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Country name:
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Japan
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Japan
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Government type:
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Constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government
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Capital:
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Tokyo
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Administrative divisions:
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47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gumma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi
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Independence:
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660 BC (traditional founding by Emperor Jimmu)
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National holiday:
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Birthday of Emperor AKIHITO, 23 December (1933)
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Constitution: |
3 May 1947
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Population:
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126,974,628 (July 2002 est.)
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 14.5% (male 9,465,282; female 8,999,888)
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 43,027,320; female 42,586,112)
65 years and over: 18% (male 9,664,112; female 13,231,914) (2002 est.)
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Location:
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Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula
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Geographic coordinates:
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36 00 N, 138 00 E
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Area:
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Total: 377,835 sq km
Note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto)
Water: 3,091 sq km
Land: 374,744 sq km
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Area - comparative:
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Slightly smaller than California
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Land boundaries:
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0 km
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Coastline:
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29,751 km
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Climate:
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Varies from tropical in south to
cool temperate in north
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Terrain:
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mostly rugged and mountainous
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Elevation extremes:
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Lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m
Highest point: Fujiyama 3,776 m
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Natural resources:
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Negligible mineral resources, fish
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Land use:
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Arable land: 12.13%
Permanent crops: 1.01%
Other: 86.86% (1998 est.)
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Irrigated land:
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26,790 sq km (1998 est.)
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Natural hazards:
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Many dormant and some active
volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors)
every year; tsunamis; typhoons
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Environment - current issues:
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Air pollution from power plant
emissions results in acid rain; acidification of lakes and
reservoirs degrading water quality and threatening aquatic life;
Japan is one of the largest consumers of fish and tropical
timber, contributing to the depletion of these resources in Asia
and elsewhere
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Environment - international agreements:
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Party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
Signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
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Geography - note:
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Strategic location in northeast Asia
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