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Japan
Island country, lying off the E coast of Asia in the W Pacific Ocean. It consists of four main islands--Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. It is separated from China by the E. China Sea and from S. Korea, N. Korea, and Russia by the Sea of Japan. Area: 145,883 sq mi (377,835 sq km). Population (1997 est.): 126,110,000. Capital: Tokyo. The Japanese overwhelmingly are a single Asian ethnic group. Language: Japanese (official). Religions: Shinto, Buddhism, and Christianity. Currency: yen. Situated in one of the earth's most geologically active zones, Japan experiences volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Mountain ranges cover more than four-fifths of Japan's land surface; the country's highest mountain is Mt. Fuji. The nation's economy, one of the world's biggest, is based largely on manufacturing and services; exports include electronic and electrical equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, and iron and steel products. The government's involvement in banking results in unique cooperation between the public and private sectors. It is also one of the world's principal seagoing nations, with an important marine fishing industry. It is a constitutional monarchy with two legislative houses; its chief of state is the emperor, and the head of government is the prime minister. Japan's history began with the accession of the legendary first emperor, Jimmu, in 660 BC. The Yamato court established the first unified Japanese state in the 4th-5th cent. AD; during this period, Buddhism arrived in Japan by way of Korea. For centuries Japan borrowed heavily from Chinese culture, but it began to sever its links with the mainland by the 9th cent. The Fujiwara family held sway through the 11th cent. In 1192 Minamoto Yoritomo established Japan's first bakufu, or shogunate (see Kamakura shogunate). The Ashikaga shogunate (1338-1573) was marked by warfare among powerful families. Unification was achieved in the late 1500s under the leadership of Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu. During the Tokugawa shogunate, beginning in 1603, the government imposed a policy of isolation. Under the leadership of Emperor Meiji (1868-1912), it adopted a constitution (1889) and began a program of modernization and Westernization. Japanese imperialism led to war with China (1894-95) and Russia (1904-5) as well as to the annexation of Korea (1910) and Manchuria (1931). During World War II Japan attacked U.S. forces in Hawaii and the Philippines (Dec. 1941) and occupied European colonial possessions in SE Asia. In 1945 the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Japan surrendered to Allied powers. U.S. postwar occupation of Japan led to a new democratic constitution in 1947. In rebuilding Japan's ruined industrial plant, new technology was used in every major industry. A tremendous economic recovery followed, and it was able to maintain a favorable balance of trade into the 1990s.


Adapa
Legendary sage of the ...

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