Yokohama 横浜
—  Designated city  —
横浜市 · City of Yokohama[1]
From top left: Minato Mirai 21, Yokohama Chinatown, Nippon Maru, Yokohama Station, Yokohama Marine Tower
Flag Official logo of Yokohama Logo
Location of Yokohama in Kanagawa
Yokohama
Coordinates: 35°26′39″N 139°38′17″E / 35.44417°N 139.63806°E / 35.44417; 139.63806Coordinates: 35°26′39″N 139°38′17″E / 35.44417°N 139.63806°E / 35.44417; 139.63806
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Kanagawa
Government
• Mayor	Fumiko Hayashi
Area
• Total	437.38 km2 (168.87 sq mi)
Population (August 1, 2011)
• Total	3,692,588
• Density	8,400/km2 (22,000/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City Symbols
– Tree	Camellia, Chinquapin, Sangoju Sasanqua, Ginkgo, Zelkova
– Flower	Rose
Phone number	045-671-2121
Address	1-1 Minato-chō, Naka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa-ken 231-0017
Website	www.city.yokohama.lg.jp

Yokohama (横浜市, Yokohama-shi^?, "Side Shore") ( listen (help·info)) is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu. It is a major commercial hub of the Greater Tokyo Area.

Yokohama's population of 3.7 million makes it Japan's largest incorporated city.^[2]

Yokohama developed rapidly as Japan's prominent port city following the end of Japan's relative isolation in the mid-19th century, and is today one of its major ports along with Kobe, Osaka, Nagoya, Hakata, Tokyo, and Chiba.

History[link]

Landing of Commodore Perry, officers, and men of the squadron to meet the Imperial commissioners at Yokohama 14 July 1853. Lithograph by Sarony & Co., 1855, after Wilhelm Heine

Yokohama was a small fishing village up to the end of the feudal Edo period, when Japan held a policy of national seclusion, having little contact with foreigners.^[3] A major turning point in Japanese history happened in 1853–54, when Commodore Matthew Perry arrived just south of Yokohama with a fleet of American warships, demanding that Japan open several ports for commerce, and the Tokugawa shogunate agreed by signing the Treaty of Peace and Amity.^[4]

It was initially agreed that one of the ports to be opened to foreign ships would be the bustling town of Kanagawa-juku (in what is now Kanagawa Ward) on the Tōkaidō, a strategic highway that linked Edo to Kyoto and Osaka. However, the Tokugawa shogunate decided that Kanagawa-juku was too close to the Tōkaidō for comfort, and port facilities were instead built across the inlet in the sleepy fishing village of Yokohama. The Port of Yokohama was opened on 2 June 1859.^[5]

Street scene c1880

Yokohama quickly became the base of foreign trade in Japan. Japan's first English language newspaper, the Japan Herald, was first published there in 1861. Foreigners occupied a district of the city called "Kannai" (関内, "inside the barrier"), which was surrounded by a moat, and were protected by their extraterritorial status both within and outside the moat. Many individuals crossed the moat, causing a number of problems. The Namamugi Incident, one of the events that preceded the downfall of the shogunate, took place in what is now Tsurumi Ward in 1862; Ernest Satow described it in A Diplomat in Japan. In 1865 the first ice cream and first beer in Japan were manufactured in the city.^[6] Chinese immigrants came to Yokohama in increasing numbers.^[7]

After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the port was developed for trading silk, the main trading partner being Great Britain. Many Western influences first reached Japan in Yokohama, including Japan's first daily newspaper (1870) and first gas-powered street lamps (1872). Japan's first railway was constructed in the same year to connect Yokohama to Shinagawa and Shinbashi in Tokyo. In the same year, Jules Verne set Yokohama, which he had never visited, in an episode of his widely read Around the World in Eighty Days, capturing the atmosphere of a fast-developing, Western-oriented Japanese city.

Foreign ships in Yokohama harbor

A foreign trading house in Yokohama in 1861

In 1887, a British merchant, Samuel Cocking, built the city's first power plant. At first for his own use, this coal-burning plant became the basis for the Yokohama Cooperative Electric Light Company. The city was officially incorporated on April 1, 1889.^[8] By the time the extraterritoriality of foreigner areas was abolished in 1899, Yokohama was the most international city in Japan, with foreigner areas stretching from Kannai to the Bluff area and the large Yokohama Chinatown.

The early 20th century was marked by rapid growth of industry. Entrepreneurs built factories along reclaimed land to the north of the city toward Kawasaki, which eventually grew to be the Keihin Industrial Area. The growth of Japanese industry brought affluence, and many wealthy trading families constructed sprawling residences there, while the rapid influx of population from Japan and Korea also led to the formation of Kojiki-Yato, then the largest slum in Japan.

Much of Yokohama was destroyed on 1 September 1923 by the Great Kantō earthquake. The Yokohama police reported casualties at 30,771 dead and 47,908 injured, out of a pre-earthquake population of 434,170.^[9] Fuelled by rumours of rebellion and sabotage, vigilante mobs thereupon murdered many Koreans in the Kojiki-yato slum.^[10] Many people believed that Koreans used black magic to cause the earthquake. Martial law was in place until November 19. Rubble from the quake was used to reclaim land for parks, the most famous being the Yamashita Park on the waterfront which opened in 1930.

Yokohama was rebuilt, only to be destroyed again by thirty-odd U.S. air raids during World War II. An estimated seven or eight thousand people were killed in a single morning on 29 May 1945 in what is now known as the Great Yokohama Air Raid, when B-29s firebombed the city and in just one hour and nine minutes reduced 42% of it to rubble.^[8]

During the Korean War, the United States Navy used Yokohama's port as a transshipment base. This ship departed Yokohama in 1951, carrying war dead home to the U.S.

During the American occupation, Yokohama was a major transshipment base for American supplies and personnel, especially during the Korean War. After the occupation, most local U.S. naval activity moved from Yokohama to an American base in nearby Yokosuka.

The city was designated by government ordinance on September 1, 1956.^{[citation needed]}

The city's tram and trolleybus system was abolished in 1972, the same year as the opening of the first line of Yokohama Municipal Subway.

Landsat image of Yokohama

Construction of Minato Mirai 21 ("Port Future 21"), a major urban development project on reclaimed land, started in 1983. Minato Mirai 21 hosted the Yokohama Exotic Showcase in 1989, which saw the first public operation of maglev trains in Japan and the opening of Cosmo Clock 21, then the tallest Ferris wheel in the world. The 860m-long Yokohama Bay Bridge opened in the same year.

In 1993, Minato Mirai saw the opening of the Yokohama Landmark Tower, the tallest building in Japan.

The 2002 FIFA World Cup final was held in June at the International Stadium Yokohama.

In 2009, the city marked the 150th anniversary of the opening of the port and the 120th anniversary of the commencement of the City Administration. An early part in the commemoration project incorporated the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) which was held in Yokohama in May 2008.

In November, 2010, Yokohama hosted the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting.

Historical population[link]

Kanagawa Prefectural Office

Yokohama Station

Minato Mirai at dusk

Yokohama's foreign population of nearly 78,000 includes Chinese, Koreans, Filipinos, and Brazilians.^[12]

Climate[link]

Yokohama features a humid subtropical climate with hot and humid summers and chilly, but not very cold, winters. Winter temperatures rarely drop below freezing, while summer can get quite warm due to humidity effects.^[13]

Sports[link]

• Soccer: Yokohama F. Marinos (J. League Division 1), Yokohama F.C. (J. League Division 2)
• Baseball: Yokohama BayStars

Economy[link]

The city has a strong economic base, especially in the shipping, biotechnology, and semiconductor industries. Nissan moved its headquarters to Yokohama from Chūō, Tokyo in 2010.^[15]

This section requires expansion.

Transport[link]

Yokohama is serviced by the Tōkaidō Shinkansen, a high-speed rail line with a stop at Shin-Yokohama Station. Yokohama Station is also a major station, with two million passengers daily. The Yokohama Municipal Subway provides metro services.

This section requires expansion.

Places of interest[link]

Yokohama Marine Tower

The historic port area is Kannai. Next to the waterfront Yamashita Park is Yokohama Marine Tower, the tallest inland lighthouse in the world.^[16] Further inland lies Yokohama Chinatown, the largest Chinatown in Japan and one of the largest in the world. Nearby is Yokohama Stadium, the Silk Center, and the Yokohama Doll Museum.^[17] The Isezakichō and Noge areas offer many colourful shops and bars that, with their restaurants and stores catering to residents from China, Thailand, South Korea, and other countries, have an increasingly international flavour.

The small but fashionable Motomachi shopping area leads up to Yamate, or "The Bluff" as it used to be known, a 19th/early 20th century Westerners' settlement overlooking the harbour, scattered with foreigners' mansions. A foreigners' cemetery and the Harbour View Park (港の見える丘公園, Minato no mieru oka kōen) is in the area. Within the park are a rose garden and the Kanagawa Museum of Modern Literature.

There are various points of interest in the futuristic Minato Mirai 21 harbourside redevelopment. The highlights are the Landmark Tower which is the tallest building in Japan, Queen's Square Yokohama (a shopping mall) and the Cosmo Clock 21, which was the tallest Ferris wheel in the world when it was built in 1989 and which also doubles as "the world's biggest clock".

The Shin-Yokohama district, where the Shinkansen station is located, is some distance away from the harbour area, and features the 17,000 capacity Yokohama Arena, the Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum, and Nissan Stadium, known as the International Stadium Yokohama when it was the setting for the final for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

The city is home to the Central League baseball team, the Yokohama BayStars, and the soccer teams, Yokohama F. Marinos and Yokohama F.C.

Sankei-en is a traditional Japanese-style garden in Naka Ward.^[18] Designed by businessman Tomitaro Hara, it contains seventeen old buildings brought from all over Japan, ten of which have been declared Important National Cultural Properties.^[18]

Among the attractions are festivals and events.^[19]

Politics and government[link]

The Yokohama Municipal Assembly consists of 92 members elected from 18 Wards. The LDP has minority control with 30 seats with Democratic Party of Japan with a close 29. The mayor is Fumiko Hayashi, who succeeded Hiroshi Nakada in September 2009.

Wards[link]

A map of Yokohama's wards

Yokohama has 18 wards (ku):

Railway stations[link]

■ East Japan Railway Company

■ Tōkaidō Main Line

• – Yokohama – Totsuka –

■ Yokosuka Line

• – Yokohama – Hodogaya – Higashi-Totsuka – Totsuka –

■ Keihin-Tōhoku Line

• – Tsurumi – Shin-Koyasu – Higashi-Kanagawa – Yokohama

■ Negishi Line

• Yokohama – Sakuragichō – Kannai – Ishikawachō – Yamate – Negishi – Isogo – Shin-Sugita – Yōkōdai – Kōnandai – Hongōdai –

■ Yokohama Line

• Higashi-Kanagawa – Ōguchi – Kikuna – Shin-Yokohama – Kozukue – Kamoi – Nakayama – Tōkaichiba – Nagatsuta –

■ Nambu Line

• – Yakō –

■ Tsurumi Line

• Main Line : Tsurumi – Kokudō – Tsurumi-Ono – Bentembashi – Asano – Anzen –
• Umi-Shibaura Branch : Asano – Shin-Shibaura – Umi-Shibaura

■ Central Japan Railway Company

■ Tōkaidō Shinkansen

• – Shin-Yokohama –

■ Keihin Electric Express Railway

■ Keikyū Main Line

• – Tsurumi-Ichiba – Keikyū Tsurumi – Kagetsuen-mae – Namamugi – Keikyū Shin-Koyasu – Koyasu – Kanagawa-Shinmachi – Naka-Kido – Kanagawa – Yokohama – Tobe – Hinodechō – Koganechō – Minami-Ōta – Idogaya – Gumyōji – Kami-Ōoka – Byōbugaura – Sugita – Keikyū Tomioka – Nōkendai – Kanazawa-Bunko – Kanazawa-Hakkei –

■ Zushi Line

• Kanazawa-Hakkei – Mutsuura –

■ Tokyu Corporation

■ Tōyoko Line

• – Hiyoshi – Tsunashima – Ōkurayama – Kikuna – Myōrenji – Hakuraku – Higashi-Hakuraku – Tammachi – Yokohama

■ Meguro Line

• – Hiyoshi

■ Den-en-toshi Line

• – Tama-Plaza – Azamino – Eda – Ichigao – Fujigaoka – Aobadai – Tana – Nagatsuta –

■ Kodomonokuni Line

• Nagatsuta – Onda – Kodomonokuni

■ Sagami Railway

■ Sagami Railway Main Line

• Yokohama – Hiranumabashi – Nishi-Yokohama – Tennōchō – Hoshikawa – Wadamachi – Kamihoshikawa – Nishiya – Tsurugamine – Futamatagawa – Kibōgaoka – Mitsukyō – Seya –

■ Izumino Line

• Futamatagawa – Minami-Makigahara – Ryokuentoshi – Yayoidai – Izumino – Izumi-chūō – Yumegaoka – Shōnandai

■ Yokohama Minatomirai Railway

■ Minatomirai Line

• Yokohama – Shin-Takashima – Minato Mirai – Bashamichi – Nihon-ōdōri – Motomachi-Chūkagai

■ Yokohama City Transportation Bureau

■ Blue Line

• – Shimoiida – Tateba – Nakada – Odoriba – Totsuka – Maioka – Shimonagaya – Kaminagaya – Kōnan-Chūō – Kami-Ōoka – Gumyōji – Maita – Yoshinochō – Bandōbashi – Isezakichōjamachi – Kannai – Sakuragichō – Takashimachō – Yokohama – Mitsuzawa-shimochō – Mitsuzawa-kamichō – Katakurachō – Kishine-kōen – Shin-Yokohama – Kita Shin-Yokohama – Nippa – Nakamachidai – Center Minami – Center Kita – Nakagawa – Azamino

■ Green Line

• Nakayama – Kawawachō – Tsuzuki-Fureai-no-Oka – Center Minami – Center Kita – Kita-Yamata – Higashi-Yamata – Takata – Hiyoshi-Honchō – Hiyoshi

■ Yokohama New Transit

■ Kanazawa Seaside Line

• Shin-Sugita – Nambu-Shijō – Torihama – Namiki-Kita – Namiki-Chūō – Sachiura – Sangyō-Shinkō-Center – Fukuura – Shidai-Igakubu – Hakkeijima – Uminokōen-Shibaguchi – Uminokōen-Minamiguchi – Nojimakōen – Kanazawa-Hakkei

International relations[link]

Yokohama has sister-city relationships with nine cities worldwide.^[20]

• Constanţa, Romania
• Frankfurt, Germany^[21]
• Lyon, France^[22]
• Manila, Philippines
• Mumbai, India
• Odessa, Ukraine
• San Diego, United States
• Shanghai, China
• Vancouver, Canada^[23]

Education[link]

Yokohama Chinatown

Public elementary and middle schools are operated by the city of Yokohama. There are nine public high schools which are operated by the Yokohama City Board of Education,^[24] and a number of public high schools which are operated by the Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education.

In fiction[link]

• Yukio Mishima's novella The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea is set mainly in Yokohama. Mishima describes the city's port and its houses, and the Western influences that shaped them.
• The main setting of James Clavell's book Gai-Jin is in historical Yokohama.
• Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern book series involves a spaceship named the Yokohama.

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Hammer, Joshua (2006). Yokohama Burning: The Deadly 1923 Earthquake and Fire that Helped Forge the Path to World War II. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-6465-5 (cloth).
• Heilbrun, Jacob. "Aftershocks". The New York Times, September 17, 2006.

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Yokohama

Japan portal

• Official website (English)
• Yokohama Convention & Visitors Bureau (English)
• Yokohama's international magazine website (English)
• "At the Future Port", by Vinod Jacob (a travel report). The Hindu Business Line, July 6, 2007.
• Yokohama guide in Pictures—Minato Mirai, Chinatown, Yamashita park, Sakuragicho, Stadium, Cosmo World
• Yokohama harbor, Marine survey chart (published 1874), Digital Gallery, National Archives of Japan

Articles Related to Yokohama v t e Kanagawa Prefecture Yokohama (capital city) Wards Aoba Asahi Hodogaya Isogo Izumi Kanagawa Kanazawa Kōhoku Kōnan Midori Minami Naka Nishi Sakae Seya Totsuka Tsurumi Tsuzuki Kawasaki Wards Asao Kawasaki Miyamae Nakahara Saiwai Takatsu Tama Sagamihara Wards Chūō Midori Minami Other cities Atsugi Ayase Chigasaki Ebina Fujisawa Hadano Hiratsuka Isehara Kamakura Minamiashigara Miura Odawara Yamato Yokosuka Zama Zushi Aikō District Aikawa Kiyokawa Ashigarakami District Kaisei Matsuda Nakai Ōi Yamakita Ashigarashimo District Hakone Manazuru Yugawara Kōza District Samukawa Miura District Hayama Naka District Ninomiya Ōiso Other areas Shōnan    Geographic locale Lat. and Long. 35°27′N 139°38′E / 35.45°N 139.633°E / 35.45; 139.633 v t e Metropolitan cities of Japan Tokyo Metropolis Special wards of Tokyo (Adachi Arakawa Bunkyo Chiyoda Chūō Edogawa Itabashi Katsushika Kita Koto Meguro Minato Nakano Nerima Ōta Setagaya Shibuya Shinagawa Shinjuku Suginami Sumida Toshima Taitō) Designated cities Chiba Fukuoka Hamamatsu Hiroshima Kawasaki Kitakyushu Kobe Kumamoto Kyoto Nagoya Niigata Okayama Osaka Sagamihara Saitama Sakai Sapporo Sendai Shizuoka Yokohama Core cities Akita Amagasaki Aomori Asahikawa Fukuyama Funabashi Gifu Hakodate Higashiōsaka Himeji Iwaki Kagoshima Kanazawa Kashiwa Kawagoe Kōchi Kōriyama Kurashiki Kurume Maebashi Matsuyama Miyazaki Morioka Nagano Nagasaki Nara Nishinomiya Ōita Okazaki Ōtsu Shimonoseki Takamatsu Takasaki Takatsuki Toyama Toyohashi Toyonaka Toyota Utsunomiya Wakayama Yokosuka Special cities Akashi Atsugi Chigasaki Fuji Fukui Hachinohe Hirakata Hiratsuka Ibaraki Ichinomiya Isesaki Jōetsu Kakogawa Kasugai Kasukabe Kawaguchi Kishiwada Kōfu Koshigaya Kumagaya Kure Matsue Matsumoto Mito Nagaoka Neyagawa Numazu Odawara Ōta Sasebo Sōka Suita Takarazuka Tokorozawa Tottori Tsukuba Yamagata Yamato Yao Yokkaichi Prefectural capitals (not included above) Fukushima Tsu Naha Saga Tokushima Yamaguchi v t e World's fifty most-populous urban areas Tokyo–Yokohama Delhi Seoul–Incheon Jakarta Manila Mumbai New York São Paulo Mexico City Shanghai Cairo Osaka–Kobe–Kyoto Kolkata Shenzhen Los Angeles Beijing Moscow Karachi Istanbul Buenos Aires Dongguan Rio de Janeiro Guangzhou–Foshan Dhaka Lagos Paris Nagoya Chicago Kinshasa Lima Bogotá London Taipei Ho Chi Minh City Chennai Johannesburg–East Rand Bangalore Lahore Tehran Ruhr Area (Essen–Düsseldorf) Bangkok Hong Kong Hyderabad Tianjin Chonqing Bandung Baghdad Santiago Kuala Lumpur Toronto–Hamilton

State of Japan 日本国 Nippon-koku Nihon-koku
Flag Imperial Seal
Anthem:  Kimigayo (君が代)
Government Seal of Japan 五七桐 (Go-Shichi no Kiri?)
Capital (and largest city)		Tokyo (de facto) 35°41′N 139°46′E / 35.683°N 139.767°E / 35.683; 139.767
Official language(s)		None[1]
Recognised regional languages		Aynu itak, Ryukyuan languages, Eastern Japanese, Western Japanese, and several other Japanese dialects
National language		Japanese
Ethnic groups		98.5% Japanese, 0.5% Korean, 0.4% Chinese, 0.6% other[2]
Demonym		Japanese
Government		Unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy
-	Emperor	Akihito
-	Prime Minister	Yoshihiko Noda
Legislature		Diet
-	Upper house	House of Councillors
-	Lower house	House of Representatives
Formation
-	National Foundation Day	11 February 660 BC[3]
-	Meiji Constitution	29 November 1890
-	Current constitution	3 May 1947
-	Treaty of San Francisco	28 April 1952
Area
-	Total	377,944 km2 [4](62nd) 145,925 sq mi
-	Water (%)	0.8
Population
-	2011 estimate	127,799,000[5] (10th)
-	2010 census	128,056,026[6]
-	Density	337.1/km2 (36th) 873.1/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$4.440 trillion[7] (4th)
-	Per capita	$34,739[7] (25th)
GDP (nominal)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$5.869 trillion[7] (3rd)
-	Per capita	$45,920[7] (18th)
Gini		37.6 (2008)[8]
HDI (2011)		0.901[9] (very high) (12th)
Currency		Yen (¥) / En (円 or 圓) (JPY)
Time zone		JST (UTC+9)
-	Summer (DST)	not observed (UTC+9)
Date formats		yyyy-mm-dd yyyy年m月d日 Era yy年m月d日 (CE−1988)
Drives on the		left
ISO 3166 code		JP
Internet TLD		.jp
Calling code		81

This article contains Japanese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of kanji and kana.

Japan ⁱ/dʒəˈpæn/ (Japanese: 日本 Nihon or Nippon; formally 日本国  Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku, literally the State of Japan) is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".

Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.

Archaeological research indicates that people lived in Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other nations followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War and World War I allowed Japan to expand its empire during a period of increasing militarism. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since adopting its revised constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament called the Diet.

A major economic power,^[2] Japan has the world's third-largest economy by nominal GDP and fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the world's fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer. Although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military force in self-defense and peacekeeping roles. After Singapore, Japan has the lowest homicide rate (including attempted homicide) in the world.^[10] According to both UN and WHO estimates, Japan has the longest life expectancy of any country in the world. According to the UN, it has the third lowest infant mortality rate.^[11][12]

Etymology[link]

The English word Japan is an exonym. The Japanese names for Japan are Nippon (にっぽん^?)  listen (help·info) and Nihon (にほん^?)  listen (help·info); both names are written using the kanji 日本. The Japanese name Nippon is used for most official purposes, including on Japanese yen, postage stamps, and for many international sporting events. Nihon is a more casual term and is used in contemporary speech.

Japanese people refer to themselves as Nihonjin (日本人^?) and to their language as Nihongo (日本語^?). Both Nippon and Nihon mean "sun-origin" and are often translated as Land of the Rising Sun. This nomenclature comes from Japanese missions to Imperial China and refers to Japan's eastward position relative to China. Before Nihon came into official use, Japan was known as Wa (倭^?) or Wakoku (倭国^?).^[13]

The English word for Japan came to the West via early trade routes. The early Mandarin or possibly Wu Chinese (吳語) word for Japan was recorded by Marco Polo as Cipangu. In modern Shanghainese, a Wu dialect, the pronunciation of characters 日本 'Japan' is Zeppen [zəʔpən]. The old Malay word for Japan, Jepang, was borrowed from a Chinese language – Jih'pen'kuo^[14]—, and this Malay word was encountered by Portuguese traders in Malacca in the 16th century. Portuguese traders were the first to bring the word to Europe.^[15] It was first recorded in English in a 1565 letter, spelled Giapan.^[16]

History[link]

Prehistory and ancient history[link]

The Golden Hall and five-storey pagoda of Hōryū-ji, among the oldest wooden buildings in the world, National Treasures, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site

A Paleolithic culture around 30,000 BC constitutes the first known habitation of the Japanese archipelago. This was followed from around 14,000 BC (the start of the Jōmon period) by a Mesolithic to Neolithic semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer culture, who include ancestors of both the contemporary Ainu people and Yamato people,^[17][18] characterized by pit dwelling and rudimentary agriculture.^[19] Decorated clay vessels from this period are some of the oldest surviving examples of pottery in the world. Around 300 BC, the Yayoi people began to enter the Japanese islands, intermingling with the Jōmon.^[20] The Yayoi period, starting around 500 BC, saw the introduction of practices like wet-rice farming,^[21] a new style of pottery,^[22] and metallurgy, introduced from China and Korea.^[23]

Japan first appears in written history in the Chinese Book of Han.^[24] According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, the most powerful kingdom on the archipelago during the 3rd century was called Yamataikoku. Buddhism was first introduced to Japan from Baekje of Korea, but the subsequent development of Japanese Buddhism was primarily influenced by China.^[25] Despite early resistance, Buddhism was promoted by the ruling class and gained widespread acceptance beginning in the Asuka period (592–710).^[26]

The Nara period (710–784) of the 8th century marked the emergence of a strong Japanese state, centered on an imperial court in Heijō-kyō (modern Nara). The Nara period is characterized by the appearance of a nascent literature as well as the development of Buddhist-inspired art and architecture.^[27] The smallpox epidemic of 735–737 is believed to have killed as much as one-third of Japan's population.^[28] In 784, Emperor Kammu moved the capital from Nara to Nagaoka-kyō before relocating it to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto) in 794.

Byōdō-in (1053) is a temple of Pure Land Buddhism. It was registered to the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This marked the beginning of the Heian period (794–1185), during which a distinctly indigenous Japanese culture emerged, noted for its art, poetry and prose. Lady Murasaki's The Tale of Genji and the lyrics of Japan's national anthem Kimigayo were written during this time.^[29]

Buddhism began to spread during the Heian era chiefly through two major sects, Tendai by Saichō, and Shingon by Kūkai. Pure Land Buddhism greatly becomes popular in the latter half of the 11th century.

Feudal era[link]

Japan's feudal era was characterized by the emergence and dominance of a ruling class of warriors, the samurai. In 1185, following the defeat of the Taira clan, sung in the epic Tale of Heike, samurai Minamoto no Yoritomo was appointed shogun and established a base of power in Kamakura. After his death, the Hōjō clan came to power as regents for the shoguns. The Zen school of Buddhism was introduced from China in the Kamakura period (1185–1333) and became popular among the samurai class.^[30] The Kamakura shogunate repelled Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281, but was eventually overthrown by Emperor Go-Daigo. Go-Daigo was himself defeated by Ashikaga Takauji in 1336.

Ginkaku-ji in Kyoto (Higashiyama period in Muromachi Period, c. 1489). It was registered as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto".

Ashikaga Takauji establishes the shogunate in Muromachi, Kyoto. It is a start of Muromachi Period (1336–1573). The Ashikaga shogunate receives glory in the age of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and the culture based on Zen Buddhism (art of Miyabi) has prospered. It evolves to Higashiyama Culture, and has prospered until the 16th century. On the other hand, the succeeding Ashikaga shogunate failed to control the feudal warlords (daimyo), and a civil war (the Ōnin War) began in 1467, opening the century-long Sengoku period ("Warring States").^[31]

During the 16th century, traders and Jesuit missionaries from Portugal reached Japan for the first time, initiating direct commercial and cultural exchange between Japan and the West. Oda Nobunaga conquered many other daimyo using European technology and firearms; after he was assassinated in 1582, his successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified the nation in 1590. Hideyoshi invaded Korea twice, but following defeats by Korean and Ming Chinese forces and Hideyoshi's death, Japanese troops were withdrawn in 1598.^[32] This age is called Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1573–1603).

Tokugawa Ieyasu served as regent for Hideyoshi's son and used his position to gain political and military support. When open war broke out, he defeated rival clans in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Ieyasu was appointed shogun in 1603 and established the Tokugawa shogunate at Edo (modern Tokyo).^[33] The Tokugawa shogunate enacted measures including buke shohatto, as a code of conduct to control the autonomous daimyo;^[34] and in 1639, the isolationist sakoku ("closed country") policy that spanned the two and a half centuries of tenuous political unity known as the Edo period (1603–1868).^[35] The study of Western sciences, known as rangaku, continued through contact with the Dutch enclave at Dejima in Nagasaki. The Edo period also gave rise to kokugaku ("national studies"), the study of Japan by the Japanese.^[36]

Modern era[link]

On 31 March 1854, Commodore Matthew Perry and the "Black Ships" of the United States Navy forced the opening of Japan to the outside world with the Convention of Kanagawa. Subsequent similar treaties with Western countries in the Bakumatsu period brought economic and political crises. The resignation of the shogun led to the Boshin War and the establishment of a centralized state nominally unified under the Emperor (the Meiji Restoration).^[37]

Adopting Western political, judicial and military institutions, the Cabinet organized the Privy Council, introduced the Meiji Constitution, and assembled the Imperial Diet. The Meiji Restoration transformed the Empire of Japan into an industrialized world power that pursued military conflict to expand its sphere of influence. After victories in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), Japan gained control of Taiwan, Korea, and the southern half of Sakhalin.^[38] Japan's population grew from 35 million in 1873 to 70 million in 1935.^[39]

The Meiji Emperor (1868–1912), in whose name imperial rule was restored at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate

The early 20th century saw a brief period of "Taishō democracy" overshadowed by increasing expansionism and militarization. World War I enabled Japan, on the side of the victorious Allies, to widen its influence and territorial holdings. It continued its expansionist policy by occupying Manchuria in 1931; as a result of international condemnation of this occupation, Japan resigned from the League of Nations two years later. In 1936, Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Nazi Germany, and the 1940 Tripartite Pact made it one of the Axis Powers.^[40] In 1941, Japan negotiated the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact.^[41]

The Empire of Japan invaded other parts of China in 1937, precipitating the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). In 1940, the Empire then invaded French Indochina, after which the United States placed an oil embargo on Japan.^[42] On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor and declared war, bringing the US into World War II.^[43][44] After the Soviet invasion of Manchuria and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, Japan agreed to an unconditional surrender on 15 August.^[45] The war cost Japan and the rest of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere millions of lives and left much of the nation's industry and infrastructure destroyed. The Allies (led by the US) repatriated millions of ethnic Japanese from colonies and military camps throughout Asia, largely eliminating the Japanese empire and restoring the independence of its conquered territories.^[46] The Allies also convened the International Military Tribunal for the Far East on May 3, 1946 to prosecute some Japanese leaders for war crimes. However, the bacteriological research units and members of the imperial family involved in the war were exonerated from criminal prosecutions by the Supreme Allied Commander despite calls for trials for both groups.^[47]

In 1947, Japan adopted a new constitution emphasizing liberal democratic practices. The Allied occupation ended with the Treaty of San Francisco in 1952^[48] and Japan was granted membership in the United Nations in 1956. Japan later achieved rapid growth to become the second-largest economy in the world, until surpassed by China in 2010. This ended in the mid-1990s when Japan suffered a major recession. In the beginning of the 21st century, positive growth has signaled a gradual economic recovery.^[49] On 11 March 2011, Japan suffered the strongest earthquake in its recorded history; this triggered the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, one of the worst disasters in the history of nuclear power.^[50]

Politics[link]

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko

Japan is a constitutional monarchy where the power of the Emperor is very limited. As a ceremonial figurehead, he is defined by the constitution as "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people". 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.^[51] Akihito is the current Emperor of Japan; Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan, stands as next in line to the throne.

Japan's legislative organ is the National Diet, a bicameral parliament. The Diet consists of a House of Representatives with 480 seats, elected by popular vote every four years or when dissolved, and a House of Councillors of 242 seats, whose popularly elected members serve six-year terms. There is universal suffrage for adults over 20 years of age,^[2] with a secret ballot for all elected offices.^[51] In 2009, the social liberal Democratic Party of Japan took power after 54 years of the liberal conservative Liberal Democratic Party's rule.^[52]

The Prime Minister of Japan is the head of government and is appointed by the Emperor after being designated by the Diet from among its members. The Prime Minister is the head of the Cabinet and appoints and dismisses the Ministers of State. Naoto Kan was designated by the Diet to replace Yukio Hatoyama as the Prime Minister of Japan on June 2, 2010.^[53] Although the Prime Minister is formally appointed by the Emperor, the Constitution of Japan explicitly requires the Emperor to appoint whoever is designated by the Diet. Emperor Akihito formally appointed Kan as the country's 94th Prime Minister on 8 June.^[54]

Historically influenced by Chinese law, the Japanese legal system developed independently during the Edo period through texts such as Kujikata Osadamegaki.^[55] However, since the late 19th century the judicial system has been largely based on the civil law of Europe, notably Germany. For example, in 1896, the Japanese government established a civil code based on a draft of the German Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch; with post–World War II modifications, the code remains in effect.^[56] Statutory law originates in Japan's legislature and has the rubber stamp of the Emperor. The Constitution requires that the Emperor promulgate legislation passed by the Diet, without specifically giving him the power to oppose legislation.^[51] Japan's court system is divided into four basic tiers: the Supreme Court and three levels of lower courts.^[57] The main body of Japanese statutory law is called the Six Codes.^[58]

Foreign relations and military[link]

JDS Kongō (DDG-173) guided missile destroyer launching a Standard Missile 3 anti-ballistic missile.

Japan is a member of the G8, APEC, and "ASEAN Plus Three", and is a participant in the East Asia Summit. Japan signed a security pact with Australia in March 2007^[59] and with India in October 2008.^[60] It is the world's third largest donor of official development assistance after the United States and France, donating US$9.48 billion in 2009.^[61]

Japan has close economic and military relations with the United States; the US-Japan security alliance acts as the cornerstone of the nation's foreign policy.^[62] A member state of the United Nations since 1956, Japan has served as a non-permanent Security Council member for a total of 19 years, most recently for 2009 and 2010. It is one of the G4 nations seeking permanent membership in the Security Council.^[63]

Japan is engaged in several territorial disputes with its neighbors: with Russia over the South Kuril Islands, with South Korea over the Liancourt Rocks, with China and Taiwan over the Senkaku Islands, and with China over the EEZ around Okinotorishima.^[64] Japan also faces an ongoing dispute with North Korea over the latter's abduction of Japanese citizens and its nuclear weapons and missile program (see also Six-party talks).^[65]

Japan maintains one of the largest military budgets of any country in the world.^[66] Japan contributed non-combatant troops to the Iraq War but subsequently withdrew its forces.^[67] The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force is a regular participant in RIMPAC maritime exercises.^[68]

Japan's military is restricted by Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, which renounces Japan's right to declare war or use military force in international disputes. Japan's military is governed by the Ministry of Defense, and primarily consists of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). The forces have been recently used in peacekeeping operations; the deployment of troops to Iraq marked the first overseas use of Japan's military since World War II.^[67] Nippon Keidanren has called on the government to lift the ban on arms exports so that Japan can join multinational projects such as the Joint Strike Fighter.^[69]

Administrative divisions[link]

Japan consists of forty-seven prefectures, each overseen by an elected governor, legislature and administrative bureaucracy. Each prefecture is further divided into cities, towns and villages.^[70] The nation is currently undergoing administrative reorganization by merging many of the cities, towns and villages with each other. This process will reduce the number of sub-prefecture administrative regions and is expected to cut administrative costs.^[71]

Geography[link]

Topographic map of the Japanese Archipelago.

Hanami celebrations under the cherry blossoms in Ueno Park, Tokyo.

Autumn maple leaves (momiji) at Kongōbu-ji on Mount Kōya, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Japan has a total of 6,852 islands extending along the Pacific coast of East Asia.^[72][73] The country, including all of the islands it controls, lies between latitudes 24° and 46°N, and longitudes 122° and 146°E. The main islands, from north to south, are Hokkaidō, Honshū, Shikoku and Kyūshū. The Ryūkyū Islands, including Okinawa, are a chain to the south of Kyūshū. Together they are often known as the Japanese Archipelago.^[74]

About 73 percent of Japan is forested, mountainous, and unsuitable for agricultural, industrial, or residential use.^[2][75] As a result, the habitable zones, mainly located in coastal areas, have extremely high population densities. Japan is one of the most densely populated countries in the world.^[76]

The islands of Japan are located in a volcanic zone on the Pacific Ring of Fire. They are primarily the result of large oceanic movements occurring over hundreds of millions of years from the mid-Silurian to the Pleistocene as a result of the subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate beneath the continental Amurian Plate and Okinawa Plate to the south, and subduction of the Pacific Plate under the Okhotsk Plate to the north. Japan was originally attached to the eastern coast of the Eurasian continent. The subducting plates pulled Japan eastward, opening the Sea of Japan around 15 million years ago.^[77]

Japan has 108 active volcanoes. Destructive earthquakes, often resulting in tsunami, occur several times each century.^[78] The 1923 Tokyo earthquake killed over 140,000 people.^[79] More recent major quakes are the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, a 9.0-magnitude^[80] quake which hit Japan on 11 March 2011, and triggered a large tsunami.^[50] On 24 May 2012, 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of northearstern Japan.No tsunami is expected though.^[81]

Climate[link]

The climate of Japan is predominantly temperate, but varies greatly from north to south. Japan's geographical features divide it into six principal climatic zones: Hokkaidō, Sea of Japan, Central Highland, Seto Inland Sea, Pacific Ocean, and Ryūkyū Islands. The northernmost zone, Hokkaido, has a humid continental climate with long, cold winters and very warm to cool summers. Precipitation is not heavy, but the islands usually develop deep snowbanks in the winter.^[82]

In the Sea of Japan zone on Honshū's west coast, northwest winter winds bring heavy snowfall. In the summer, the region is cooler than the Pacific area, though it sometimes experiences extremely hot temperatures because of the foehn wind. The Central Highland has a typical inland humid continental climate, with large temperature differences between summer and winter, and between day and night; precipitation is light, though winters are usually snowy. The mountains of the Chūgoku and Shikoku regions shelter the Seto Inland Sea from seasonal winds, bringing mild weather year-round.^[83]

The Pacific coast features a humid subtropical climate that experiences milder winters with occasional snowfall and hot, humid summers because of the southeast seasonal wind. The Ryukyu Islands have a subtropical climate, with warm winters and hot summers. Precipitation is very heavy, especially during the rainy season. The generally humid, temperate climate exhibits marked seasonal variation such as the blooming of the spring cherry blossoms, the calls of the summer cicada and fall foliage colors that are celebrated in art and literature.^[84]

The average winter temperature in Japan is 5.1 °C (41.2 °F) and the average summer temperature is 25.2 °C (77.4 °F).^[85] The highest temperature ever measured in Japan—40.9 °C (105.6 °F)—was recorded on 16 August 2007.^[86] The main rainy season begins in early May in Okinawa, and the rain front gradually moves north until reaching Hokkaidō in late July. In most of Honshū, the rainy season begins before the middle of June and lasts about six weeks. In late summer and early autumn, typhoons often bring heavy rain.^[87]