Pre-Trip Information

The mountainous character of Japan caused the population to concentrate within the limited plains and lowlands, and rapid industrial development after 1950 has led to continuing concentration of population in these areas. With a population of over 128 million and an overall area slightly smaller than California, Japan is one of the most densely populated nations in the world.

That said, in recent years, a government report was released suggesting that Japan had a greater proportion of elderly people than anywhere else in the world. Specifically,  preliminary figures from the 2005 census showed that the number of people over the age of  65 was over  21 percent.  As well, the ratio of children under 15 was lower than anywhere else globally.  The two factors -- in combination with one another -- forecast a shrinking population base. Clearly, Japan will require a strong and productive work force to economically support its aging population. However, these demographic trends [of an aging and decreasing population] present a serious long-term challenge to the country.


Ethnicity

 

The Japanese regard themselves as belonging to a single, fairly homogenous, ethnic group. Other than people of Japanese ancestry, there are small minorities of other ethnic groups in Japan, such as Koreans, Chinese, Brazilians, Filipinos, people of Okinawan origin and the indigenous Ainu. There are also a small number of foreign residents from Europe and North America.

 

The Ainu were largely assimilated into the general population centuries ago, with a few small scattered groups maintaining identity in Hokkaido. Before World War II, the Okinawan people were distinguished from other Japanese because of perceived physical and cultural differences. Now Okinawan culture is recognized as sharing many traits with Japanese culture, although the distinction has not disappeared.

 

Before and during World War II, a large number of Koreans migrated to Japan and worked mainly as laborers. These Koreans as well as about 750,000 descendants are not Japanese citizens and are treated as resident aliens in Japan.

 

The Japanese language is generally included in the Altaic linguistic group. Japanese had no written form until the fourth century, when the Chinese writing system and literature were introduced in Japan. Chinese characters were used to write Japanese at first, and by the ninth century, two syllabaries known collectively as "kana" were developed from them. There are still about 2,000 Chinese characters as well as tens of thousands of Western loan words, largely from English, in the basic vocabulary of Japanese today.

 

Shinto is the indigenous religion in Japan. As a polytheistic religion, people of major historical significance as well as natural objects have been enshrined as gods. Shintoism is a belief system founded on myths and legends, and during World War II, the Japanese government used it to advocate fascist orientation. Shinto was restructured as a state-supported religion after a period known as the Meiji Restoration in 1868, but the institution was abolished after World War II.

 

Buddhism was officially introduced to Japan by Korea in the mid-sixth century, and in the eighth century, it was adopted as the national religion. Buddhism has a strong influence in Japan's fine arts, social institutions and philosophy, and most Japanese consider themselves members of one of the major Buddhist sects. As inclusive religions, both Buddhist and Shinto rituals are observed by most Japanese who use the former for funerals and the latter for births, marriages and other occasions.

 

Free public schooling through junior high is provided for all children in Japan. Ninety-four percent of students continue another three years of senior high school, and then competition is stiff for entry into the best universities. Japan enjoys one of the world's highest literacy rates, at 99 percent.

Since the end of World War II, the country has seen a decline of birth and death rates, a result of families having fewer children and health conditions improving. Japan's rate of population growth is now one of the lowest in the world, at 0.11 percent for 2003, and it has raised concerns about severe labor shortages with a rapidly aging population.  Note: Today, the infant mortality rate in Japan stands at a low 2.8 deaths per 1000 births.

 

The population of Japan has a healthy life expectancy that places it at the top of the World Health Organization's figures for recognized countries. According to WHO numbers in 2000, Japan had a healthy life expectancy of 74.5 years - 71.9 for males and 77.2 for females. Healthy life expectancy is based on the Disability Adjusted Life Expectancy, or DALE, indicator developed by the World Health Organization. To calculate DALE, the years of ill health are weighted according to severity and subtracted from the expected overall life expectancy to give the equivalent years of healthy life. More recent statistics, estimated in 2005, suggest a somewhat higher life expectancy rate at close to 81 years of age for the total population -- 77.86 years for males and  84.61 years for females.  In recent years, the World Factbook estimates an average life expectancy of 84.46 years --81.13 years for males and  87.99 years for females.   Japanese people thus enjoy some of the highest lif expectancy in the world.

Human Development

 

In terms of health and welfare,  3.5 percent of GDP in this country is spent on education; 9.3  percent of GDP is spent on health expenditures.  Access to sanitation and water in this country is excellent.

One notable measure used to determine a country's quality of life is the Human Development Index (HDI), which has been compiled annually since 1990 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The HDI is a composite of several indicators, which measure a country's achievements in three main arenas of human development: longevity, knowledge and education, as well as economic standard of living. In a recent ranking of 169 countries, the HDI places Japan in the very high human development category, near the very top of the ranking, at 11th place.

Note: Although the concept of human development is complicated and cannot be properly captured by values and indices, the HDI, which is calculated and updated annually, offers a wide-ranging assessment of human development in certain countries, not based solely upon traditional economic and financial indicators.

Written by Dr. Denise Youngblood Coleman, Editor in Chief, www.countrywatch.com .  See Bibliography for list of research sources.