History

Throughout much of its history, Japan isolated itself from the rest of the world as decreed by its rulers. However, the nation burst into the modern age in the late 19th century, prodded by the Western powers. Japan skyrocketed into competition with the West, as Asia’s first industrial economy. Clumsy attempts to match Western colonialism led the country into a fatal confrontation with China in the 1930s and then with the US, followed by the Pacific War (1941-1945). The pivotal event in modern times in Tokyo was the destruction of the city by US incendiary bombs in the spring of 1945, and the subsequent reconstruction. Today, a powerless emperor, 71 years old and occasionally seen in public, inhabits a palace surrounded by moats in central Tokyo. Catch him if you can, when he appears behind a bullet-proof screen on a palace balcony at New Year (3rd January) together with other members of the world’s oldest royal family. Japan is a rare case in Asia—others are Thailand and Nepal— where monarchy survives as an institution.

Politics

Japan is a parliamentary democracy with a free, if trammelled, press. Its mass circulation newspapers, having their head offices in Tokyo, print as many as 10 million copies a day. Elections are always won by conservatives, thanks to an electoral system that favours the provinces, where conservative sentiment runs deep. That said, Japan is remarkable for its political stability. Given its history, it is surprising to find that the nation is seen as “an unsinkable aircraft carrier” by the US, to quote a pro-American premier of the 1980s, Yasuhiro Nakasone. Officials note that there are currently more US soldiers in Japan (about 50,000) than anywhere else in the world except Iraq. They’re based here under a security treaty between the US and Japan, revised in 1960, which is the foundation of Japan’s diplomacy and prosperity.

Religion

There is no official religion. Most Japanese subscribe to a number of religions, hedging their bets between the Shinto faith, Buddhism and Christianity. Japanese couples usually marry in Shinto shrines and have their funerals in Buddhist temples. These Buddhist last rites are costly, distinctive and dignified.

Economy

The Japanese are good with their hands, as can be seen in their traditional arts and crafts and their much emulated interior design. Manual dexterity lies at the heart of their biggest achievements today in making cars, electronic appliances and all their component parts. The economy now is slow-moving by the standards of 40 years ago, when Japan was much like China is today and showed very rapid, sometimes chaotic, growth. Things have calmed down now. The big companies— the Hondas of this world—are known for their quality products and reliability. Japan’s millions of smaller companies, many of them based in Tokyo, are the key to the survival of this country because they develop the new technology.

Population

Japan has a total population of 127 million. Of that, only 1.2% are non-Japanese. With the population due to decline in 2007, for the first time in recent history, some say that the only way to keep growth going in the nation is to let in immigrants and make Tokyo cosmopolitan. A trickle of outsiders gets in.