Japan

An archipelago extending in an arc more than 1,744 mi (2,790 km) from northeast to southwest in the Pacific, Japan is separated from the east coast of Asia by the Sea of Japan. It is approximately the size of Montana. Japan's four main islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku. The Ryukyu chain to the southwest was U.S.-occupied from 1945 to 1972, when it reverted to Japanese control, and the Kurils to the northeast are Russian-occupied. The surface of the main islands consists largely of mountains separated by narrow valleys.

National Name: Nippon

Emperor: Akihito (1989)

Prime Minister: Junichiro Koizumi (2001)

Area: 145,882 sq mi (377,835 sq km)

Population (2003 est.): 127,214,499 (growth rate: 0.1%); birth rate: 9.6/1000; infant mortality rate: 3.3/1000; density per sq mi: 872

Capital and largest city (2000 est.): Tokyo, 31,139,000 (metro.area), 8,240,100 (city proper)

Other large cities (2003 est.): Yokohama, 3,494,900 (part of Tokyo metro. area); Osaka, 2,597,000; Nagoya, 2,189,700; Sapporo, 1,848,000; Kobe, 1,529,900 (part of Osaka metro. area); Kyoto, 1,470,600 (part of Osaka metro. area); Fukuoka, 1,368,900; Kawasaki, 1,276,200 (part of Tokyo metro. area); Hiroshima, 1,132,700

Monetary unit: Yen

Language: Japanese

Ethnicity/race: Japanese 99%, other 1% (mostly Korean)

GDP: US$3.15 trillion

GDP per head: US$24,900

Annual growth: 1.3%

Inflation: -0.7%

Major industries: High-tech electronic products, motor vehicles, office machinery, chemicals, steel, textiles, processed foods

Major trading partners: USA, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Germany, China