Japan is an urban society with only about 7% of the labor force engaged in agriculture. Many farmers supplement their income with part-time jobs in nearby towns and cities. About 80 million of the urban population are heavily concentrated on the Pacific shore of Honshu? and in northern Kyushu. Metropolitan Tokyo with approximately 14 million; Yokohama? with 3.3 million; Osaka? 2.6 million; Nagoya? 2.1 million; Kyoto? 1.5 million; Sapporo? 1.6 million; Kobe? 1.4 million; and Kitakyushu?, Kawasaki?, and Fukuoka? with 1.2 million each account for part of this population. Japan faces the same problems that confront urban industrialized societies throughout the world: over-crowded cities, congested highways, air pollution, and rising juvenile delinquency.
Shintoism? and Buddhism are Japan's two principal religions. Shintoism is founded on myths and legends emanating from the early animistic worship of natural phenomena. Since it was unconcerned with problems of afterlife which dominated Buddhist thought, and since Buddhism easily accommodated itself to local faiths, the two religions comfortably coexisted, and Shinto shrines and Buddhist monasteries often became administratively linked. Today many Japanese are adherents of both faiths.
From the 16th to the 19th century Shintoism flourished, eventually seeking unity under a symbolic imperial rule. Adopted by the leaders of the Meiji? restoration, it received state support and was cultivated as a spur to patriotic and nationalistic feelings. Following World War II, state support was discontinued and the Emperor disavowed divinity. Today Shintoism plays a more peripheral role in the life of the Japanese people. The numerous shrines are visited regularly by a few believers and, if they are historically famous or known for natural beauty, by many sightseers. Many marriages are held in the shrines, and children are brought after birth and on certain anniversary dates; special shrine days are celebrated for specific occasions, and numerous festivals are held throughout the year. Many homes have "god shelves," where offerings can be made to Shinto deities.
Buddhism first came to Japan in the 6th century and for the next 10 centuries exerted profound influence on its intellectual, artistic, social, and political life. Most funerals are conducted by Buddhist priests, and burial grounds attached to temples are used by both faiths.
Confucianism arrived with the first great wave of Chinese influence into Japan between the 6th and 9th centuries. Overshadowed by Buddhism, it survived as an organized philosophy into the late 19th century and remains today as an important influence on Japanese thought and values.
Christianity, first introduced into Japan in 1549, was virtually stamped out a century later; it was reintroduced in the late 1800s and has spread slowly. Today it has 1.4 million adherents, which includes a high percentage of important persons in education and public affairs.
Beyond the three traditional religions, many Japanese today are turning to a great variety of popular religious movements normally lumped together under the name "new religions." These religions draw on the concept of Shinto, Buddhism, and folk superstition and have developed in part to meet the social needs of elements of the population. The officially recognized new religions number in the hundreds, and total membership is reportedly in the tens of millions.
Population: 126,549,976 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 15% (male 9,575,637; female 9,105,713) 15-64 years: 68% (male 43,363,054; female 42,980,253) 65 years and over: 17% (male 9,024,015; female 12,501,304) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.18% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 9.96 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 8.15 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 3.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 80.7 years male: 77.51 years female: 84.05 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.41 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Nationality: noun: Japanese (singular and plural) adjective: Japanese
Ethnic groups: Japanese 99.4%, other 0.6% (mostly Korean)
Religions: observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%)
Languages: JapaneseLanguage
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% (1970 est.) male: NA% female: NA%
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