List of basic Japan topics

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Japan is an island country in East Asia that includes over 3,000 islands,^[1] the largest of which are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for 97% of its land area. Japan lies in the Pacific Ocean to the east of China, Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. Japan is a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament (the Diet).

Japan has the world's tenth largest population, with about 128 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents. A world leader in technology and machinery, Japan has the world's second largest economy by nominal GDP, is the world's fourth largest exporter and is the sixth largest importer.

The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes identified as the "Land of the Rising Sun".

The following list of topics is provided as an overview of and introduction to Japan:

Contents 1 Geography of Japan 1.1 Environment of Japan 1.1.1 Geographic features of Japan 1.2 Regions of Japan 1.2.1 Ecoregions of Japan 1.2.2 Administrative divisions of Japan 1.2.2.1 Prefectures of Japan 1.2.2.2 Municipalities of Japan 1.3 Demography of Japan 2 Government and politics of Japan 2.1 Branches of the government of Japan 2.1.1 Executive branch of the government of Japan 2.1.2 Legislative branch of the government of Japan 2.1.3 Judicial branch of the government of Japan 2.2 Foreign relations of Japan 2.2.1 International organization membership 2.3 Law and order in Japan 2.4 Military of Japan 3 History of Japan 3.1 By period 4 Culture of Japan 4.1 Architecture of Japan 4.2 The Arts in Japan 4.3 Cuisine of Japan 4.4 Cultural icons of Japan 4.5 Fashion in Japan 4.6 Holidays and festivals 4.7 Homes in Japan 4.8 Language in Japan 4.9 People of Japan 4.9.1 Ethnicity in Japan 4.9.2 Stereotypes 4.10 Religion in Japan 4.11 Sports and games in Japan 5 Economy of Japan 6 Education in Japan 6.1 Structure of eduction in Japan 7 Infrastructure of Japan 8 Science and technology in Japan 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

• International rankings of Japan

[edit] Geography of Japan

Main articles: Geography of Japan

• Japan is: an island country of over 3,000 islands
• Location:
  • Pacific Ocean
  • Northern Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere
    • Asia
      • East Asia
• Population:
• Size:
• Atlas of Japan
• Addressing system in Japan
• Extreme points of Japan
• Historic provinces of Japan
• Japan Standard Time

[edit] Environment of Japan

Main article: Environment of Japan

• Climate of Japan
• Ecology of Japan
  • Ecoregions in Japan
  • Environmental issues in Japan
  • Renewable energy in Japan
• Geology of Japan
• National parks of Japan
• Protected areas of Japan
• Tsunami
• Wildlife of Japan
  • Flora of Japan
  • Fauna of Japan
    • Birds of Japan
    • Mammals of Japan

[edit] Geographic features of Japan

Main article: Landforms of Japan

• Fjords of Japan
• Glaciers of Japan
• Islands of Japan
• Lakes of Japan
• Mountains of Japan
  • Volcanoes in Japan
• Rivers of Japan
  • Waterfalls of Japan
• Three Views of Japan
• Valleys of Japan
• World Heritage Sites in Japan

[edit] Regions of Japan

Islands of Japan

Main articles: Islands of Japan and Regions of Japan

The four main islands of Japan are:

• Hokkaidō
• Honshū
• Kyūshū
• Shikoku

Major regions of Japan include:

• Hokkaidō (the island of Hokkaidō and nearby islands, largest city Sapporo)
• Tōhoku region (northern Honshū, largest city Sendai)
• Kantō region (eastern Honshū, largest cities Tokyo and Yokohama)
• Chūbu region (central Honshū, including Mt. Fuji), sometimes divided into:
  • Hokuriku region (northwestern Chūbu)
  • Kōshin'etsu region (northeastern Chūbu, largest city Nagano)
  • Tōkai region (southern Chūbu, largest city Nagoya, Hamamatsu, and Shizuoka)
• Kansai or Kinki region (west-central Honshū, largest cities Osaka, Kobe, and Kyoto)
• Chūgoku region (western Honshū, largest city Hiroshima, and Okayama)
• Shikoku (island, largest city Matsuyama, and Takamatsu)
• Kyūshū (island, largest city Fukuoka) which includes:
  • Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa

[edit] Ecoregions of Japan

Main article: Ecoregions of Japan

[edit] Administrative divisions of Japan

Main article: Prefectures of Japan

• Administrative division types
  • Regions of Japan (unofficial)
    • Prefectures of Japan
      • Subprefectures of Japan
        • Districts of Japan
          • Municipalities of Japan
            • Wards of Japan

[edit] Prefectures of Japan

From north to south (numbering in ISO 3166-2:JP order), the prefectures of Japan and their commonly associated regions are:

Hokkaidō 1. Hokkaidō Tōhoku 2. Aomori 3. Iwate 4. Miyagi 5. Akita 6. Yamagata 7. Fukushima Kantō 8. Ibaraki 9. Tochigi 10. Gunma 11. Saitama 12. Chiba 13. Tokyo 14. Kanagawa

Chūbu 15. Niigata 16. Toyama 17. Ishikawa 18. Fukui 19. Yamanashi 20. Nagano 21. Gifu 22. Shizuoka 23. Aichi Kansai 24. Mie 25. Shiga 26. Kyoto 27. Osaka 28. Hyōgo 29. Nara 30. Wakayama

Chūgoku 31. Tottori 32. Shimane 33. Okayama 34. Hiroshima 35. Yamaguchi Shikoku 36. Tokushima 37. Kagawa 38. Ehime 39. Kōchi Kyūshū & Okinawa 40. Fukuoka 41. Saga 42. Nagasaki 43. Kumamoto 44. Ōita 45. Miyazaki 46. Kagoshima 47. Okinawa

Karafuto, a portion of the island of Sakhalin north of Hokkaidō (not shown on the map), was part of Japan from 1907 until World War II. The entire island is now governed by Russia, but some Japanese people claim Karafuto is still part of Japan.

[edit] Municipalities of Japan

Main article: Municipalities of Japan

• Cities of Japan
  • Capitals of Japan
  • Cities designated by government ordinance
  • Cities, by population
• Towns of Japan
• Villages of Japan

[edit] Demography of Japan

Main article: Demographics of Japan

• Aging of Japan

[edit] Government and politics of Japan

Main article: Government of Japan and Politics of Japan

• Form of government: parliamentary multi-party representative democratic constitutional monarchy
• Capital of Japan
• Elections in Japan
  • (specific elections)
• Imperial House of Japan (Imperial family)
  • Imperial Guard of Japan
  • Imperial Household Law
  • Imperial Household Agency
• Civil service of Japan
• Japanese public corporations
• Independent administrative institutions of Japan
• Political parties in Japan

• Government-business relations in Japan
• Human rights in Japan
• Mass media and politics in Japan
• Monetary and fiscal policy of Japan
• Political funding in Japan
• Political scandals of Japan
• Political extremism in Japan
• Taxation in Japan
• Health care in Japan
• Social welfare in Japan

[edit] Branches of the government of Japan

Main article: Government of Japan

[edit] Executive branch of the government of Japan

• Symbol of state: Akihito, Emperor of Japan
  • Emperor has no executive authority, but is treated as a head of state under diplomatic protocol
  • Controversies regarding the role of the Emperor of Japan
  • Emperors of the past
• Head of state: de facto head of state of Japan is the head of government, the Prime Minister (see below)
• Head of government: Yasuo Fukuda, Prime Minister of Japan
  • Kantei (Office and residence of the Prime Minister)
  • Prime Ministers of the past
• Cabinet of Japan
• Ministries of Japan
  • National Public Safety Commission
  • Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
  • Ministry of Justice
  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  • Ministry of Finance (Japan)
  • Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
  • Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
  • Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
  • Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
  • Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
  • Ministry of the Environment
  • Ministry of Defence

[edit] Legislative branch of the government of Japan

• Diet of Japan (bicameral legislature of Japan)
  • House of Councillors
  • House of Representatives of Japan
• National Diet Building

[edit] Judicial branch of the government of Japan

• Judicial system of Japan
• Supreme Court of Japan

[edit] Foreign relations of Japan

Main article: Foreign relations of Japan

• Diplomatic missions of Japan
• Foreign aid institutions of Japan
• Foreign policy of Japan
• Japan's non-nuclear policy
• Japan-United States relations
• Whaling in Japan

[edit] International organization membership

Japan is a member of:

• United Nations
• G8
• G4
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
• Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)

[edit] Law and order in Japan

Main article: Law of Japan

• Attorneys in Japan
• Capital punishment in Japan
• Civil Code of Japan
• Constitution of Japan
• Crime in Japan
• Criminal justice system of Japan
• Freedom of religion in Japan
• Juries in Japan
• Law enforcement in Japan
• Penal system of Japan
• Public order and internal security in Japan

[edit] Military of Japan

Main article: Military of Japan

• Japan's non-nuclear policy
• Japan Self-Defense Forces
  • Army of Japan: Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
  • Navy of Japan: Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
  • Air force Japan: Japan Air Self-Defense Force
• Military history of Japan
• National security of Japan

[edit] History of Japan

Main articles: History of Japan, Timeline of Japanese history, and Current events of Japan

• History of Japan by year
• History of Tokyo
• Japanese nationalism
• Military history of Japan
  • Samurai
  • Shogun
  • Ninja
  • Japanese militarism
  • Pacific Ocean theater of World War II
    • Attack on Pearl Harbor
    • Kamikaze
    • Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
    • Surrender of Japan
    • Aftermath of World War II: Occupation of Japan
  • Naval history

[edit] By period

Paleolithic Jōmon period Yayoi period Kofun period Asuka period Nara period Heian period Kamakura period Mongol invasions of Japan Kemmu restoration

Muromachi period Nanboku-chō period Sengoku period Azuchi-Momoyama period Nanban trade Edo period Bakumatsu Meiji period Meiji Restoration Empire of Japan

Taishō period Japanese expansion (1941-1942) Japan in WWI Shōwa period Japanese militarism Occupation of Japan Post-Occupation Japan Heisei period

[edit] Culture of Japan

Main article: Culture of Japan

Japanese aesthetics Japanese calendar Customs and etiquette of Japan Japanese tea ceremony Funerals in Japan Gambling in Japan Japanese martial arts Media in Japan Digital television in Japan Pornography in Japan

Japanese mobile phone culture Japanese philosophy National symbols of Japan Imperial Regalia of Japan Imperial Seal of Japan Flag of Japan Kimi Ga Yo National anthem of Japan National Treasures of Japan Public bathing Onsen Sentō

Popular culture in Japan Cuteness in Japanese culture Prostitution in Japan Records of Japan Japanese values Westernization Americanization World Heritage Sites in Japan

[edit] Architecture of Japan

Main article: Architecture of Japan

• Buddhist temples in Japan
  • Daitoku-ji
  • Tōdai-ji
  • Yakushi-ji
• Castles in Japan
  • Heian Palace
  • Himeji Castle
  • Nijō Castle
  • Osaka Castle
• Housing in Japan
• Shinto shrine

[edit] The Arts in Japan

Art in Japan Calligraphy • Dogū • Dōtaku • Haniwa • Japonisme • Kagami • Kakemono • Kanō School • Magatama • Manga • Origami • Imari porcelain • Pottery • Traditional Pottery • Ukiyo-e • Yamato-e Cinema of Japan Anime Studio Ghibli Directors - Shōhei Imamura • Takeshi Kitano • Hirokazu Koreeda • Akira Kurosawa • Takashi Miike • Hayao Miyazaki • Kenji Mizoguchi • Mikio Naruse • Nagisa Oshima • Yasujirō Ozu • Isao Takahata Films - Godzilla • In the Realm of the Senses • Kagemusha • Rashōmon • Ring • Seven Samurai

Literature of Japan Japanese writers Kojiki Nihonshoki Tale of Genji Japanese Literary Genres Monogatari Haiku Waka

Music of Japan Koto Shakuhachi Shamisen Taiko Gagaku Enka Jpop Karaoke Theatre in Japan Kabuki Bunraku Noh Kyōgen

[edit] Cuisine of Japan

Main article: Cuisine of Japan

• Examples:
  • Bentō
  • Daikon
  • Mochi
  • Rāmen
  • Saké
  • Sashimi
  • Sushi
  • Tempura
  • Wasabi
• Japanese dishes
• Japanese snacks

[edit] Cultural icons of Japan

See also: Cultural icon

• Bonsai
• Japanese dragon
• Japanese gardens
• Geisha
• Karate
  • Black belt
• Kimono
• Rising Sun Flag
• Sakura
• Sumo
• Sushi
• Ayumi Hamasaki

[edit] Fashion in Japan

• Clothing of Japan
  • Geta
  • Hakama
  • Kimono
    • Furisode
    • Yukata
  • Okobo
  • School uniforms in Japan
  • Tabi
  • Waraji
  • Zōri
• Japanese street fashion

[edit] Holidays and festivals

Main articles: Holidays of Japan and Japanese festivals

• Golden Week
  • Shōwa Day
  • Constitution Memorial Day
  • Greenery Day
  • Kodomo no Hi
• Hanami
• Hina Matsuri
• Momijigari
• O-Bon
• Setsubun
• Tanabata

[edit] Homes in Japan

Main article: Homes in Japan

Furnishings Butsudan Byōbu Chabudai Furo Futon Kamidana

Kotatsu Ikebana Sudare Tansu Toilets in Japan Zabuton Minka

Rooms Japanese kitchen Washitsu Fusuma Shōji Tatami (flooring) Tokonoma

[edit] Language in Japan

Main article: Languages of Japan

Japanese language Historical kana usage Grammar Pronunciation Romanization of Japanese Japanese dialects Kansai-ben Saga-ben Wasei-eigo (Japanese English)

Ryukyuan languages Amami Kikai Okinawan Kunigami Yoron Miyako Yaeyama Yonaguni

Foreign Variations Franponais Engrish Writing systems of Japan Kanji Hiragana Katakana Furigana

[edit] People of Japan

Main articles: Japanese people and List of Japanese people

Ijime Japanese celebrities Japanese diaspora Elderly people in Japan Japanese family structure Homosexuality in Japan Japanese names Women in Japan

[edit] Ethnicity in Japan Ethnic minorities in Japan Ainu people Burakumin Dekasegi Ryukyuan people Yamato people

[edit] Stereotypes "Geesha Girls" Freeter Hikikomori Kogaru Otaku Yakuza Burakumin

[edit] Religion in Japan

Main article: Religion in Japan

Buddhism in Japan Nichiren Buddhism Shingon Tendai Pure Land Buddhism Zen

Shinto Christianity in Japan Protestantism in Japan Roman Catholicism in Japan Japanese Orthodox Church Judaism in Japan

Islam in Japan Neo-Confucianism in Japan Shinshūkyō Hinduism in Japan Japanese Mythology

[edit] Sports and games in Japan

Main article: Sports in Japan

• Sports
  • Aikido
  • Baseball in Japan
  • Football in Japan
  • Kendo
  • Professional wrestling in Japan
  • Sumo
• Traditional Games
  • Go
  • Shogi
  • Mah-jong
  • Hanafuda

[edit] Economy of Japan

Main article: Economy of Japan

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing in Japan Automobile industry in Japan Bank of Japan Companies of Japan Communications in Japan Construction industry of Japan Consumer electronics industry of Japan Currency of Japan:   Japanese yen

Department stores in Japan Defense industry of Japan Economic history of Japan Economic relations of Japan Financial system of Japan Foreign trade policies of Japan Labor market of Japan Manufacturing industries of Japan Monetary and fiscal policy of Japan

Mining in Japan Private enterprise in Japan Research and development in Japan Standard of living in Japan Trade of Japan Trade and services in Japan Tourism in Japan Transport in Japan

[edit] Education in Japan

Main article: Education in Japan and History of education in Japan

• History of education in Japan
• Japanese history textbook controversies
• Juku (Cram School)
• Language minority students in Japanese classrooms
• Romanization of Japanese
• School uniforms in Japan
• Yutori education

[edit] Structure of eduction in Japan

• Elementary schools in Japan
• Secondary education in Japan
• Higher education in Japan

[edit] Infrastructure of Japan

• Buildings and structures in Japan
  • Tallest buildings and structures in Japan
• Communications in Japan
  • Internet in Japan
• Energy in Japan
  • Nuclear power in Japan
• Health care in Japan
• National parks of Japan
• Transportation in Japan
  • Airports in Japan
  • Expressways of Japan
  • National highways of Japan
  • Shinkansen
  • Tokyo Metro
  • Rail transport in Japan
• Water supply and sanitation in Japan

[edit] Science and technology in Japan

Main article: Science and technology in Japan

• Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
• Research and development in Japan
• Japanese robotics

[edit] See also

• Japanese Wikipedia
• List of basic geography topics
• List of Japan-related articles
• List of Japan-related topics
• List of international rankings

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Find more about Japan on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Dictionary definitions
	Textbooks
	Quotations
	Source texts
	Images and media
	News stories
	Learning resources

• Wikimedia Atlas of Japan

Official

• Kantei.go.jp—Official prime ministerial and cabinet site
• Kunaicho.go.jp—Official site of the Imperial family.
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs—Detailed papers on Japan's foreign policy, education programs, culture and life.
• Shugi-in.go.jp—Official site of the House of Representatives
• National Diet Library (English)

Media

• NHK Online
• Kyodo News
• Yomiuri Shimbun (English)
• Asahi Shimbun (English)
• The Japan Times

Tourism

• Japan National Tourist Organization
• List of basic Japan topics travel guide from Wikitravel

Other

• CIA World Factbook—Japan
• Encyclopaedia Britannica's Japan portal site
• Guardian Unlimited—Special Report: Japan
• Wikimedia Atlas of Japan
• Works by Government of Japan at Project Gutenberg containing the 1889 and 1946 Constitutions

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