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 an economic power. In March 2011, Japan’s strongest-ever earthquake, and an accompanying tsunami, devastated the northeast part of Honshu island, killed thousands, and damaged several nuclear power plants. Prime Minister ABE Shinzo was reelected to office in December 2012, and embarked on ambitious economic and security reforms to improve Japan’s economy and bolster the country’s international standing. In November 2019, ABE became Japan’s longest-serving post-war prime minister; he resigned in September 2020 and was succeeded by SUGA Yoshihide. KISHIDA Fumio became prime minister in October 2021.
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)
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m
mean elevation: 438 m
arable land: 11.7% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 0.8% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 0% (2018 est.)
forest: 68.5% (2018 est.)
other: 19% (2018 est.)
note 2: a 2023 Geospatial Information Authority of Japan survey technically detected 100,000 islands and islets, but only the 14,125 islands with a circumference of at least 100 m (330 ft) were officially counted; only about 260 of the islands are inhabited
note 3: Japan annually records the most earthquakes in the world; it is one of the countries along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world’s earthquakes and some 75% of the world’s volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire
123,719,238 (2023 est.)
noun: Japanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Japanese
Japanese 97.9%, Chinese 0.6%, Korean 0.4%, other 1.1% (includes Vietnamese, Filipino, and Brazilian) (2017 est.)
note: data represent population by nationality; up to 230,000 Brazilians of Japanese origin migrated to Japan in the 1990s to work in industries; some have returned to Brazil
Japanese
major-language sample(s):
必要不可欠な基本情報の源、ワールド・ファクトブック(Japanese)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Shintoism 70.5%, Buddhism 67.2%, Christianity 1.5%, other 5.9% (2019 est.)
note: total adherents exceeds 100% because many people practice both Shintoism and Buddhism
0-14 years: 12.29% (male 7,835,474/female 7,370,449)
15-64 years: 58.49% (male 36,378,186/female 35,981,176)
65 years and over: 29.22% (2023 est.) (male 15,909,031/female 20,244,922)
total dependency ratio: 71.1
youth dependency ratio: 20.1
elderly dependency ratio: 51
potential support ratio: 2 (2021 est.)
total: 49.5 years (2023 est.)
male: 48 years
female: 50.9 years
-0.41% (2023 est.)
6.9 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
11.7 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
0.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
all primary and secondary regions of high population density lie on the coast; one-third of the population resides in and around Tokyo on the central plain (Kanto Plain)
urban population: 92% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: -0.25% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
37.194 million TOKYO (capital), 19.013 million Osaka, 9.569 million Nagoya, 5.490 million Kitakyushu-Fukuoka, 2.937 million Shizuoka-Hamamatsu, 2.666 million Sapporo (2023)
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
30.7 years (2018 est.)
4 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 1.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 2 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 1.8 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 85 years (2023 est.)
male: 82.1 years
female: 88.1 years
1.39 children born/woman (2023 est.)
0.68 (2023 est.)
39.8% (2015)
note: percent of women aged 20-49
improved: urban: NA
rural: NA
total: 99.1% of population
unimproved: urban: NA
rural: NA
total: 0.1% of population (2020 est.)
10.9% of GDP (2020)
2.48 physicians/1,000 population (2018)
13 beds/1,000 population (2018)
improved: urban: NA
rural: NA
total: 99.9% of population
unimproved: urban: NA
rural: NA
total: 0.1% of population (2020 est.)
4.3% (2016)
total: 8.36 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 1.35 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0.29 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 1.63 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 5.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total: 20.1% (2020 est.)
male: 30.1% (2020 est.)
female: 10% (2020 est.)
NA
46.8% (2023 est.)
3.4% of GDP (2020 est.)
total population: NA
male: NA
female: NA
total: 15 years
male: 15 years
female: 15 years (2019)
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; following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japan originally planned to phase out nuclear power, but it has now implemented a new policy of seeking to restart nuclear power plants that meet strict new safety standards; waste management is an ongoing issue; Japanese municipal facilities used to burn high volumes of trash, but air pollution issues forced the government to adopt an aggressive recycling policy
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north
agricultural land: 12.5% (2018 est.)
arable land: 11.7% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 0.8% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 0% (2018 est.)
forest: 68.5% (2018 est.)
other: 19% (2018 est.)
urban population: 92% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: -0.25% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
0.02% of GDP (2018 est.)
0% of GDP (2018 est.)
particulate matter emissions: 10.84 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
carbon dioxide emissions: 1,135.89 megatons (2016 est.)
methane emissions: 29.99 megatons (2020 est.)
municipal solid waste generated annually: 43.981 million tons (2015 est.)
municipal solid waste recycled annually: 2,155,069 tons (2015 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 4.9% (2015 est.)
fresh water lake(s): Biwa-ko 688 sq km
municipal: 14.8 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
industrial: 10.3 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
agricultural: 53.3 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
430 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
fourth-largest, trade-oriented, and diversified economy; highly indebted country; slow wage growth and declining labor force; still heavily hydrocarbon-reliant; central bank keeping negative interest rates amid modest inflation; increased military spending; stagnant tourism sector
$5.126 trillion (2021 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars
$5.042 trillion (2020 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars
$5.28 trillion (2019 est.)
1.66% (2021 est.)
-4.51% (2020 est.)
-0.24% (2019 est.)
$40,800 (2021 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars
$39,900 (2020 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars
$41,700 (2019 est.)
$5,078,679,000,000 (2019 est.)
-0.23% (2021 est.)
-0.02% (2020 est.)
0.47% (2019 est.)
Fitch rating: A (2015)
Moody’s rating: A1 (2014)
Standard & Poors rating: A+ (2015)
note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
agriculture: 1.1% (2017 est.)
industry: 30.1% (2017 est.)
services: 68.7% (2017 est.)comparison rankings:
household consumption: 55.5% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 19.6% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 24% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: 0% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 17.7% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -16.8% (2017 est.)
rice, milk, sugar beets, vegetables, eggs, poultry, potatoes, cabbages, onions, pork
among world’s largest and most technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles, processed foods
-4.33% (2020 est.)
68.629 million (2021 est.)
2.8% (2021 est.)
2.8% (2020 est.)
2.4% (2019 est.)
total: 4.4% (2021 est.)
male: 4.6%
female: 4.1%
16.1% (2013 est.)
32.9 (2013 est.)
on food: 16% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
on alcohol and tobacco: 2.3% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
lowest 10%: 2.7%
highest 10%: 24.8% (2008)
revenues: $1.756 trillion (2019 est.)
expenditures: $1.916 trillion (2019 est.)
-3.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
216.28% of GDP (2020 est.)
197.8% of GDP (2019 est.)
197.45% of GDP (2018 est.)
35.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
1 April - 31 March
$157.743 billion (2021 est.)
$147.948 billion (2020 est.)
$176.61 billion (2019 est.)
$919.158 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$794.291 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$904.632 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
China 21%, US 18%, South Korea 7%, Taiwan 7%, Thailand 4% (2021)
cars and vehicle parts, integrated circuits, general machinery, photo lab equipment, construction vehicles, semiconductors (2021)
$941.671 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$801.889 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$913.248 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
China 24%, US 10%, Australia 7%, South Korea 4%, Taiwan 4% (2021)
crude petroleum, natural gas, integrated circuits, coal, refined petroleum, iron (2021)
$1.406 trillion (31 December 2021 est.)
$1.391 trillion (31 December 2020 est.)
$1.322 trillion (31 December 2019 est.)
$4,254,271,000,000 (2019 est.)
$3,944,898,000,000 (2018 est.)
yen (JPY) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
109.754 (2021 est.)
106.775 (2020 est.)
109.01 (2019 est.)
110.423 (2018 est.)
112.166 (2017 est.)
electrification - total population: 100% (2021)
installed generating capacity: 348.666 million kW (2020 est.)
consumption: 903,698,740,000 kWh (2019 est.)
exports: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
imports: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 44.094 billion kWh (2019 est.)comparison rankings:
fossil fuels: 73.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 4.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 8.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 10% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 0.3% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 1.6% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Number of operational nuclear reactors: 10 (2023)
Number of nuclear reactors under construction: 2
Net capacity of operational nuclear reactors: 9.49GW (2023)
Percent of total electricity production: 7% (2018)
Percent of total energy produced: 24% (2021)
Number of nuclear reactors permanently shut down: 17
production: 29.84 million metric tons (2020 est.)
consumption: 210.882 million metric tons (2020 est.)
exports: 3.201 million metric tons (2020 est.)
imports: 174.486 million metric tons (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 350 million metric tons (2019 est.)
total petroleum production: 10,200 bbl/day (2021 est.)
refined petroleum consumption: 3,739,300 bbl/day (2019 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 3,012,800 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 44.1 million barrels (2021 est.)
3.467 million bbl/day (2017 est.)
370,900 bbl/day (2017 est.)
1.1 million bbl/day (2017 est.)
production: 1,928,431,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)
consumption: 102,108,738,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
exports: 28,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
imports: 105,255,103,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
proven reserves: 20.898 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)
note: Japan had been the largest global liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer until 2021 when it was exceeded by China; prior to 2021, Japan had been the largest importer of LNG for 51 years; Japan has the largest LNG storage tank capacity in the world, or about 643 million cubic feet (MMcf) as of early 2020; in 2019, Japan sourced 28% of its LNG imports from regional suppliers in Southeast Asia and 39% from Australia
1,103,234,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 439.243 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 444.271 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 219.72 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
147.107 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 22 (2020)
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 673
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 126,387,527 (2018)
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 9,420,660,000 (2018) mt-km
JA
175 (2021)
142
note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
33
note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control
16 (2021)
4,456 km gas, 174 km oil, 104 km oil/gas/water (2013)
total: 27,311 km (2015)
standard gauge: 4,800 km (2015) 1.435-m gauge (4,800 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 124 km (2015) 1.372-m gauge (124 km electrified)
dual gauge: 132 km (2015) 1.435-1.067-m gauge (132 km electrified)
22,207 km 1.067-mm gauge (15,430 km electrified)
48 km 0.762-m gauge (48 km electrified)
total: 1,218,772 km (2015)
paved: 992,835 km (2015) (includes 8,428 km of expressways)
unpaved: 225,937 km (2015)
1,770 km (2010) (seagoing vessels use inland seas)
total: 5,590 (2022)
by type: bulk carrier 149, container ship 47, general cargo 2,071, oil tanker 690, other 2,633
major seaport(s): Chiba, Kawasaki, Kobe, Mizushima, Moji, Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo, Tomakomai, Yokohama
container port(s) (TEUs): Kobe (2,823,774), Nagoya (2,725,597), Osaka (2,425,638), Tokyo (4,325,956), Yokohama (2,861,197) (2021)
LNG terminal(s) (import): Chita, Chita Midorihama, Fukuoka, Futtsu, Hachinone, Hakodate, Hatsukaichi, Higashi Ohgishima, Higashi Niigata, Himeiji, Hitachi, Ishikari, Joetsu, Kagoshima, Kawagoe, Hibiki, Mitzushima, Nagasaki, Naoetsu, Negishi, Ohgishima, Oita, Sakai, Sakaide, Senboku, Shin Minato, Shin-Sendai, Sodeshi Shimizu, Sodegaura, Soma, Tobata, Toyama Shinko, Yanai, Yokkaichi, Yoshinoura
Okinawa - Nakagusuku
Japan operates one PC 3 or 4 class medium icebreaker
note - PC indicates a Polar Class vessel: PC 3 - year-round operation in second-year ice which may include multi-year ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 2.5 m); PC 4 - year-round operation in thick first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 120 cm)
manyapis