widespread acceptance beginning in the Asuka period (592–710).

Japan's feudal era was characterized by the emergence and dominance of a ruling class of warriors, the samurai. In 1185, following the defeat of the Taira clan in the Genpei War, sung in the epic Tale of Heike, samurai Minamoto no Yoritomo was appointed shogun and established a base of power in Kamakura. After his death, the Hōjō clan came to power as regents for the shoguns.

On March 31, 1854, the "Modern Era," Commodore Matthew Perry and the "Black Ships" of the United States Navy forced the opening of Japan to the outside world with the Convention of Kanagawa. Subsequent similar treaties with Western countries in the Bakumatsu period brought economic and political crises. The resignation of the shogun led to the Boshin War and the establishment of a centralized state nominally unified under the Emperor (the Meiji Restoration).

## Government

* Power is held chiefly by the Prime Minister and other elected members of the Diet, while sovereignty is vested in the Japanese people.
* Akihitois, the current Emperor of Japan
* Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan, next in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne

Japan's legislative organ is the National Diet (bicameral body), location: Chiyoda, Tokyo

* House of Representatives: 480 seats, elected by popular vote every four years or when dissolved
* House of Councillors: 242 seats, whose popularly elected members serve six-year terms

The Diet is dominated by the social liberal Democratic Party of Japan and the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

The Prime Minister of Japan is the head of government and is appointed by the Emperor after being designated by the Diet from among its members.

The Prime Minister is the head of the Cabinet, and he appoints and dismisses the Ministers of State.

Historically influenced by Chinese law, the Japanese legal system developed independently during the Edo period through texts such as *Kujikata Osadamegaki*. However, since the late 19th century the judicial system has been largely based on the civil law of Europe, notably Germany.

## Foreign relations and military

Japan is a member of the G8, APEC, and "ASEAN Plus Three", and is a participant in the East Asia Summit. Japan signed a security pact with Australia in March 2007 and with India in October 2008. It is the world's fifth largest donor of official development assistance, donating US$9.2 billion in 2014. Japan has close economic and military relations with the United States; the US-Japan security alliance acts as the cornerstone of the nation's foreign policy.

## Geography

Japan has a total of 6,852 islands extending along the Pacific coast of East Asia. The country, including all of the islands it controls, lies between latitudes 24° and 46°N, and longitudes 122° and 146°E. The main islands, from north to south, are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. The Ryukyu Islands, which includes Okinawa, are a chain to the south of Kyushu. Together they are often known as the Japanese archipelago.

## Economy

As of 2012, Japan is the third largest national economy in the world, after the United States and China, in terms of nominal GDP, and the fourth largest national economy in the world, after the United States, China and India, in terms of purchasing power parity. Japan has a large industrial capacity, and is home to some of the largest and most technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronics, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemical substances, textiles, and processed foods. Agricultural businesses in Japan cultivate 13 percent of Japan's land, and Japan accounts for nearly 15 percent of the global fish catch, second only to China. As of 2010, Japan's labor force consisted of some 65.9 million workers. Japan has a low unemployment rate of around four percent. Some 20 million people, around 17 per cent of the population, were below the poverty line in 2007. Housing in Japan is characterized by limited land supply in urban areas. Japan's main imports are machinery and equipment, fossil fuels, foodstuffs (in particular beef), chemicals, textiles and raw materials for its industries.

## Science and technology

Japan is a leading nation in scientific research, particularly technology, machinery and bio-medical research. Nearly 700,000 researchers share a US$130 billion research and development budget, the third largest in the world. Japan is a world leader in fundamental scientific research, having produced twenty-one Nobel laureates in either physics, chemistry or medicine, and three Fields medalists. Some of Japan's more prominent technological contributions are in the fields of electronics, automobiles, machinery, earthquake engineering, industrial robotics, optics, chemicals, semiconductors and metals. Japan leads the world in robotics production and use, possessing more than 20% (300,000 of 1.3 million) of the world's industrial robots as of 201—though their share was historically even higher, representing one-half of all industrial robots worldwide in 2000.

## Religion

Japan has full religious freedom based on Article 20 of its Constitution. Upper estimates suggest that 84–96 percent of the Japanese population subscribe to Buddhismor Shinto, including a large number of followers of a syncretism of both religions. However, these estimates are based on people affiliated with a temple, rather than the number of true believers. Other studies have suggested that only 30 percent of the population identify themselves as belonging to a religion.According to Edwin Reischauer and Marius Jansen, some 70–80% of the Japanese do not consider themselves believers in any religion.