knowledge Overview
Japan is an island nation in East Asia comprising the four main islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu plus some 14,000 islands. Its total area is about 378,000 km2 and its population about 120 million (2024). The capital is Tokyo; it is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system.
Basic information
- Capital: Tokyo
- Total area: about 378,000 km2
- Population: about 120 million (2024, 47 prefectures)
- Climate: temperate monsoon (subarctic in Hokkaido, subtropical in Okinawa)
- Language: Japanese
- Currency: yen
Administrative divisions
Japan consists of 47 prefectures (1 to, 1 do, 2 fu, 43 ken), grouped into eight regions: Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu, Kansai, Chugoku, Shikoku and Kyushu.
Rail network
Japan opened the world's first high-speed railway, the Tokaido Shinkansen, in 1964; the conventional and Shinkansen networks now total about 27,000 km. The Shinkansen network comprises the Sanyo, Tohoku, Joetsu, Hokuriku, Kyushu, Hokkaido and Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen plus the Yamagata and Akita Mini-Shinkansen, operated by JR Hokkaido, JR East, JR Central, JR West, JR Kyushu and JR Shikoku. Urban areas are served by the Yamanote Line, Osaka Loop Line, Tokaido Main Line, subways and buses.