ABOUT JAPAN

Japan is a democratic country with free market economy. The constitution of the country that came into effect in 1947 reflects the following three basic principles and concepts: the sovereignty of the country, human rights, and freedom.

There is universal suffrage for adults over 20 years of age, with a secret ballot for all elective offices. Japan"s legislative organ is the National Diet, a bicameral parliament. The Diet consists of a House of Representatives and House of Councillors. The Prime Minister of Japan is the head of state. The position is not appointed directly as it is in US and France, being more like the process in Great Britain and Canada, whose constitutional monarchies give very little power to the monarch. The Prime Minister is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members and the PM builds their team to work for the country.

The Government is divided into three sovereign branches that have a degree of control over one another: legislative, executive, and judicial. In this way, power domination of a branch is limited such that human rights and civil liberties are protected. As a ceremonial figurehead, the Emperor, who does not take part in the day-to-day functions of government, is defined by the constitution as “the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people.” Local administrative bodies are chosen by local elections.

Indexes	Datas
Area	377,819 km2
Population	126,870,000
Official language	Japanese
Capital	Tokyo
GDP per capita	$34,210
Currency	Yen (JPY)
Average temperature (summer), deg. C.	27.1 (Tokyo)
Average temperature (winter), deg. C.	5.8 (Tokyo)
Mountainous area	71%

Date	Holidays
January 1-3	New Year (shogatsu)
1st day of 2nd week, January	Coming of Age of 20 (seijin no hi)
February 11	National Foundation Day (kenkoku kinenbi)
March 21	Beginning of spring (setsubun)
April 29	Showa Day (Showa no hi) The birthday of former Emperor Showa.)
May 3	Constitution Day (kenpo kinenbi)
May 5	Children"s Day (kodomo no hi)
1st day of 3rd week, July	Ocean Day (umi no hi)
September 15	Respect for the Aged Day (keiro no hi)
September 23	Autum Equinox Day (shubun no hi)
1st day of 2nd week, October	Health and Sports Day (taiiku no hi)
November 3	Culture Day (bunka no hi)
November 3	Labour Thanksgiving Day (kinro kansha no hi)
December 23	Emperor"s Birthday (tenno no tanjobi)