Geography
Area 377,801 sq. km. A 3,000km arc of 4 large islands( Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku, Kyushu) and 3,000 small islands in NW Pacific. Mountainous; 13% can be cultivated.

Population
126,714,220 (2000). Capital Tokyo 34.5 million.

People
Indigenous-99.3%; Japanese 98.6%; Subgroup: Okinawa 802,000; South American Japanese returnees 233,000; Ryukyuan 148,000. Ainu 0.2%.( The aboriginal inhabitants who have largely lost their original languages.)
Foreign - 0.7%; Korean 675,000; Chinese 252,000; Filipino 75,000
Illegal Immigrants- Possibly 500,000 Pakistani, Iranian, Bangradeshi, Filipino, Thai, Malaysian.

Religion
Traditional Beliefs 63.3%
Non-religious 10%
New religions 22.4%
Christians 1.6%
Other 2.7%