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 250 years
this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous
culture. Following the Treaty of Kanagawa with the United States 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 1933 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, actual power rests in networks of
powerful politicians, bureaucrats, and business executives. 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. In 2005, Japan began a two-year term as a non-permanent
member of the UN Security Council.
Location: Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan,
east of the Korean Peninsula
Population: 127,417,244 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 14.3% (male 9,328,584/female 8,866,772)
15-64
years: 66.2% (male 42,462,533/female 41,942,835)
65 years and
over: 19.5% (male 10,435,284/female 14,381,236) (2005 est.)
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