Nippon

Political Status: Constitutional monarchy established May 3, 1947; under multiparty parliamentary system.

Area: 145,850 sq. mi. (377,750 sq. km).

Population: 125,758,000 (2020E—World Bank); 125,507,472 (2020E—U.S. Census).

Major Urban Centers (Metropolitan area, 2018E—UN): TOKYO (38,140,000), Osaka (19,302,746), Nagoya (10,000,000), Kitakyushu-Fukuoka (5,500,000), Sapporo (1,952,000), Hiroshima (1,431,000), Sendai (1,086,000).

Official Language: Japanese.

Monetary Unit: Yen (market rate September 30, 2020: 105.70 yen = $1US).

Sovereign: Emperor HIRONOMIYA NARUHITO; ascended the throne on May 1, 2019, on the abdication of his father, Heisei Emperor TSUGUNOMIYA AKIHITO.

Heir Apparent: Crown Prince AKISHINO.

Prime Minister: Yoshihide SUGA (Liberal Democratic Party); elected by the Diet on September 16, 2020, and formally appointed by the emperor on the same day to succeed Shinzo ABE (Liberal Democratic Party), who resigned. (See Government and Politics, below.)