Key facts about Japan
5 to 10 facts that help explain what makes the country distinctive.
The oldest company in the world
Founded in 578 to build Buddhist temples, the construction company Kongō Gumi operated without interruption for more than 1,400 years, until it became a subsidiary of a large Japanese construction group in 2006.
An electricity mix upended by Fukushima
Nuclear power supplied about 30% of Japan's electricity before the Fukushima Daiichi accident in 2011; its share fell to zero the following year, before slowly climbing back to about 8% in 2024 as some reactors gradually restarted.
The oldest society in the world after Monaco
With a median age of 49.9 years in 2024, Japan has the second-highest median age in the world, the result of a persistently low birth rate and one of the longest life expectancies on the planet.
Greater Tokyo, one of the largest urban areas in the world
The Greater Tokyo area is home to nearly 37 million people, making it one of the most populous urban areas on the planet.
The world capital of Michelin-starred dining
Tokyo had 183 Michelin-starred restaurants in 2024 (including 12 with three stars), more than any other city in the world since the guide's Japanese edition began in 2007.
The only uses of nuclear weapons in history
The American bombings of Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945) remain, to this day, the only two uses of nuclear weapons in armed conflict in all of history.