Adjacent Words

Japan definitions

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CIA World Factbook, 2008

Background
In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For more than two centuries this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Following the Treaty of Kanagawa with the US in 1854, Japan opened its ports and began to intensively modernize and industrialize. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Japan became a regional power that was able to defeat the forces of both China and Russia. It occupied Korea, Formosa (Taiwan), and southern Sakhalin Island. In 1931-32 Japan occupied Manchuria, and in 1937 it launched a full-scale invasion of China. Japan attacked US forces in 1941 - triggering America's entry into World War II - and soon occupied much of East and Southeast Asia. After its defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become an economic power and a staunch ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, elected politicians - with heavy input from bureaucrats and business executives - wield actual decisionmaking power. The economy experienced a major slowdown starting in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented growth, but Japan still remains a major economic power, both in Asia and globally.

Location
total: 377,835 sq km land: 374,744 sq km water: 3,091 sq km note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto)

Area - comparative
territorial sea: 12 nm; between 3 nm and 12 nm in the international straits - La Perouse or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or Tsushima Strait contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate
lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m highest point: Mount Fuji 3,776 m

Natural resources
arable land: 11.64% permanent crops: 0.9% other: 87.46% (2005)

Irrigated land
Total: 88.43 cu km/yr (20%/18%/62%) Per capita: 690 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling

Geography - note
0-14 years: 13.8% (male 9,024,344/female 8,553,700) 15-64 years: 65.2% (male 41,841,760/female 41,253,968) 65 years and over: 21% (male 11,312,492/female 15,447,230) (2007 est.)

Median age
total: 43.5 years male: 41.7 years female: 45.3 years (2007 est.)

Population growth rate
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.055 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.014 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.732 male(s)/female total population: 0.953 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

Infant mortality rate
total: 2.8 deaths/1,000 live births male: 3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 2.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
total population: 82.02 years male: 78.67 years female: 85.56 years (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate
noun: Japanese (singular and plural) adjective: Japanese

Ethnic groups
note: up to 230,000 Brazilians of Japanese origin migrated to Japan in the 1990s to work in industries; some have returned to Brazil (2004)

Religions
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2002)

Country name
conventional long form: none conventional short form: Japan local long form: Nihon-koku/Nippon-koku local short form: Nihon/Nippon

Government type
name: Tokyo geographic coordinates: 35 41 N, 139 45 E time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions
chief of state: Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989) head of government: Prime Minister Yasuo FUKUDA (since 26 September 2007) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister elections: Diet designates prime minister; constitution requires that prime minister commands parliamentary majority; following legislative elections, leader of majority party or leader of majority coalition in House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister; monarch is hereditary election results: FUKUDA elected prime minister with 338 of 477 votes cast in the House of Representatives; he received 106 of 240 votes cast in the House of Councillors; vote of House of Representatives prevailed

Legislative branch
elections: House of Councillors - last held 29 July 2007 (next to be held in July 2010); House of Representatives - last held 11 September 2005 (next election by September 2009) election results: House of Councillors - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - DPJ 109, LDP 83, Komeito 20, JCP 7, SDP 5, others 18 : House of Representatives - percent of vote by party (in single-seat constituencies) - LDP 47.8%, DPJ 36.4%, others 15.8%; seats by party - LDP 296, DPJ 113, Komeito 31, JCP 9, SDP 7, others 24 (2007)

Judicial branch
chief of mission: Ambassador Ryozo KATO chancery: 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 238-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 328-2187 consulate(s) general: Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Agana (Guam), Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Portland (Oregon), San Francisco, Seattle

Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Ambassador J. Thomas SCHIEFFER embassy: 1-10-5 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8420 mailing address: APO AP 96337-5004 telephone: [81] (03) 3224-5000 FAX: [81] (03) 3505-1862 consulate(s) general: Naha (Okinawa), Osaka-Kobe, Sapporo consulate(s): Fukuoka, Nagoya

Flag description
agriculture: 1.5% industry: 25.2% services: 73.3% (2007 est.)

Labor force
agriculture: 4.6% industry: 27.8% services: 67.7% (2004)

Unemployment rate
lowest 10%: 4.8% highest 10%: 21.7% (1993)

Distribution of family income - Gini index
revenues: $1.463 trillion expenditures: $1.575 trillion (2007 est.)

Public debt
general assessment: excellent domestic and international service domestic: high level of modern technology and excellent service of every kind international: country code - 81; numerous submarine cables provide links throughout Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Europe, and US; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region), and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions

Radio broadcast stations
total: 145 over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 41 1,524 to 2,437 m: 40 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 29 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways
total: 31 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 27 (2007)

Heliports
total: 23,474 km standard gauge: 3,204 km 1.435-m gauge (3,204 km electrified) narrow gauge: 77 km 1.372-m gauge (77 km electrified); 20,182 km 1.067-m gauge (13,334 km electrified); 11 km 0.762-m gauge (11 km electrified) (2006)

Roadways
total: 1.183 million km paved: 925,000 km (includes 6,946 km of expressways) unpaved: 258,000 km (2003)

Waterways
total: 676 ships (1000 GRT or over) 10,386,894 GRT/11,689,142 DWT by type: bulk carrier 131, cargo 29, carrier 3, chemical tanker 23, container 10, liquefied gas 58, passenger 14, passenger/cargo 142, petroleum tanker 157, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 52, vehicle carrier 55 registered in other countries: 2,692 (Bahamas 62, Belize 2, Bermuda 1, Burma 3, Cambodia 3, Cayman Islands 6, China 2, Cyprus 19, France 5, Honduras 4, Hong Kong 78, Indonesia 5, Isle of Man 4, South Korea 1, Liberia 111, Malaysia 4, Malta 3, Marshall Islands 5, Mongolia 1, Norway 1, Panama 2,151, Philippines 69, Portugal 10, Singapore 108, Sweden 1, Thailand 4, UK 1, Vanuatu 28, unknown 2) (2007)

Ports and terminals
males age 18-49: 27,003,112 females age 18-49: 26,153,482 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service
males age 18-49: 22,234,663 females age 18-49: 21,494,947 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually
males age 18-49: 683,147 females age 18-49: 650,157 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP
0.8% (2006)

Disputes - international
the sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan, and the Habomai group, known in Japan as the "Northern Territories" and in Russia as the "Southern Kuril Islands," occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia and claimed by Japan, remains the primary sticking point to signing a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities; Japan and South Korea claim Liancourt Rocks (Take-shima/Tok-do) occupied by South Korea since 1954; China and Taiwan dispute both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea, the site of intensive hydrocarbon prospecting

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

JAPAN', n. [from the country in Asia, so called.]
This name is given to work varnished and figured in the manner practiced by the natives of Japan.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a string of more than 3,000 islands to the east of Asia extending 1,300 miles between the Sea of Japan and the western Pacific Ocean [syn: Japan, Japanese Islands, Japanese Archipelago]
2: a constitutional monarchy occupying the Japanese Archipelago; a world leader in electronics and automobile manufacture and ship building [syn: Japan, Nippon, Nihon]
3: lacquerware decorated and varnished in the Japanese manner with a glossy durable black lacquer
4: lacquer with a durable glossy black finish, originally from the orient v
1: coat with a lacquer, as done in Japan

Merriam Webster's

or Japanese Nippon or Nihon geographical name country E Asia comprising Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku, & other islands in the W Pacific; a constitutional monarchy capital Tokyo area 143,619 square miles (371,973 square kilometers), population 123,611,541

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Date: 1673 of, relating to, or originating in Japan ; of a kind or style characteristic of Japanese workmanship II. noun Date: 1688 1. a. any of several varnishes yielding a hard brilliant finish b. a hard dark coating containing asphalt and a drier that is used especially on metal and fixed by heating — called also japan black 2. work (as lacquer ware) finished and decorated in the Japanese manner III. transitive verb (japanned; japanning) Date: 1703 1. to cover with or as if with a coat of japan 2. to give a high gloss to • japanner noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a hard usu. black varnish, esp. of a kind brought orig. from Japan. 2 work in a Japanese style. --v.tr. (japanned, japanning) 1 varnish with japan. 2 make black and glossy as with japan. Etymology: Japan in E. Asia

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Japan Ja*pan", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Japanned; p. pr. & vb. n. Japanning.] 1. To cover with a coat of hard, brilliant varnish, in the manner of the Japanese; to lacquer. 2. To give a glossy black to, as shoes. [R.] --Gay.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Japan Ja*pan", n. [From Japan, the country.] Work varnished and figured in the Japanese manner; also, the varnish or lacquer used in japanning.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Japan Ja*pan", a. Of or pertaining to Japan, or to the lacquered work of that country; as, Japan ware. Japan allspice (Bot.), a spiny shrub from Japan (Chimonanthus fragrans), related to the Carolina allspice. Japan black (Chem.), a quickly drying black lacquer or varnish, consisting essentially of asphaltum dissolved in naphtha or turpentine, and used for coating ironwork; -- called also Brunswick black, Japan lacquer, or simply Japan. Japan camphor, ordinary camphor brought from China or Japan, as distinguished from the rare variety called borneol or Borneo camphor. Japan clover, or Japan pea (Bot.), a cloverlike plant (Lespedeza striata) from Eastern Asia, useful for fodder, first noticed in the Southern United States about 1860, but now become very common. During the Civil War it was called variously Yankee clover and Rebel clover. Japan earth. See Catechu. Japan ink, a kind of writing ink, of a deep, glossy black when dry. Japan varnish, a varnish prepared from the milky juice of the Rhus vernix, a small Japanese tree related to the poison sumac.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Japan Ja*pan", a. Of or pertaining to Japan, or to the lacquered work of that country; as, Japan ware. Japan allspice (Bot.), a spiny shrub from Japan (Chimonanthus fragrans), related to the Carolina allspice. Japan black (Chem.), a quickly drying black lacquer or varnish, consisting essentially of asphaltum dissolved in naphtha or turpentine, and used for coating ironwork; -- called also Brunswick black, Japan lacquer, or simply Japan. Japan camphor, ordinary camphor brought from China or Japan, as distinguished from the rare variety called borneol or Borneo camphor. Japan clover, or Japan pea (Bot.), a cloverlike plant (Lespedeza striata) from Eastern Asia, useful for fodder, first noticed in the Southern United States about 1860, but now become very common. During the Civil War it was called variously Yankee clover and Rebel clover. Japan earth. See Catechu. Japan ink, a kind of writing ink, of a deep, glossy black when dry. Japan varnish, a varnish prepared from the milky juice of the Rhus vernix, a small Japanese tree related to the poison sumac.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. Varnish, lacquer.