The Nara period (710–784) marked the emergence of a Japanese state centered on the Imperial Court in Heijō-kyō (modern Nara). These legal reforms created the ritsuryō state, a system of Chinese-style centralized government that remained in place for half a millennium. 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.
Foreign relations
The war cost Japan millions of lives and many of its conquered territories, including de jure parts of Japan such as Korea, Taiwan, Karafuto, and the Kurils. Throughout areas occupied by Japan during the war, numerous abuses were committed against local inhabitants. In 1940, the Empire invaded French Indochina, after which the United States placed an oil embargo on Japan.
The earliest works of Japanese literature include the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki chronicles and the Man’yōshū poetry anthology, all from the 8th century and written in Chinese characters. 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 Metabolism. People without insurance through employers can participate in a national health insurance program administered by local governments. Throughout the latest century, Western customs originally related to Christianity, including Western style weddings, Valentine’s Day and Christmas, have become popular as secular customs among many Japanese. Few children learn these languages, but local governments have sought to increase awareness of the traditional languages. The Japanese language is Japan’s de facto national language and the primary written and spoken language of most people in the country.
Japan has the highest ratio of public debt to GDP among advanced economies, with a national debt estimated at 248% relative to GDP as of 2022update. Its poverty rate is the second highest among the G7 countries, and exceeds 15.7% of the population. As of 2023update, Japan’s labor force is the world’s tenth-largest, consisting of over 69.2 million workers. Japan has the world’s fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP, after that of the United States, China, Germany and India; and the fifth-largest by PPP-adjusted GDP. Other human rights issues include the treatment of marginalized groups, such as ethnic minorities, refugees and asylum seekers.
Languages
- 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 “Kimigayo” were written during this time.
- 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 Japanese population doubled from 35 million in 1873 to 70 million by 1935, with a significant shift to urbanization.
- Japan has nine forest ecoregions which reflect the climate and geography of the islands.
Around 14,500 BC (the start of the Jōmon period), a Mesolithic to Neolithic semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer culture characterized by pit dwelling and rudimentary agriculture emerged. The old Malay name for Japan, Japang or Japun, was borrowed from a southern coastal Chinese dialect and encountered by Portuguese traders in Southeast Asia, who brought the word to Europe in the early 16th century. In the 13th century, Marco Polo recorded the Early Mandarin Chinese pronunciation of the characters 日本國 as Cipangu. The characters 日本 mean ‘sun origin’, which is the source of the popular Western epithet “Land of the Rising Sun”. Nihon is typically used in everyday speech and reflects shifts in Japanese phonology during the Edo period.
- The 1920s saw a political shift towards statism, a period of lawlessness following the 1923 Great Tokyo Earthquake, the passing of laws against political dissent, and a series of attempted coups.
- The Zen school of Buddhism was introduced from China in the Kamakura period (1185–1333) and became popular among the samurai class.
- The largest lunar mission since the Apollo program, its purpose was to gather data on the Moon’s origin and evolution.
- Between the 4th and 6th centuries, its kingdoms were united under an emperor in Nara and later in Heian-kyō.
- Japanese curry, since its introduction to Japan from British India, is so widely consumed that it can be termed a national dish, alongside ramen and sushi.
GDP per capita
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. Japanese animated films and television series, known as anime, were largely influenced by Japanese manga and have become highly popular globally. Many Japanese media franchises have gained considerable global popularity and are among the world’s highest-grossing media franchises. Popular music in post-war Japan has been heavily influenced by American and European trends, which has led to the evolution of J-pop.
Land Area
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.
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 https://www.richyfox.co.uk/ 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 the development of Buddhist-inspired artwork and architecture.
Government and politics
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.
Minority ethnic groups in the country include the indigenous Ainu and Ryukyuan people. Japan is an ethnically and culturally homogeneous society, with the Japanese people forming 97.4% of the country’s population. Japan has a population of over 123 million, of whom nearly 120 million are Japanese nationals (2024 estimates). Since privatization in 1987, dozens of Japanese railway companies compete in regional and local passenger transportation markets; major companies include seven JR enterprises, Kintetsu, Seibu Railway and Keio Corporation. The Japanese agricultural sector accounts for about 1.2% of the country’s total GDP as of 2018update. Japan is widely considered to be a great power due to its economic power and political, cultural, and military influence.
Law enforcement
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.
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.
The Ryukyu and Nanpō Islands have a subtropical climate, with warm winters and hot summers. Precipitation is not heavy, but the islands usually develop deep snowbanks in the winter. The northernmost region, Hokkaido, has a humid continental climate with long, cold winters and very warm to cool summers.