Japan
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[[Yokohama]] is the largest incorporated city.
2 Japan was founded on this date by the legendary [[Emperor Jimmu]], first emperor of Japan; it is seen as largely symbolic.
{{otheruses1|the country in East Asia}}
{{nihongo|Japan|[[Japanese language|Japanese:]] 日本/日本国|Nihon or Nippon,The westernized pronunciation is believed to have arisen from that of a south Chinese dialect, in which it is pronounced /jāk-bəng/{{fact}} officially Nihon-koku or Nippon-koku}} is an [[Island nation|island country]] in [[East Asia]]. Located in the [[Pacific Ocean]], it lies to the east of [[China]], [[Korea]], and [[Russia]], stretching from the [[Sea of Okhotsk]] in the north to the [[East China Sea]] in the south. The [[kanji|characters]] that make up [[Names of Japan|Japans name]] literally mean “Suns Origin”, thus Japan is also sometimes known as “The Land of the Rising Sun”, a name that comes from the countrys eastward position relative to [[China]]. Its [[capital]] is [[Tokyo]].
At 377,872 [[square kilometre]]s (145,898 [[square mile|sq mi]]), Japan is the [[List of countries and outlying territories by area|62nd largest country]] by area. It encompasses over 3,000 islands, the largest of which are [[Honshū]], [[Hokkaidō]], [[Kyūshū]] and [[Shikoku]]. Most of Japans islands are mountainous, and many are [[volcano|volcanic]], including the highest peak, [[Mount Fuji]]. It has the worlds [[List of countries by population|10th largest population]], with nearly 128 million people. The [[Greater Tokyo Area]], with over 30 million residents, is the [[Largest Metropolitan Area|largest metropolitan area]] in the world.
[[Archaeology|Archaeological]] research indicates that people were living on the islands of Japan as early as the [[Upper Paleolithic|upper paleolithic]] period. The first written mention of Japan begins with brief appearances in [[History of China|Chinese history]] texts from the 1st century [[AD]]. Japanese history has been marked by alternating periods of long isolation and radical influence from the outside world. Its culture today is a mixture of outside influences and internal developments.
Since it adopted its [[Constitution of Japan|constitution]] on [[May 3]], [[1947]], Japan has maintained a [[unitary state|unitary]] [[constitutional monarchy]] with an [[Emperor of Japan|emperor]] and an elected parliament, the [[Diet of Japan|Diet]], which is one of the oldest legislative bodies in [[Asia]]. Japan is an economic [[world power]] with the worlds [[List of countries by GDP (nominal)|second largest economy]], and is the sixth largest [[export]]er and [[import]]er and is a member of the [[United Nations]], [[G8]], [[G4 nations|G4]], and [[APEC]].
==History==
===Jomon and Yayoi eras===
The first signs of civilization appeared around [[10th millennium BC|10,000 BC]] with the [[Jomon]] culture, characterized by a [[mesolithic]] to [[neolithic]] semi-sedentary [[hunter-gatherer]] lifestyle of pit dwelling and a rudimentary form of [[agriculture]].Many believe that the [[Ainu people|Ainu]], an indigenous people found mostly on the northern island of [[Hokkaidō]], are descended from the Jomon and thus represent descendants of the first inhabitants of Japan. The Jomon people made decorated clay vessels, often with plaited patterns. Some of the oldest surviving examples of [[pottery]] in the world may be found in Japan.Pottery in Japan:
*”The earliest known pottery comes from Japan, and is dated to about 10,500 BC. China and Indo-China follow shortly afterwards” (“Past Worlds” The Times Atlas of Archeology. p. 100, 1995).
*”That end of the Ice Age was accompanied by the first of the two most decisive changes in Japanese history: the invention of pottery. In the usual experience of archaeologists, inventions flow from mainlands to islands, and small peripheral societies arent supposed to contribute revolutionary advances to the rest of the world. It therefore astonished archaeologists to discover that the worlds oldest known pottery was made in Japan 12,700 years ago.” Jared Diamond, [
*”Japan, however, was the seat of the earliest known development of ceramics” (“The History and Geography of Human Genes”, p249, [[Cavalli-Sforza]] ISBN 0-691-08750-4.
*Alternatively, the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]s Timeline of Art History [
The [[Yayoi period]], starting around 300 BC, marked the influx of new practices such as [[rice]] farming and [[iron]] and [[bronze]]-making brought by migrants from continental [[East Asia]].”[
===Classical era===
[[Image:TodaijiDaibutsu0224.jpg|150px|thumb|right|The Great [[Buddha]] at [[Todaiji|Tōdaiji]], [[Nara, Nara|Nara]], originally cast in 752]]
The [[Yamato period]], from