Long-form name: none

Type: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Tokyo

Administrative divisions: 47 prefectures (fuken, singular and plural); Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gumma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi

Independence: 660 BC, traditional founding by Emperor Jimmu; 3 May 1947, constitutional monarchy established

Constitution: 3 May 1947

Legal system: civil law system with English-American influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

National holiday: Birthday of the Emperor, 23 December (1933)

Branches: emperor is symbol of state; executive power is vested in Cabinet appointed by the prime minister, chosen by the lower house of the bicameral, elective legislature--Diet (House of Councillors, House of Representatives); judiciary is independent

Leaders: @m5Chief of State--Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989); @m5Head of Government--Prime Minister Toshiki KAIFU (since 9 August 1989); Deputy Prime Minister (vacant)

Suffrage: universal over age 20

Elections: general election held every four years or upon dissolution of lower house, triennially for half of upper house

Political parties and leaders: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Toshiki Kaifu, president; Japan Socialist Party (JSP), T. Doi, chairman; Democratic Socialist Party (DSP), S. Tsukamoto, chairman; Japan Communist Party (JCP), T. Fuwa, Presidium chairman; Komeito (Clean Government Party), J. Yano (resigned 17 May 1989), chairman

Voting strength: (1986 election) Lower House--60% LDP (307 seats), 17.2% JSP (88 seats), 11.1% Komeito (57 seats), 5.7% DSP (29 seats), 5.3% JCP (27 seats), 0.6% independents and minor parties; 23 July 1989 election--Upper House--LDP 109 seats, JSP 67, Komeito 21 seats, JCP 14 seats, DSP 8 seats; minor parties and independents 33 seats

Communists: about 470,000 registered Communist party members

Member of: ADB, ASPAC, CCC, Colombo Plan, DAC, ESCAP, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ISO, ITC, ITU, IWC--International Whaling Commission, IWC--International Wheat Council, OECD, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Ryohei MURATA; Chancery at 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 939-6700; there are Japanese Consulates General in Agana (Guam), Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Kansas City (Missouri), Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland (Oregon), and a Consulate in Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands); US--Ambassador Michael H. ARMACOST; Embassy at 10-1, Akasaka 1-chome, Minato-ku (107), Tokyo (mailing address is APO San Francisco 96503); telephone Õ81å (3) 224-5000; there are US Consulates General in Naha, Osaka-Kobe, and Sapporo and a Consulate in Fukuoka

Flag: white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center

NOTE: The information regarding Japan on this page is re-published from the 1989 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Japan Government 1989 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Japan Government 1989 should be addressed to the CIA.