Country
Countries A-Z
Japan
Japan
Nippon
Political Status: Constitutional monarchy established May 3, 1947; under multiparty parliamentary system.
Area: 145,850 sq. mi. (377,750 sq. km).
Population: 135,210,095 (2012E—UN); 127,253,075 (2013E—U.S. Census).
Major Urban Centers (2010C): TOKYO (8,945,695), Yokohama (3,688,773), Osaka (2,665,314), Nagoya (2,263,894), Sapporo (1,913,545), Kobe (1,544,200), Kyoto (1,474,015), Fukuoka (1,463,743), Kawasaki (1,425,512), Saitama (1,222,434), Hiroshima (1,173,843), Sendai (1,045,986).
Official Language: Japanese.
Monetary Unit: Yen (market rate November 1, 2013: 98.77 yen = $1US).
Sovereign: Emperor TSUGUNOMIYA AKIHITO; ascended the throne on January 7, 1989, on the death of his father, Showa Emperor MICHINOMIYA HIROHITO.
Heir Apparent: Crown Prince NARUHITO.
Prime Minister: Shinzo ABE (Liberal Democratic Party), elected by the Diet on December 26, 2012, and formally appointed by the emperor on the same day to ...