Country information

Area: 377,780 square kilometres (142,771 square miles)
Population: 127,100,000
Capital City: Tokyo
People: 98.7% Japanese; 1.3 % other (mostly ethnic Korean)
Language: Japanese
Religion(s): 80% of Japanese adhere to more than one religion: Shinto (106.2 million), Buddhism (95.8 million), Christianity (1.8 million), others (10.2 million)
Currency: Yen
Major Political Parties: LDP - Liberal Democratic Party; DPJ - Democratic Party of Japan; New Komeito; JCP - Japan Communist Party; SDP - Social Democratic Party
Government: Representative democracy with a bicameral parliament (the Diet). Executive power rests with the Prime Minister and his cabinet. The emperor is head of state, although his function is purely symbolic.
Head of State: Emperor Akihito, ascended to throne 7 January 1989.
Prime Minister: Yasuo Fukuda (LDP), since 25 September 2007.
Foreign Minister: Masahiko Koumura since 26 September 2007.
Economic Information: Despite several years of low growth, Japan still has the second largest economy in the world. An export-led recovery under way since mid-2002 is becoming more broad-based.
Membership of International groups/organisations: United Nations (UN), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), World Trade Organisation (WTO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), Group of 8 (G8), Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development Bank (World Bank), Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), African Development Bank (AFDB), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC), Asia Development Bank (ADB), Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol), International Labour Organisation (ILO), International Maritime Organisation (IMO), International Telecommunications Satellite Organisation (ITSO), International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Universal Postal Union (UPU), International Whaling Commission (IWC), World Health Organisation (WHO), plus various others.

HEALTH

Japanese men and women enjoy the highest life expectancy in the world. However, with the Japanese population expected to age rapidly during the next 30 years, the Government is concerned about how it will finance health care for the aged in the future.

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