2009 Japan

Japan
Flag:
Location:
Capital: Tokyo
Official Language: None (official) Japanese (de facto)
Government: Constitutional Monarchy
Head of State: (leave this blank for players)
Formation: February 11, 660 BC
Population: 127,433,494 (2007 estimate)
Currency: Yen (¥)
¨Human Rights Record¨ Wikipedia article
¨Territorial Disputes¨ Japan has several territorial disputes with its neighbors concerning the control of certain outlying islands. It vies with Russia for the Southern Kuril Islands (including Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, and the Habomai group) which were occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945; with South Korea over Liancourt Rocks (Japanese: "Takeshima", Korean: "Dokdo"); with the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (Taiwan) over the Senkaku Islands; and with the People's Republic of China over the status of Okinotorishima. These disputes are in part about the control of marine and natural resources, such as possible reserves of crude oil and natural gas.
¨Ongoing Conflicts¨ (If any)

Welcome to the international embassy of Japan! (Player added remarks)

Diplomatic Relations

Nation currently enjoys diplomatic relations with all U.N. members except North Korea. They have especially good relations with Western Nations, but have traditionally have not had an especially active role on the world stage. Despite increasing economic cooperation, relations with Russia and South Korea have been hampered by their respective territorial disputes.

Nation is a member of (List)

Nation is a signatory to the following treaties (list)

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Summary

Japan (日本 Nihon or Nippon, officially 日本国 Nippon-koku·i or Nihon-koku) is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin country", which is why Japan is sometimes identified as the "Land of the Rising Sun".

Japan comprises over 3,000 islands making it an archipelago. The largest islands are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for 97% of Japan's land area. Most of the islands are mountainous, many volcanic; for example, Japan’s highest peak, Mount Fuji, is a volcano. Japan has the world's tenth largest population, with about 128 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.

A major economic power, Japan has the world's second largest economy by nominal GDP, after the United States. It is a member of the United Nations, G8, G4, OECD and APEC, with the world's fifth largest defense budget. It is also the world's fourth largest exporter and sixth largest importer. It is a developed country with high living standards (8th highest HDI) and a world leader in technology, machinery, and robotics.

Brief History

Archaeological research indicates that people were living on the islands of Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan begins with brief appearances in Chinese history texts from the first century A.D.

Influence from the outside world followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. Since adopting its constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament, the Diet.

Diplomatic Messages

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Resources

• Japan on Wikipedia
• Japan on the BBC
• Japan on the CIA world factbook
• Homepage of the Japanese government