Background:
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| In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For more than two centuries this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Following the Treaty of Kanagawa with the US in 1854, Japan opened its ports and began to intensively modernize and industrialize. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Japan became a regional power that was able to defeat the forces of both China and Russia. It occupied Korea, Formosa (Taiwan), and southern Sakhalin Island. In 1931-32 Japan occupied Manchuria, and in 1937 it launched a full-scale invasion of China. Japan attacked US forces in 1941 - triggering America's entry into World War II - and soon occupied much of East and Southeast Asia. After its defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become an economic power and a staunch ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, elected politicians - with heavy input from bureaucrats and business executives - wield actual decisionmaking power. The economy experienced a major slowdown starting in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented growth, but Japan still remains a major economic power, both in Asia and globally. In January 2009, Japan assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2009-10 term. |
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Location:
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| Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula
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Geographic coordinates:
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36 00 N, 138 00 E
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Area:
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total: 377,915 sq km
country comparison to the world: 68
land:
364,485 sq km
water:
13,430 sq km
note:
includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto)
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than California
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Land boundaries:
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0 km
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Coastline:
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29,751 km
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm; between 3 nm and 12 nm in the international straits - La Perouse or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or Tsushima Strait
contiguous zone:
24 nm
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
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Climate:
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varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north
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Terrain:
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mostly rugged and mountainous
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m
highest point:
Mount Fuji 3,776 m
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Natural resources:
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negligible mineral resources, fish
note:
with virtually no energy natural resources, Japan is the world's largest importer of coal and liquefied natural gas as well as the second largest importer of oil
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Land use:
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arable land: 11.64%
permanent crops:
0.9%
other:
87.46% (2005)
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Irrigated land:
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25,920 sq km (2003)
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Total renewable water resources:
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430 cu km (1999)
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
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total: 88.43 cu km/yr (20%/18%/62%)
per capita:
690 cu m/yr (2000)
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Natural hazards:
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many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons
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Environment - current issues:
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air pollution from power plant emissions results in acid rain; acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality and threatening aquatic life; Japan is one of the largest consumers of fish and tropical timber, contributing to the depletion of these resources in Asia and elsewhere
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
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Geography - note:
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strategic location in northeast Asia |
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Population:
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| 127,078,679 (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 11
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 13.5% (male 8,804,465/female 8,344,800)
15-64 years:
64.3% (male 41,187,425/female 40,533,876)
65 years and over:
22.2% (male 11,964,694/female 16,243,419) (2009 est.)
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Median age:
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total: 44.2 years
male:
42.4 years
female:
46.1 years (2009 est.)
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Population growth rate:
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-0.191% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 219
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Birth rate:
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7.64 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 223
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Death rate:
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9.54 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 72
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Net migration rate:
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NA (2009 est.)
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Urbanization:
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urban population: 66% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization:
0.2% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.74 male(s)/female
total population:
0.95 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
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Infant mortality rate:
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total: 2.79 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 221
male:
2.99 deaths/1,000 live births
female:
2.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 82.12 years
country comparison to the world: 3
male:
78.8 years
female:
85.62 years (2009 est.)
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Total fertility rate:
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1.21 children born/woman (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 218
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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less than 0.1% (2003 est.)
country comparison to the world: 153
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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9,600 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 107
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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fewer than 100 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 143
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Nationality:
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noun: Japanese (singular and plural)
adjective:
Japanese
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Ethnic groups:
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Japanese 98.5%, Koreans 0.5%, Chinese 0.4%, other 0.6%
note:
up to 230,000 Brazilians of Japanese origin migrated to Japan in the 1990s to work in industries; some have returned to Brazil (2004)
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Religions:
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Shintoism 83.9%, Buddhism 71.4%, Christianity 2%, other 7.8%
note:
total adherents exceeds 100% because many people belong to both Shintoism and Buddhism (2005)
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Languages:
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Japanese
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population:
99%
male:
99%
female:
99% (2002)
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School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
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total: 15 years
male:
15 years
female:
15 years (2006)
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Education expenditures:
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3.5% of GDP (2005)
country comparison to the world: 128
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