Wikijunior:Asia/Japan

Japan

Imperial Seal of Japan

Japan (Japanese: 日本) is a country in East Asia. The "Land of the Rising Sun" (As it's usually referred to as) holds 127 million people (2014), in which Japan's the 10th largest (population wise) country in the world. Japan is an archipelago island (island with a "chain" or "group" of islands), consisting of nearly 7,000 islands (in which the biggest island, Honshu (Japan's main island), is the 7th biggest island in the world)! As living-wise, Japan is a highly developed country, with a huge military, a high standard of living, and the 3rd lowest infant mortality (death of a child less than 1) than any other country! Japan is also the highest ranked Asian Country in the Global Peace Index.

Japan elects prime ministers as leaders, and the current prime minister is Shinzō Abe. Japan's currency is Japanese yens.

Where is the Japan?

Location of Japan

Japan is located in East Asia. Japan is composed four main islands, namely Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. It is found on the east side of North and South Korea. Russia is located north of Japan and Taiwan is found south of the country. The Pacific Ocean is located east of the country, and west of the country is the Sea of Japan.

How many people live in Japan?

A Japanese wedding at the Meiji Shrine

As of 2015, around 127.13 million (2014) people live in Japan. About 80 percent of people living in Japan are found in the island of Honshu. Tokyo is both the capital and largest city of Japan, with a staggering 9.1 million people! There is no current statics of ethnicity group percentages in Japan.

What are the most common languages in Japan?

There is no official language in Japan, although Japanese is the most common language in the country.

What is the most common religion in Japan?

There are different estimates regarding the most common religion in Japan. Some estimates that around 84 to 96 percent of the people in Japan practices Buddhism or Shinto. Others estimates that only 30 percent of the Japanese said that they have a religion.

However, many Japanese still observe some spiritual practices, especially in festivals and occasions like visiting a shrine during the New Year celebration. Taoism and Confucianism which came from China has influenced Japanese beliefs and customs. Decorations are common during the celebrations of Tanabata, Obon and even Christmas.

Less than one percent of people in Japan are Christians.

Less than 0.08% (which mainly consists of Indonesians in Japan) of the population are Muslims, while the percentage of Japanese Muslims is less than 0.008% of the total population.

What is the sport of Japan?

Sumo wrestlers form around the referee during the ring-entering ceremony

Sumo is considered as Japan's national sport. Japanese martial arts such as judo, karate and kendo are also popular. Western sports has also been introduced and made popular in Japan. Rugby union, baseball and football are the popular team sports in Japan.

Japan participated in recent World Cups in Football, participating in all the World Cups of the 21st Century (but haven't won any of the World Cups)

What are some important sights?

The Himeji Castle

• Akihabara is a district in Tokyo. It is a well known place to buy anime and manga (Japanese cartoons and comics) and video games. Akihabara was originally and still a popular place to buy electronics.

• Mount Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776.24 m (12,389 ft). It is a popular climbing spot and a frequent subject in Japanese art and poetry. It is located in the island of Honshu west of Tokyo.

• The Himeji Castle is the largest and most visited castle in Japan. It is found in Himeji in the Hyogo district.

• Universal Studios of Japan opened on March 31, 2001 in Osaka, Japan, the Universal Studios of Japan is one out of four of the Universal Studio theme parks owned and operated by USJ Co., Ltd. Visiters to the Universal Studios of Japan are usually Japanese tourists, or tourists from other nearby countries, such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Korea. But the Universal Studios of Japan is also famous to westerners who come to visit. The park's number of visitors change a lot (like when they celebrated their anniversary in 2011), but the average yearly visitors are around 8 million.

		Wikijunior:Asia