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Japan
Nippon
Political Status: Constitutional monarchy established May 3, 1947; under multiparty parliamentary system.
Area: 145,850 sq. mi. (377,750 sq. km.).
Population: 126,925,843 (2000C); 127,976,000 (2004E).
Major Urban Centers (2000C, provisional): TOKYO (8,130,000), Yokohama (3,427,000), Osaka (2,599,000), Nagoya (2,171,000), Sapporo (1,822,000), Kobe (1,494,000), Kyoto (1,468,000), Fukuoka (1,341,000), Kawasaki (1,250,000), Hiroshima (1,126,000), Kitakyushu (1,011,000), Sendai (1,008,000).
Official Language: Japanese.
Monetary Unit: Yen (market rate July 1, 2005: 111.14 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: Junichiro KOIZUMI (Liberal Democratic Party); elected by the Diet on April 26, 2001, succeeding Yoshiro MORI (Liberal Democratic Party), who had resigned on April 7; continued in office following Diet election of November 9, 2003.
The Country
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