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Japan is broken up into 47 prefectures. These are combined into 8 different regions.

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Most of the population speaks Japanese.

The next most common language would be Okinawan, mostly spoken towards the center of the country in and around the Okinawa island.

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https://www.japannihon.com/why-would-people-leave-japan/

https://www.worldstopexports.com/japans-top-10-imports/

https://www.tripsavvy.com/typical-climate-in-japan-1550794

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/ethnic-groups-and-nationalities-in-japan.html

https://www.statista.com/topics/7403/farming-in-japan/#topicOverview

https://www.britannica.com/place/Japan/Trade

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External trade

An outstanding feature of Japan's economic development after World War II was the rapid advance in overseas sales, even though the share of exports in the country's gross national product generally remained relatively constant. However, from the point of view of individual industries and as a generator of growth, exports are much more important than their contribution to the national income suggests. Since the late 1960s, Japan has had a trade surplus nearly every year, with the size of the surplus often being the largest in the world.

Reasons for this spectacular export performance are the wide variety of Japan's industrial output, the shift to products with a relatively high value added, the country's export competitiveness, and the dominant position of its industry in a number of fields. However, Japanese exports face increasing challenges. Most notable is strong competition from Japan's industrial neighbours China, South Korea, and Taiwan, as well as from the countries of Southeast Asia. Other factors include protectionist sentiments among Japan's chief trading partners, the valuation of the yen compared with that of other currencies, and a falloff in exports caused by the increased production of Japanese companies abroad. In addition, the global recession that began in 2007-08 is having a significant impact on Japan's exports, notably of motor vehicles.

A major change in the composition of exports occurred in the late 20th century. Textiles and food products constituted a considerably decreased share of total exports, while exports of a wide variety of machinery and apparatuses (including electronic equipment and components) and transport equipment grew dramatically, together accounting for the largest proportion of exports. Other important exports included chemicals, chemical products, and metals. China and the United States are Japan's largest export markets; other countries of East and Southeast Asia and the countries of the European Union (EU) are also important export destinations.

Imports

After World War II, Japan established relatively high tariffs and instituted restrictive nontariff barriers for many products in order to protect domestic markets. Consistently high trade surpluses led to mounting pressure by Japan's trading partners-notably the United States-for Japan to open its domestic market to foreign goods. Imports have grown steadily as Japan's trade structure has become more open. Because of Japan's meagre natural resources, the bulk of its imports are fuels, raw materials, and foodstuffs. The major components of imported manufactured goods are machinery and allied products and chemicals. Japan's largest suppliers include East and Southeast Asia (notably China), the Middle East, the United States, and Australia.

Internal trade

Japan has a long-established and complex system of wholesale distribution and retail marketing, characterized by numerous intermediary levels in the distribution of goods and small, often family-run retail outlets. This system, for years threatened by Japan's large department stores, also has been challenged by the growth of supermarket and discount-store chains and by mail-order sales and, more recently, online commerce. Sales traditionally have been transacted in cash, but the use of charge accounts and credit cards has become widespread.

Labour and taxation

Trade unions and employers' associations

Japanese trade unions have had a relatively short history. Although there were several labour organizations before World War II, trade unions became important only after the U.S. occupation forces introduced legislation that gave workers the right to organize, to bargain with employers, and to strike. Because Japanese trade unions were generally organized on a plant or enterprise basis, their number was relatively large, and in many cases there were different organizations for different plants of the same company.

The great majority of the enterprise unions became affiliated to federations that were loosely organized on craft lines, such as the Confederation of Japan Automobile Workers' Unions (Jidōsha Soren). Most of these in turn became affiliated with one of four major national labour organizations established after the war. Interest in uniting the rival national organizations deepened during the 1980s, mainly because of the trend toward ever greater concentration in industry and greater cooperation between the various employers' organizations. In the late 1980s the major national organizations and other private- and public-sector unions were reorganized into the Japanese Trade Union Confederation ( JTUC-Rengō); those unions politically more to the left of JTUC-Rengō formed the much smaller National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenrōren).

While the craft and national federations formulate general policy, discuss and advise on strategy, and coordinate wage offensives, serious negotiations are usually conducted on an enterprise basis by individual unions and the employees, especially during the annual institutionalized "spring offensive" ( shuntō) wage drive. JTUC-Rengō serves as a voice for the unions in general, publicizing their demands and dealing with the government and other business organizations.

The unionization rate peaked in the mid-1950s at around two-fifths of the workforce, at a time when Japan was troubled by a series of protracted confrontations between labour and management. However, labour-management relations generally have become nonconfrontational and are now characterized by cooperation, with few working days lost through labour action. Membership gradually fell off, and by the early 21st century the number of employees who were organized was less than half of what it had been 50 years earlier. The major reason for the decline has been the shift in the employment structure itself from manufacturing to trade, coupled with the increasing number of part-time and temporary workers.

Japan has a well-developed system of chambers of commerce and trade and industry associations. These groups serve as a sounding board and make policy recommendations while interacting with politicians, government bureaucracies, and labour. Among the best-known are the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren), the latter formed in 2002 by the merger of the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) and the Japan Federation of Employers' Association (Nikkeiren).

Taxation

Tax revenues account for the single largest source of the government's total income. Since World War II the tax system has been characterized by heavy dependence on direct taxes, and steeply progressive income taxes on individuals and high corporate taxes have constituted most of the tax revenues. In the late 1980s an indirect consumption (value-added) tax was imposed on most goods and services to augment the tax structure. Initially, the tax rate was 3 percent, but, after it was increased to 5 percent in the late 1990s, the government undertook a general overhaul of the tax system, in which tax rates were cut, the number of tax brackets was reduced, new deductions were introduced, and certain levies were lifted. However, in relation to national income, the total tax burden for Japan is considerably lower than it is for most other developed countries.

Transportation and telecommunications

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Until the latter part of the 19th century, the majority of Japanese people traveled on foot. Vehicular traffic was limited to small wagons, carts, or palanquins ( kago) carried by men or animals. The first railway was built between Tokyo and Yokohama in 1872, and others soon followed, though the rugged terrain required the construction of many tunnels and bridges. Iron ships were built about the same time, and modern ports were constructed. Road construction, however, tended to lag behind the development of other means of transport, resulting in the present congestion of most urban areas.

Japan now has one of the world's most developed transport and communications networks. Tokyo especially is an incomparably large focus for transportation; also important are the Keihanshin metropolitan area-which includes the three cities of Ōsaka, Kōbe, and Kyōto-and Nagoya. Other cities-notably Kita-Kyūshū, Fukuoka, Sapporo, Sendai, and Hiroshima-function as regional hubs.

The largest volume of intercity or interregional transport of both passengers and goods moves between the two largest metropolitan regions. Kyushu is connected with Honshu by the world's first undersea railway tunnel (built in 1941), by an undersea double-decked road tunnel (built in 1958), and by a huge suspension bridge (opened in 1973). With the opening in 1988 of a railway tunnel between Hokkaido and Honshu and of multiple-span railway-road bridges between Honshu and Shikoku, all four of Japan's main islands are now linked by surface transport.

Roads

The development of Japan's road network lags behind the country's general economic progress and is especially inadequate for the large number of cars. Road construction is hampered by the limited area of land in proportion to population. The first limited-access expressway opened in the early 1960s, and by the early 21st century a growing network of such highways had been built throughout the country. The metropolitan regions of Tokyo and Ōsaka have fairly extensive expressway networks within their respective built-up areas. Surface street patterns in Japanese cities are manifold, however, and often hamper the flow of traffic. Cities such as Kyōto and Nara still preserve the gridiron street pattern of the ancient Chinese city plan, though with modifications in built-up inner parts of the cities. In many rural areas as well, the ancient pattern of land division and the resultant road pattern take the rectangular gridiron form. Feudal towns, especially fortified (castle) towns, may have somewhat similar street patterns, though in many cases these are modified (generally in the form of concentric rings) to follow former defensive lines.

Japan has an extremely high density of motor vehicles per unit area in the plains and in other inhabited areas. Trucks represent a much higher proportion of vehicular traffic than in other major motorized countries. The great bulk of domestic freight transport is by truck. Many families now have two or more automobiles and are more likely to drive to a destination than in the past, resulting in road congestion in the big cities and in industrial areas. Although railways still play the major role in carrying commuters, there appears to be no practical solution to the problem of how to reduce the number of cars on the roads. The increases in noxious exhaust gases and in the noise of the traffic are serious problems. Steps taken to alleviate them include stringent pollution-control standards for automobiles and the installation of noise barriers on highways in densely populated areas.

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Japan - Japan - Trade: An outstanding feature of Japan's economic development after World War II was the rapid advance in overseas sales, even though the share of exports in the country's gross national product generally remained relatively constant.

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Most people leaving Japan are leaving to find jobs in other countries, wages in Japan are generally pretty low.

The cost to live in Japan is very high compared to nearby countries, especially in Tokyo where the majority of people are living in Japan.

There are also many social and political factors that go into people leaving the country.

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Japan makes the most money from the trade of automobiles, auto parts, and electronics

They export mostly to China and the US

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The majority of Japan's imports consist of food such as Pork products and frozen fish to feed their population.

Non-food imports consist of mostly mineral fuels and oil, electric machinery, and pharmaceuticals.

Japan’s largest suppliers include East and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, the United States, and Australia.

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Since Japan is made up of islands, you must travel by plane, boat, or ferry to get to the destination.

Once in Japan, the best way to get around is going to be by bus or train through the busy cities.

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Tokyo is the most populated city in Japan, and the highest percent of people are living in the urban cities towards the middle of the country.

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Agriculture, forestry, and fishing are Japan's 3 main sources of income.

The majority of Japanese land is covered in forests, 40% of these forests are planted with cedar and cypress.

Out of what is left of Japan, 11.6% is used for agriculture.
Japan is known for it's high-quality produce and meat.

Japan's domestic and over-seas fishing industry is centered around the Tsukiji fish market, one of the largest seafood wholesale markets in the world

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Japan's population is 126.5 Million

The majority of people living in Japan are of the Yamato Japanese ethnicity.

Ryukyuan Japanese make up another large portion of the population, they are indigenous to the Ryukyu Islands.

Chinese and Korean nationalities are prevalent in Japan as well.

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Most of Japan experiences four mild seasons that occur during the same time of the year as ours.

They are known for their cherry blossoms in the Spring, and their snow sport during the winter.

May and June are Japan's rainy months and August - October are peak typhoon months.

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Japan is made up of thousands of small islands. The four biggest ones being Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku.

Japan's area is similar to the size of California or Germany.

More than 50% of the country is mountainous and covered by forests.  Only 20% of the Japan is flat. These plains are where the majority of the population lives.

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Japan is approximately 6,770 miles from Cape Cod, MA.

A flight from Boston MA, to Tokyo Japan would take about 20 hours including one stop.

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Japan is located at latitude 36.204824 N and longitude 138.252924 E.

It is part of Eastern Asia and is in the northern hemisphere.

The Sea of Japan separates Asia from the islands of Japan.
North Korea, South Korea, and Russia are Japan's closest neighbors.

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Japan has the most similarities to its neighboring country, China.

Japan and China both have a culture heavily influenced by Confucianism.

Japanese people similarly to Chinese are very loyal to their group and their families.