Japan is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean with dense cities, imperial palaces, mountainous national parks and thousands of shrines and temples. Shinkansen bullet trains connect the main islands of Kyushu (with Okinawa's subtropical beaches), Honshu (home to Tokyo and Hiroshima’s atomic-bomb memorial) and Hokkaido (famous for skiing). Tokyo, the capital, is known for skyscrapers, shopping and pop culture.

Languages: Japanese

Ethnic Groups: Japanese 98.5%, Koreans 0.5%, Chinese 0.4%, other 0.6%

Belief Systems: observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%)

Demographics:

Population: 126 million people (World Rank: 10th) (2014 estimate)
Population Density: 872 people/mi^2 (People per Square Mile) (World Rank: 42nd) (2014 estimate)
Population Growth: -0.0707 %/yr (World Rank: 222nd) (2013 estimate)
Life Expectancy: 83.6 years (World Rank: 2nd) (2013 estimate)
Median Age: 44.9 years (World Rank: 1st) (2010 estimate)

Sites for More Information:

Map of Japan
Worldatlas.com

Japan - Country Profile
U.S. Library of Congress

Japan - General Information
Encyclopedia.com

Travel Info for Japan
Travelnotes.org

Government Related Sites:

Japanese Embassy
in Washington D.C.

Japanese Government Web Sites
by Gunnar Anzinger

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