In 1603, after decades of civil warfare, the Tokugawa shogunate (a military-led, dynastic government) ushered in a long period of relative political stability and isolation from foreign influence. For more than two centuries this policy enabled Japan to enjoy a flowering of its indigenous culture. Japan opened its ports after signing the Treaty of Kanagawa with the US in 1854 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 an ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, elected politicians hold actual decision-making power. Following three decades of unprecedented growth, Japan's economy experienced a major slowdown starting in the 1990s, but the country remains a major economic power. In March 2011, Japan's strongest-ever earthquake, and an accompanying tsunami, devastated the northeast part of Honshu island, killing thousands and damaging several nuclear power plants. The catastrophe hobbled the country's economy and its energy infrastructure, and tested its ability to deal with humanitarian disasters.

Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula

slightly smaller than California

varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north

mostly rugged and mountainous

negligible mineral resources, fish

many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors but occasional severe earthquakes) every year; tsunamis; typhoons

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

strategic location in northeast Asia

Japanese 98.5%, Koreans 0.5%, Chinese 0.4%, other 0.6%

Shintoism 83.9%, Buddhism 71.4%, Christianity 2%, other 7.8%

127,368,088 (July 2012 est.)

8.39 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

9.15 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

TOKYO (capital) 36.507 million; Osaka-Kobe 11.325 million; Nagoya 3.257 million; Fukuoka-Kitakyushu 2.809 million; Sapporo 2.673 million (2009)

5 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)

1.39 children born/woman (2012 est.)

2.063 physicians/1,000 population (2006)

13.75 beds/1,000 population (2008)

less than 0.1% (2009 est.)

fewer than 100 (2009 est.)

a parliamentary government with a constitutional monarchy

47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gunma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi

3 May 1947 (current constitution adopted as amendment to Meiji Constitution); notable earlier dates: 660 B.C. (traditional date of the founding of the nation by Emperor JIMMU); 29 November 1890 (Meiji Constitution provides for constitutional monarchy)

Birthday of Emperor AKIHITO, 23 December (1933)

civil law system based on German model; system also reflects Anglo-American influence and Japanese traditions; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

20 years of age; universal

bicameral Diet or Kokkai consists of the House of Councillors or Sangi-in (242 seats - members elected for fixed six-year terms; half reelected every three years; 146 members in multi-seat constituencies and 96 by proportional representation) and the House of Representatives or Shugi-in (480 seats - members elected for maximum four-year terms; 300 in single-seat constituencies; 180 members by proportional representation in 11 regional blocs); the prime minister has the right to dissolve the House of Representatives at any time with the concurrence of the cabinet

House of Representatives - percent of vote by party (by proportional representation) - DPJ 42.4%, LDP 26.7%, NK 11.5%, JCP 7.0%, SDP 4.3%, others 8.1%; seats by party - DPJ 308, LDP 119, NK 21, JCP 9, SDP 7, others 16 (2009)

Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the monarch after designation by the cabinet; all other justices are appointed by the cabinet)

Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ [Yoshihiko NODA]; Japan Communist Party or JCP [Kazuo SHII]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Shinzo ABE]; New Komeito or NK [Natsuo YAMAGUCHI]; People's New Party or PNP [Mikio SHIMOJI]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Mizuho FUKUSHIMA]; Your Party or YP [Yoshimi WATANABE]

ADB, AfDB (nonregional member), APEC, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CD, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CICA (observer), CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, FATF, G-20, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SELEC (observer), SICA (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIT, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center

red sun disc; chrysanthemum

In the years following World War II, government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of GDP) helped Japan develop a technologically advanced economy. Two notable characteristics of the post-war economy were the close interlocking structures of manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors, known as keiretsu, and the guarantee of lifetime employment for a substantial portion of the urban labor force. Both features are now eroding under the dual pressures of global competition and domestic demographic change. Japan's industrial sector is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. A tiny agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected, with crop yields among the highest in the world. Usually self-sufficient in rice, Japan imports about 60% of its food on a caloric basis. Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch. For three decades, overall real economic growth had been spectacular - a 10% average in the 1960s, a 5% average in the 1970s, and a 4% average in the 1980s. Growth slowed markedly in the 1990s, averaging just 1.7%, largely because of the after effects of inefficient investment and an asset price bubble in the late 1980s that required a protracted period of time for firms to reduce excess debt, capital, and labor. Measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis that adjusts for price differences, Japan in 2011 stood as the fourth-largest economy in the world after second-place China, which surpassed Japan in 2001, and third-place India, which edged out Japan in 2011. A sharp downturn in business investment and global demand for Japan's exports in late 2008 pushed Japan further into recession. Government stimulus spending helped the economy recover in late 2009 and 2010, but the economy contracted again in 2011 as the massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake in March disrupted manufacturing. Electricity supplies remain tight because Japan has temporarily shut down almost all of its nuclear power plants after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors were crippled by the earthquake and resulting tsunami. Estimates of the direct costs of the damage - rebuilding homes, factories, and infrastructure - range from $235 billion to $310 billion, and GDP declined almost 0.5% in 2011. Prime Minister Yoshihiko NODA has proposed opening the agricultural and services sectors to greater foreign competition and boosting exports through membership in the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership trade talks and by pursuing free-trade agreements with the EU and others, but debate continues on restructuring the economy and reining in Japan's huge government debt, which exceeds 200% of GDP. Persistent deflation, reliance on exports to drive growth, and an aging and shrinking population are other major long-term challenges for the economy.

$4.497 trillion (2011 est.)

$4.531 trillion (2010 est.)

$4.339 trillion (2009 est.)

$5.869 trillion (2011 est.)

65.93 million (2011 est.)

20.9% of GDP (2011 est.)

33.6% of GDP (2011 est.)

-8.9% of GDP (2011 est.)

211.7% of GDP (2011 est.)

200% of GDP (2010 est.)

0.3% (31 December 2009)

0.3% (31 December 2008)

1.5% (31 December 2011 est.)

1.475% (31 December 2010 est.)

$6.97 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)

$6.045 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)

$14.46 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)

$15.43 trillion (31 December 2009)

$16.39 trillion (31 December 2008 est.)

$13.32 trillion (31 December 2007 est.)

$3.541 trillion (31 December 2011)

$4.1 trillion (31 December 2010)

$3.378 trillion (31 December 2009)

rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit; pork, poultry, dairy products, eggs; fish

among world's largest and technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles, processed foods

$120.5 billion (2011 est.)

$195.8 billion (2010 est.)

$788 billion (2011 est.)

$730.1 billion (2010 est.)

motor vehicles 13.6%; semiconductors 6.2%; iron and steel products 5.5%; auto parts 4.6%; plastic materials 3.5%; power generating machinery 3.5%

China 19.7%, US 15.5%, South Korea 8%, Hong Kong 5.2%, Thailand 4.6% (2011)

$808.4 billion (2011 est.)

$639.1 billion (2010 est.)

petroleum 15.5%; liquid natural gas 5.7%; clothing 3.9%; semiconductors 3.5%; coal 3.5%; audio and visual apparatus 2.7%

China 21.5%, US 8.9%, Australia 6.6%, Saudi Arabia 5.9%, UAE 5%, South Korea 4.7% (2011)

$1.259 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)

$1.063 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)

$2.719 trillion (30 June 2011)

$2.441 trillion (30 September 2010)

$148.6 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$145.8 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$873.3 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$795.7 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

yen (JPY) per US dollar -

937.6 billion kWh (2011 est.)

859.7 billion kWh (2011 est.)

284.5 million kW (2009 est.)

63.9% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

17.2% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

7.7% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

2.3% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

17,480 bbl/day (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

3.384 million bbl/day (2009 est.)

44.12 million bbl (1 January 2012 est.)

3.861 million bbl/day (2009 est.)

4.464 million bbl/day (2011 est.)

366,800 bbl/day (2009 est.)

949,800 bbl/day (2009 est.)

3.298 billion cu m (2011 est.)

112.6 billion cu m (2011 est.)

109.9 billion cu m (2011 est.)

20.9 billion cu m (1 January 2012 est.)

1.164 billion Mt (2010 est.)

64.585 million (2011)

129.868 million (2011)

a mixture of public and commercial broadcast TV and radio stations; 5 national terrestrial TV networks including 1 public broadcaster; the large number of radio and TV stations available provide a wide range of choices; satellite and cable services provide access to international channels (2008)

63.466 million (2010)

99.182 million (2009)

gas 4,135 km; oil 171 km; oil/gas/water 53 km (2010)

1,770 km (seagoing vessels use inland seas) (2010)

Chiba, Kawasaki, Kobe, Mizushima, Moji, Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo, Tomakomai, Yokohama

Japanese Ministry of Defense (MOD): Ground Self-Defense Force (Rikujou Jieitai, GSDF), Maritime Self-Defense Force (Kaijou Jieitai, MSDF), Air Self-Defense Force (Koukuu Jieitai, ASDF) (2011)

18 years of age for voluntary military service; Maritime Self-Defense Force mandatory retirement at age 54 (2011)

the sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan, and the Habomai group, known in Japan as the "Northern Territories" and in Russia as the "Southern Kuril Islands," occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia and claimed by Japan, remains the primary sticking point to signing a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities; Japan and South Korea claim Liancourt Rocks (Take-shima/Tok-do) occupied by South Korea since 1954; China and Taiwan dispute both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea, the site of intensive hydrocarbon prospecting