Asia and Oceania

Japan
Last reviewed: 17 October 2008

Country information

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Map of Japan

Area: 377,780 square kilometres (142,771 square miles)
Population: 127,700,000
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: Taro Aso, since 24 September 2008
Foreign Minister: Hirofumi Nakasone, since 24 September 2008
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, was becoming more broad-based although it is now unlikely to continue because of the global economic slowdown and the Government has recently introduced some economic stimulus measures.
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.