Japan has a population of around 127 million people, with over half living in urban areas like the capital city of Tokyo. The country is made up of thousands of islands along the Pacific coast of Asia, with frequent earthquakes and volcanoes. Culturally, Japan is known for its traditional festivals and temples, as well as modern urban centers like Tokyo's Harajuku fashion district. The government is a constitutional monarchy with significant power held by elected members of the Diet legislature.

1. Japan
•The national flag of Japan is a white
rectangular flag with a large red disk.The
centered sun symbol (called Hinomaru) has
been an important part of Japan's flag for
thousands of years. The white field is symbolic
of honesty and purity.
•Capital: Tokyo

2. Population/Demography
• most recent census (October 2010), Japan's population
is 128,057,352.
• March 2012 the estimated population is 127,650,000.
• world's tenth most populated country.
• loss in recent years due to falling birth rates and almost
no net immigration
• estimate for October of each year, the population
peaked in 2008 at 128,083,960 and had fallen 285,256
by October 2011.
• Japan's population will keep declining by about one
million people every year in the coming decades, which
will leave Japan with a population of 87 million in 2060.
• The population ranking of Japan dropped from 7th to
8th in 1990, to 9th in 1998, and to 10th since.

3. Geography
Location:
Japan consists of several thousands of islands, of which Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and
Shikoku are the four largest. Japan's closest neighbors are Korea, Russia and China. The Sea of
Japan separates the Asian continent from the Japanese archipelago.
Area: Japan's area is comparable to that of Germany or California. Japan's northernmost islands
are located on a similar geographical latitude as Milan or Portland, while her southernmost
islands are on a similar latitude as the Bahamas. More than 50% of the country is
mountainous and covered by forests. Japan is politically structured into 8 regions and 47
prefectures.
Population: The population of Japan is about 125,000,000, including approximately two million
foreign residents. More than half of the non Japanese population is of Korean descent.
Earthquakes and Volcanos: Because Japan is located in a region, where several continental plates
meet, the country experiences frequent earthquakes. Please visit the special page about
earthquakes. For the same reason, there are many volcanos in Japan. Japan's most famous
volcano and highest mountain is Mt.Fuji.
Climate: Due to the large North South extension of the country, the climate varies strongly in
different regions. The climate in most of the major cities, including Tokyo, is temperate to
subtropic and consists of four seasons. The winter is mild and the summer is hot and humid.
There is a rainy season in early summer, and typhoons hit parts of the country every year
during late summer. The climate of the northern island of Hokkaido and the Sea of Japan
coast is colder, and snow falls in large amounts. In Okinawa, on the other hand, the mean
temperature of January is a warm 17 degrees Celsius.

4. Festivals
• Atsuta held at Atsuta Shrine in June
• Nagoya Aoi held at Shimogamo Shrine and Kamigamo Shrine in
May
• Kyoto Gion held in July Kyoto Hadaka Okayama Hakata Gion
Yamakasa held at Kushida-jinja in July
• Fukuoka Hōnen held at Tagata Shrine in March Komaki Jidai held on
October 22
• Kyoto Kanamara held at Kanayama shrine in April Kawasaki Kanda
held at Kanda Myojin shrine in May
• Tokyo Kanto held on 3 to 7 August
• Akita Kishiwada Danjiri held on September
• Kishiwada Miki Autumn Harvest Festival held at Ōmiya Hachiman
Shrine in October
• Miki Nada no Kenka held at Matsubara Hachiman Shrine in October
14-15
• Himeji Nagoya held in Hisaya Ōdori Park in Sakae, Nagoya
• Nagoya Sanja held at Asakusa Shrine in May
• Tokyo Sannō held at Hie Shrine in June
• Tokyo Tenjin held at Ōsaka Tenman-gū in July Osaka

5. Government
• The government of Japan is a constitutional
monarchy where the power of the Emperor is
very limited.
• Power is held chiefly by the Prime Minister of
Japan and other elected members of the Diet,
while sovereignty is vested in the Japanese
people.
• The Emperor effectively acts as the head of state
on diplomatic occasions. Akihito is the current
Emperor of Japan. Naruhito, Crown Prince of
Japan, stands as next in line to the throne.

6. Japan government Illustration

7. Attractions
• Ueno, Tokyo: vast park filled with amusements. At cherry-blossom time, a
national obsession, crowds flock to Ueno. Just outside the park is Ameya-
yokocho, a bustling street market filled with tiny shops and vendors' carts.
• Yokohama: A half-hour from Tokyo, Yokohama is an important port that
also serves as a commuter town. Because the port was opened to foreign
trade in the 19th century, Yokohama shows significant foreign influences.
• Harajuku, Tokyo: Next to the Harajuku train station is where you will find
the famed teenage girls decked out in goth, punk or manga-character
outfits.
• Asakusa, Tokyo: Centered around the Senso-ji temple, this old-Tokyo
neighborhood has famous tempura restaurants and souvenir shops lining
Naka-Mise Dori.
• Shibuya, Tokyo: Shibuya is for the daughters of Ginza's middle-aged lady
shoppers--shops here are funky, cool and trendy.
• Kyoto: The sheer number of temples, castles, shrines, and other beautiful
architectural attractions makes it a walk-through old Japan.
• Osaka: It does have some unique charms, however. For those interested in
traditional architecture.

8. LINKS
• http://www.japan-guide.com/list/e1000.html
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_festivals
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Politics_Und
er_Constitution_of_Japan_04.svg
• http://www.forbes.com/2008/07/03/japan-
popular-attractions-summit08-forbeslife-
cx_cs_0703travel_slide_10.html?thisSpeed=u
ndefined
• http://www.japan-guide.com/list/e1000.html