Official Name: Japan
Capital city: The capital of Japan and the biggest city in the country is Tokyo.
Location: Japan occupies a total area of approximately 378 thousand square kilometers, and is the 68th largest country in the world, comparable to the size of the US state of California.
Size: Japan is the 60th biggest country in the world in terms of land mass, spanning approximately 514,000 sq km
Climate: The climate in Japan is varied throughout the country. The southern part of the main island of Honshu is fairly tropical while the northern region around Hokkaido is cool and temperate, with temperatures dropping below freezing in the winter.
Population: Japan boasts a population of approximately 127 million people. In terms of overall population Japan is the 11th most populated country in the world.
Life expectancy at birth: The average life expectancy in Japan is 82.12 years at birth. This ranks 3rd for the highest life expectancies globally. Women in Japan typically live approximately 7 years longer than men.
Prevalence of HIV/AIDS: There is a very low prevalence of HIV/Aids throughout Japan with only roughly 0.1% of the total population living with the disease. This means that there are only about 127,000 people in Japan who have HIV/Aids, and this ranks 153rd globally.
Major illnesses: Japan has a very stringent health care system. It is compulsory to be enrolled in some insurance program if you reside in Japan. One of the major health issues in Japan is actually tobacco with more than 100,000 people or one in ten deaths occurring from usage. Japan also has a high suicide rate in comparison to the US, with around 30,000 people dying every year for the past decade.
Ethnic Groups: Ethnic diversity in Japan is very small. The main ethnicity is Japanese which comprises 98.5% of the population. The rest of the country is made up of Koreans (0.5%), Chinese (0.4%) and other ethnicities (0.6%). It is important to note that in the 1990s as many as 230,000 Brazilians of Japanese origin returned to the nation for employment. Since 2004 some have come back to Brazil.
Languages: The main language of Japan is Japanese, and it is spoken almost universally by both males and females in the country (99%).
Religion:Japan is comprised primarily of two main religions, Shintoism (83.9%) and Buddhism (71.4%). It is important to note that most Japanese people belong to both of these religions. The remaining population practices Christianity (2%) and many other religions are represented nationwide (7.8%).
Government: Japan is a parliamentary government with a constitutional monarchy. This means that the country is run by the Prime Minister with limited power given to the ceremonial figurehead, the Emperor. The Prime Minister is the head of the Cabinet, and governs along with the main legislative body or National Diet, a bicameral parliament.
Head of State: The current Emperor of Japan is Emperor Akihito.
Head of Government: Currently the Prime Minister of Japan is Taro Aso.
Military: Japan historically had one of the larger military forces in the world, although at present it is limited by Article 9 of the Japan Constitution that restricts its ability to use military force or declare war as a means of dealing with international issues. Japan has voluntary military conscription at 18 years of age. The country spends approximately 0.8% of its total GDP on military expenditures.
Economy: The Economy of Japan experienced tremendous growth after the end of World War 2. Beginning with the Meiji Period in the 1960s, Japan embraced Western forms of free market capitalism. It was during this period that the nation experienced growth in the 60s, 70s and 80s of 10%, 5% and 4% respectively. The majority of Japan’s major industries and companies were established during this time which eventually made it the most developed nation in Asia. The economy began to slow down in the 1990s and has not experienced any real growth in recent years. This being the case, Japan is still the second largest economy in the world by nominal GDP behind the US.
GDP: Japan has purchasing power parity GDP of US$4.35 trillion and an actual exchange rate of US$ 4.84 trillion.
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