The People of Japan
Welcome to Japan!
One this page you will learn about the history and people of the shimaguni - Japan. The topics that will be covered on this page focus on the historical influences of Japan, followed by racial and ethnic breakdown, languages, religions, and finally the government of Japan.​
Historical Figures & Periods
Japan's historical figures have influenced and shaped the country into what it is today through strife, assassinations, assassination attempts, war, and times of peace. These extraordinary individuals - Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu - have been remembered for how their actions led to a powerful and united Japan. Throughout Japan's history, two notable periods were the Meiji Era - or Restoration - and the demilitarization after World War II.
Feudal Era (12th - 19th Century)
In the Feudal Era, the samurai were the ruling class, and the most notorious samurai - Oda Nobunaga - unified most of the country before his assassination in 1582 (World Travel Guide, n.d.). Oda Nobunaga's successor - Toyotomi Hideyoshi - was successfully able to fulfill Nobunaga's wish for a united Japan in 1590 (World Travel Guide, n.d.).
Edo Period/ Tokagawa Shogunate (1603 - 1867)
The Edo Period started in 1600, when Tokugawa Ieyasu became the shogun - the military governor of Japan - after defeating a Western Army (World Travel Guide, n.d.). In the 1630s, Japan established the "isolation sakoku (locked country) policy" that secluded Japan from the rest of the world and enforced hostility toward foreigners and foreign trade (World Travel Guide, n.d.; Watanabe, Masamoto, Masai, Latz, Toyoda, Hijino, Hurst, Notehelfer, Sakamoto, & Jansen, 2021a). While hostility for foreigners and foreign trade was at an all-time high, sakoku established 300 years of peace in Japan of the feudal system (Watanabe et al, 2021a).
Meiji Restoration (1850 - 1945)
The Meiji Period of Japan - 1868 to 1945 - was a time of revolutionary change within the country that focused on social and economic changes that eventually led to Japan becoming a world power (Watanabe et al, 2021a). The revolutionary changes started when the United States Navy forced Japan to open its borders in 1854 and led to the establishment of imperial Japan, which focused on a centralized state under the emperor (World Travel Guide, n.d., Watanabe et al, 2021a).
Post-WWII
After the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan - in Hiroshima and Nagasaki - in August of 1945, the Japanese government agreed to surrender and the formal surrender occurred on September 2, 2915, on the USS Missouri (Watanabe et al, 2021a). Japan was occupied by Allied Powers from 1945 - 1952 when Japan signed the Potsdam Declaration that focused on the demilitarization of Japan "so that it would not again become a danger to peace", the enablement of democracy so that "no particular form of government would be forced upon the Japan" (Watanabe et al, 2021a). This policy allowed for the development of a political system that allowed for individual rights to be protected. It also provided the opportunity for Japan to establish a sustainable economy for the first time that would support the people (Watanabe et al. 2021a).
Oda Nobunaga
(The Famous People, n.d.)
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
(Capsule Computer, n.d.)
(Watanabe et al, 2021b)
Ethnic Groups in Japan
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Japanese is the dominant ethnicity within Japan, comprising over 97.9% of the overall population in Japan (Central Intelligence Agency, 2021).
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Yamato Japanese (approximately 123,900,000 people) are the residents from the mainland of Japan, and around 98% of the Japanese people identify as being Yamato (Sousa, 2019).
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Ryukyuan Japanese (approximately 1,300,000 people) is indigenous to the Ryukyu Island chain that stretches from the island of Kyushu to Taiwan (Sousa, 2019).
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Ainu (approximately 25,000) are the indigenous people located on the island of Hokkaido, but many have assimilated into the Yamato population (Sousa, 2019; Watanabe et al, 2021a).
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Chinese and Korean ethnic groups make up less than 1% of the population in Japan. With Chinese making up approximately 0.6% and Korean at 0.4% (Central Intelligence Agency, 2021).
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The other ethnic groups that make up the remaining 1.1% of Japan's population include Filipino, Vietnamese, and Brazilian (Central Intelligence Agency, 2021).
Languages
Spoken Language:
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National Language: Japanese
Written Languages:
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Kana
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Kanji
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Japan did not have its written language until after the 4th century CE, in which Chinese characters - called kanji - were used to write in Japanese (Watanabe et al, 2021a). By the 9th century, the Japanese people used two syllables - kana - to express the written language (Watanabe et al, 2021a).
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In the modern-day Japanese language, kanji and kana are used in a combination of 2,000 characters vocabulary with tens of thousands of English words (Watanabe et al, 2019).
Religions
Shintoism is the indigenous polytheistic religion of Japan and approximately 69% of the population actively practice (Central Intelligence Agency, 2021).
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Approximately 66.7% of the population practice Buddhism (Central Intelligence Agency, 2021).
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It is estimated approximately 1.5% of Japan's population practices Christianity (Central Intelligence Agency, 2021).
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6.9% of the population practice other religions (Central Intelligence Agency, 2021).
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Total exceeds 100% because many people practice both Shintoism and Buddhism (Central Intelligence Agency, 2021)
The Torri Gates
Governmental Entities
Japan has a parliamentary constitutional monarch that consists of separate but equal parts of the government that includes an executive, legislative, and judiciary branch (Country Reports, 2021).
Executive Branch
In Japan, the executive branch of government consists of the Head of State, Head of Government, and Cabinet members appointed by the Prime Minister of Japan (Country Report, 2021).
Unlike other positions within the government, the head of state position is a hereditary role upheld by the monarchy, and as of May 2019, Emperor NARUHITO holds the position (Country Report, 2021). Emperor NARUHITO's duties involve formalities, like appointing the prime minister, chief justice of the Supreme Court, convoking session of the Diet, dispersing information about laws and treats, and presenting state honors (Watanabe et al, 2021a).
The head of government - the Prime Minister of Japan - is usually the leader of the House of Representatives and is determined through an election in the Diet (Country Report, 2021). The current Prime Minister of Japan is SUGA Yoshihide, who was appointed in September 2020 (Cabinet of Public Relations Office, n.d.).
Emperor NARUHITO
SUGA Yoshihide (Cabinet of Public Relations Office, n.d.)
Prime Minister SUGA announced his resignation on September 2, 2021
(Central Intelligence Agency, 2021)
Legislative Branch
Japan's legislative branch is known as the National Diet - or kokkai - which consists of two different houses, the House of Representative and the House of Councillors (Country Report, 2021).
The House of Representatives, or Shugi-in, is the lower house which consists of 465 members who serve a 4-year term and are elected by popular vote (Country Report, 2021). The most recent election was in 2017, with a new election opportunities coming on October 21, 2021 (Country Report, 2021).
The House of Councillors, or Sangi-in, is the upper house that consists of 242 members (Country Report, 2021). The most recent election for the House of Councillors was conducted in July 2019, with members serving a six-year term (Country Report, 2021).
The National Diet in Tokyo, Japan (Watanabe et al, 2021a)
Judicial Branch
The judicial branch of Japan consists of a three-tier system and involves five types of courts: the Supreme Court, High Courts, District Courts, Family Courts, and Summary Courts (Country Report, 2021).
The top-tier court is Japan's Supreme Court - or Saiko Saibansho - only gets involved with constitutional issues. In the Supreme Court, there are 14 associate judges and the chief justice who presides over the different constitutional-based cases. The chief justice is determined by Cabinet members and then ceremoniously appointed by the emperor (Country Report, 2021).
There are several subordinate courts throughout Japan, including eight High Court, also called Koto-saiban-sho, each with a corresponding Family Court or Katei-saiban-sho (Country Report, 2021). The other courts within Japan are 50 District Courts, called Chiho Saibansho, with 203 additional smaller branches across the country and 438 Summary Courts, or Kani saibansho (Country Report, 2021).
SUPREME COURT
HIGH COURT
FAMILY COURT
DISTRICT COURT
SUMMARY COURT
References
Cabinent Public Relations Office. (n.d.). SUGA Yoshihide. Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet. Retrieved from https://japan.kantei.go.jp/99_suga/meibo/daijin/suga_e.html.
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Capsule Computer (n.d.). Nobunaga's Ambition Sphere of Influence Character Portrait. Retrieved from http://www.capsulecomputers.com.au/2015/06/nobunagas-ambition-sphere-of-influence-pre-order-bonuses-detailed/nobunagas-ambition-sphere-of-influence-character-portrait-4/.
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Central Intelligence Agency. (2021). Japan. The World Factbook. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/japan/#people-and-society.
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Country Reports. (2021). Japan Government. CountryReports. Retrieved from https://www.countryreports.org/country/Japan/government.htm#:~:text=Japan%20Government%20%20%20Country%20Name%20%20,139%2045%20E%20%207%20more%20rows%20.
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The Famous People. (n.d.). Oda Nobunaga. The Famous People. Retrieved from https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/oda-nobunaga-8269.php.
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Sousa, G. (2019). Ethnic Groups and Nationalities in Japan. World Atlas. Retrieved from https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/ethnic-groups-and-nationalities-in-japan.html.
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Watanabe, A., Masamoto, K., Masai, Y., Latz, G., Toyoda, T., Hijino, S., Hurst, G. C., Notehelfer, F. G., Sakamoto, T., & Jansen, M. B. (2021a). Japan. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Japan
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Watanabe, A., Masamoto, K., Masai, Y., Latz, G., Toyoda, T., Hijino, S., Hurst, G. C., Notehelfer, F. G., Sakamoto, T., & Jansen, M. B. (2021b). Japan - World War II and Defeat. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/place/Japan/World-War-II-and-defeat#/media/1/300531/119017
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World Travel Guide. (n.d.). Japan History, Language and Culture. World Travel Guide. Retrieved from https://www.worldtravelguide.net/guides/asia/japan/history-language-culture/.
