Japan

Japan is an island country located in Eastern Asia, an island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula, covering an area of approximately 377,915 square kilometers. As of 2024, Japan has a population of over 123 million, with Japanese as the official language. The country is mostly rugged and mountainous, with climate varying from tropical in the south to cool temperate in the north. Tokyo serves as the capital, and the government operates as a parliamentary constitutional monarchy.

Japan has the second-largest economy in East Asia and the fourth-largest globally, with a GDP of $4.03 trillion and a GDP per capita of $46,100, driven by motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles, and processed foods. Key agricultural products include rice, milk, sugar beets, vegetables, eggs, chicken, and pork, while Japan has limited natural resources and relies heavily on imports for energy and raw materials. The unemployment rate is exceptionally low at 2.5% as of 2025, and Japan has one of the highest life expectancies in the world at 84 years. Japan continues to address challenges including an aging population, high public debt levels, and the gradual normalization of monetary policy following years of near-zero interest rates.