Japan is an island country in East Asia. It is located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asian mainland, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. The Japanese archipelago consists of four major islands—Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu—and thousands of smaller islands, covering 377,975 square kilometres (145,937 sq mi). Japan has a population of nearly 124 million as of 2024, and is the eleventh-most populous country. Its capital and largest city is Tokyo; the Greater Tokyo Area is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with more than 38 million inhabitants as of 2016. Japan is divided into 47 administrative prefectures and eight traditional regions. About three-quarters of the country's terrain is mountainous and heavily forested, concentrating its agriculture and highly urbanized population along its eastern coastal plains. The country sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, making its islands prone to destructive earthquakes and tsunamis.
Japan is an archipelagic country comprising a stratovolcanic archipelago over 3,000 km (1,900 mi) along the Pacific coast of East Asia. It consists of 14,125 islands. The four main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku. The other 14,120 islands are classified as "remote islands" by the Japanese government. The Ryukyu Islands and Nanpō Islands are south and east of the main islands.
The economy of Japan is a highly developed mixed economy, often referred to as an East Asian model. It is the fourth-largest economy in the world by nominal GDP behind the United States, China, and Germany, and the fourth-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP) as well, after India instead of Germany. It constituted 4.2% of the world's economy on a nominal basis in 2022. According to the IMF, the country's per capita GDP (PPP) was at $54,184 (2024). Due to a volatile currency exchange rate, Japan's nominal GDP as measured in dollars fluctuates sharply.
Transport in Japan is modern and highly developed. Japan's transport sector stands out for its energy efficiency: it uses less energy per person compared to other countries, thanks to a high share of rail transport and low overall travel distances. Transport in Japan is also very expensive in international comparison, reflecting high tolls and taxes, particularly on automobile transport. Japan's spending on roads has been large. The 1,200,000 kilometres (750,000 mi) of paved road are the main means of transport. Traffic in Japan drives on the left. A single network of high-speed, divided, limited-access toll roads connects major cities, which are operated by toll-collecting enterprises.
Hokkaido is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel.
Honshu, historically called Akitsushima, is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separates the Sea of Japan, which lies to its north and west, from the North Pacific Ocean to the south and east. It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian island of Java.
Japan is divided into 47 prefectures, which rank immediately below the national government and form the country's first level of jurisdiction and administrative division. They include 43 prefectures proper, two urban prefectures, one regional prefecture and one metropolis. In 1868, the Meiji Fuhanken sanchisei administration created the first prefectures to replace the urban and rural administrators in the parts of the country previously controlled directly by the shogunate and a few territories of rebels/shogunate loyalists who had not submitted to the new government such as Aizu/Wakamatsu. In 1871, all remaining feudal domains (han) were also transformed into prefectures, so that prefectures subdivided the whole country. In several waves of territorial consolidation, today's 47 prefectures were formed by the turn of the century. In many instances, these are contiguous with the ancient ritsuryō provinces of Japan.
The military history of Japan covers a vast time-period of over three millennia - from the Jōmon to the present day. After a long period of clan warfare until the 12th century, there followed feudal wars that culminated in military governments known as the Shogunate. History of Japan records that a military class and the Shōgun ruled Japan for 676 years - from 1192 until 1868. The Shōgun and the samurai warriors stood near the apex of the Japanese social structure - only the aristocratic nobility nominally outranked them. The sakoku policy effectively closed Japan from foreign influences for 212 years - from 1641 to 1853. Feudal militarism transitioned to imperialism in the 19th century after the arrival of U.S. Admiral Matthew C. Perry in 1853 and the elevation of Emperor Meiji in 1868. Western colonial powers and their imperialist policies impacted on Japan's outlook and led to Japanese colonialism and rampant imperialism until Japan's defeat in World War II. The 1947 Japanese Constitution prohibits Japan from offensively using war against other nations. This led to the establishment of the Japan Self-Defense Forces in 1954. The U.S.–Japan Alliance requires the United States to protect Japan and to conduct offensive duties. In 2015, the Japanese government voted to reinterpret the constitution to allow collective self-defense of Japan's allies.
Environmental pollution in Japan has accompanied industrialization since the Meiji period. One of the earliest cases was the copper poisoning caused by drainage from the Ashio Copper Mine in Tochigi Prefecture, beginning as early as 1878. Repeated floods occurred in the Watarase River basin, and 1,600 hectares of farmland and towns and villages in Tochigi and Gunma prefectures were damaged by the floodwater, which contained excessive inorganic copper compounds from the Ashio mine. The local breeders led by Shōzō Tanaka, a member of the Lower House from Tochigi appealed to the prefecture and the government to call a halt to the mining operations. Although the mining company paid compensatory money and the government engaged in the embankment works of the Watarase River, no fundamental solution of the problem was achieved.
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing form the primary sector of industry of the Japanese economy together with the Japanese mining industry, but together they account for only 1.3% of gross national product. Only 20% of Japan's land is suitable for cultivation, and the agricultural economy is highly subsidized.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, METI for short, is a ministry of the Government of Japan. It was created by the 2001 Central Government Reform when the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) merged with agencies from other ministries related to economic activities, such as the Economic Planning Agency.
Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc., abbreviated as Chuden in Japanese, is a Japanese electric utilities provider for the middle Chūbu region of the Honshu island of Japan. It provides electricity at 60 Hz, though an area of Nagano Prefecture uses 50 Hz. Chubu Electric Power ranks third among Japan's largest electric utilities in terms of power generation capacity, electric energy sold, and annual revenue. It is also one of Nagoya's "four influential companies" along with Meitetsu, Matsuzakaya, and Toho Gas. Recently, the company has also expanded into the business of optical fibers. On January 1, 2006, a new company, Chubu Telecommunications, was formed.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Armenia:
The following outline is provided as an overview and topical guide to Singapore:
Canada is a member of various international organizations and forums. Canada was a founding member of the United Nations in 1945 and formed the North American Aerospace Defense Command together with the United States in 1958. The country has membership in the World Trade Organization, the Five Eyes, the G7 and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The country joined the Organization of American States (OAS) in 1990, and seeks to expand its ties to Pacific Rim economies through membership in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC). Canada ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, and seven principal UN human rights conventions and covenants since then. As of 2023, Canada is a signatory to 15 free trade agreements with 51 different countries, and has diplomatic and consular offices in over 270 locations in approximately 180 countries.
The electric power industry in Japan covers the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electric energy in Japan. Japan consumed approximately 918 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity in 2014. Before the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, about a quarter of electricity in the country was generated by nuclear power. In the following years, most nuclear power plants have been on hold, being replaced mostly by coal and natural gas. Solar power is a growing source of electricity, and Japan has the third largest solar installed capacity with about 50 GW as of 2017. Japan's electricity production is characterized by a diverse energy mix, including nuclear, fossil fuels, renewable energy, and hydroelectric power.
The International Nuclear Energy Development of Japan Co., Ltd (JINED), headquartered in Tokyo, is a consortium of thirteen Japanese companies, with the prime purpose of "proposal and research activities for nuclear power plant project orders in emerging countries".
