Location: Eastern Asia (36 00 N, 138 00 E)
Land Area: 374,744 square kilometers
Coastline: 29,751 kilometers
Highest Point: 3,776 meters (Mount Fujiyama)
Lowest Point: -4 meters (Hachiro-gata)

Gross Domestic Product (GDP): $3.867 trillion (2005 est.)
GDP Per Capita: $30,400 (2005 est.)
Number of Workers: 66.4 million (2005 est.)
Unemployment Rate: 4.3% (2005 est.)
Industries: Electronics, vehicles, steel, machine tools, chemicals, textiles
Currency: Yen (JPN) What does it look like?

Type of Government: Constitutional monarchy with a elected parliament
Head of State: Emporer Akihito (since 7 January 1989)
Head of Government: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (since 26 April 2001)
Capital City: Tokyo
Legal Age to Vote: 20
Flag Design: white with large red disk in the center, representing the sun.
Official Language: Japanese.
Religions: Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16%, including Christian 0.7%.

Japan was founded in 660 B.C. by Emperor Jimmu. After being defeated in World War 2, Japan has evolved and grown into the world's 2nd largest economy, becoming a leader in the high-tech and automotive industries. Japan has been in a recession since the early 1990's, but is giving signs of economic growth.