Javascript must be enabled to use all features of this site and to avoid misfunctions
Japan - Size Explorer - Compare the world
HOME
Select category:
Countries
Select category
NEW

Advertising

Cancel

Search in
Close
share

Japan


Japan arrow_drop_down
Select arrow_drop_down
Change

Japan

Land Area 364485km²
Land Area + Seaarea
Population 127360000
Population density 349.4 / km²

Informations

Japan (Japanese: 日本, Nippon [ɲippoꜜɴ] (listen) or Nihon [ɲihoꜜɴ] (listen)) is an island country of East Asia from the northwest Pacific Ocean. It borders the Sea of Japan to the west and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk from the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan from the south. Japan is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire and comprises an archipelago of 6,852 islands covering 377,975 square km (145,937 sq mi); its five major islands, from north to south, are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa. Tokyo is the nation's capital and largest city; other major cities include Osaka and Nagoya. Japan is the 11th most populous country in the world, as well as one of the most densely populated and urbanized. About three-fourths of the country's terrain is mountainous, concentrating its population of 126.2 million on narrow coastal regions. Japan is administratively divided into 47 prefectures and traditionally divided into eight regions. The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, with more than 37.4 million residents. The islands of Japan were inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, although the first mentions of the archipelago appear in Chinese chronicles from the 1st century AD. Between the 4th and 9th centuries, the kingdoms of Japan became unified under an emperor and imperial court based in Heian-kyō. Starting in the 12th century, however, political power was held by a series of military dictators (shōgun), feudal lords (daimyō), and a class of warrior nobility (samurai). Following a century-long period of civil war, the country was reunified in 1603 under the Tokugawa shogunate, which enacted a foreign policy of isolation. In 1854, a United States fleet forced Japan to open trade to the West, leading to the end of the shogunate and the restoration of imperial power in 1868. In the Meiji era, the Empire of Japan adopted a Western-style constitution and pursued industrialization and modernization. Japan invaded China in 1937; in 1941, it entered World War II as an Axis power. After suffering defeat in the Pacific War and two atomic bombings, Japan surrendered in 1945 and came under an Allied occupation, during which it adopted a post-war constitution. It has since maintained a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy with an elected legislature known as the National Diet. Japan is a fantastic energy and a member of numerous international organizations, including the United Nations (since 1956), the OECD, and the G7. Although it has renounced its right to declare war, the country maintains a modern army rated as the world's fourth strongest. After World War II, Japan experienced high economic growth, becoming the second-largest economy in the world by 1990 before being surpassed by China in 2010. Despite stagnant economic growth ever since the Lost Decade, the nation's economy is still the third-largest by nominal GDP and fourth-largest by purchasing power parity as of 2019. Japan is a global leader in the automotive and electronics industries and has made significant contributions to science and engineering. Ranked the second greatest country on the Human Development Index in Asia after Singapore, Japan also has the world's second-highest life expectancy, though it is currently experiencing a decline in population. Culturally, Japan is famous for its art, cuisine, music, and popular culture, including its prominent animation and video game industries.

Source: Wikipedia