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); 127,823,000 (2006E).

Major Urban Centers (2005E): TOKYO (8,483,000), Yokohama (3,579,000), Osaka (2,629,000), Nagoya (2,215,000), Sapporo (1,881,000), Kobe (1,525,000), Kyoto (1,475,000), Fukuoka (1,401,000), Kawasaki (1,327,000), Saitama (1,176,000), Hiroshima (1,155,000), Sendai (1,025,000), Kitakyushu (993,000).

Official Language: Japanese.

Monetary Unit: Yen (market rate November 2, 2007: 114.76 yen = $1US).

Sovereign: Emperor TSUGUNOMIYA AKIHITO; ascended the throne on January 7, 1989, on the death of his father, Showa Emperor MICHINOMIYA HIROHITO.

Crown Prince NARUHITO.

Prime Minister: Yasuo FUKUDA (Liberal Democratic Party); elected by the Diet on September 25, 2007, succeeding Shinzo ABE (Liberal Democratic Party), who had announced his resignation on September 12.