70 Interesting Facts About Japan

1. There are a total of 28 Nobel Prize winners from Japan.

2. The worlds shortest escalator is in Japan. And yes, it is used as well.

3. Fleeing motorists in Japan are shot by police with paintballs. This technique helps them to identify the defaulters easily.

4. Train stations in Japan have staff people to shove people into the trains because there are so much of passengers.

5. The post-war Japanese constitution has forbidden Japan from having an army. As a result of being unable to invest in the arms race, the central government has poured money into trains. In fact, many people have dubbed the bullet train (“shinkansen”) research as Japan’s space race.

6. Trains are very punctual. If you train is running late, the train company will display it in the monitors on the platforms and an employee will apologize over the public announcement system.

7. It is forbidden to speak on your mobile phone inside the shinkansen. In general, voices are kept low inside any train, even for conversations.

8. Shinkansen have no restaurant cart. On the other hand, you can buy your own food (“ekiben”) and beverages before boarding it and eat it during your trip. The food is usually a specialty of the starting point of your travel and it is quite an experience for travelers.

9. Eating while walking is considered rude in Japan.

10. The unemployment rate in Japan is only 4%.

11. Japanese farmers produce square watermelons for the sake of ease of storing.

12. Famously, Japan is the world’s largest creditor nation.

13. Up to 60% of the animated shows are produced in Japan, making it the leading country to do so.

14. 98% of adoption in Japan are of male adults. Japanese do this to keep their family business in their family.

15. One interesting fact about Japan is that if you encounter raised floor in some part of the building, it indicates that you should remove your footwear there.

16. Tsukiji fish market of Japan is the world’s largest wholesale fish and seafood market. One of the popular food in Japan is raw horse meat.

17. ‘Nippon’ or ‘Nihon’ is the Japanese name for Japan. It means “the sun’s origin”. It is often translated as ‘the Land of the Rising Sun’.

18. Mount Fuji is the highest point in Japan, which stands at 3,776 m.

19. Almost three-quarters of Japan’s land cannot be utilized for industrial, residential or farming purposes.

20. Japan is known as an industrial nation. It produces world-class machines, electronics, and vehicles.

21. Robotics is the main sphere of talent in Japan. They are known the world over for ASIMO – the world’s most advanced humanoid robot.

22. Sushi, Sashimi and Tempura are among well know Japanese cuisines around the world.

23. The literacy rate in Japan is 99% for the population over 15 years of age. This means almost all the people in Japan can read and write.

24. There are 118 volcanoes in Japan. This number outlasts volcanoes in any other country and makes 10% of the world’s total number of volcanoes.

25. The life expectancy of the Japanese is 83 years, which is more than that of the Americans, which is 81 years.

26. Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku are the four main islands of Japan. The total number of islands in the country is 6852.

27. With more than 127 million people as of July 2012, Japan has the tenth largest population in the world.

28. Tokyo – the capital of Japan – is the largest city in the world by land area, population, and density.

29. Sumo wrestling is Japan’s national sport.

30. Baseball is Japan’s most popular spectator sport.

31. The beverage of choice in Japan is o-cha (お茶; green tea), which is served hot or cold depending on the time of year.

32. The four big diseases caused due to pollution in Japan are Itai-itai, Minimata, Niigata Minimata, Yokkaichi Asthma.

33. Japan’s first-ever nuclear emergency was declared on March 11, 2011 – due to the Fukushima I nuclear power plant disaster. 140,000 residents within 20 km of the plant were evacuated.

34. Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant was shut down on 06, May 2011 as the area where it operated is expected to be hit with an earthquake of magnitude 8.0.

35. The Japanese do not elect a president directly. They have a parliamentary system of government.

36. Shinzō Abe is the Prime Minister of Japan.

37. Japan’s new maglev bullet train is the fastest train in the world.

38. Japan’s sex ratio is 0.95.

39. 98% of students go to high school in Japan whereas education is compulsory only for the nine years of elementary and middle school.

40. One fact about Japan is that black cats are believed to bring good luck.

41. Only 2% of people in Japan are immigrants.

42. Interestingly, Japanese families utilize the same water for bathing as they do for other purposes.

43. Japanese are so much interested in comics that more paper is used for printing them than that for toilet paper.

44. Toyota, a Japanese automobile company is the world’s third-largest automaker.

45. It would be interesting to note that; in the first half of 2005, the number of deaths in Japan exceeded the number of births.

46. Japan experiences approximately 1500 earthquakes every year.

47. Rice is commonly eaten in Japan as a major part of their diet. Do not be amused if you find Japanese eating rice even in breakfast.

48. Coffee is extremely popular in Japan and is imported in a large number from Jamaica.

49. Japan is the largest automobile producer in the world.

50. More than 50,000 people in Japan are at least 100 years old.

51. The world’s oldest company operated in Japan between 578 AD and 2006.

52. Japan has the world most punctual railways. Their average delay is 18 seconds.

53. Another interesting fact about Japan is that 90% of the mobile phones used are waterproof.

54. Cleaning of classrooms and cafeteria is a shared responsibility among Japanese students and teachers.

55. Every year, the Japanese use almost 24 billion chopsticks.

56. Japanese have a tradition of visiting KFC on Christmas Eve.

57. Outside of Japan, the Japanese are found in the majority in Brazil.

58. Over 2000 people committed suicide in Japan by jumping in a volcano called Mount Mihara. The Japanese authorities have now constructed a fence around it to stop these suicides.

59. Hikikomori – a social situation in Japan – where men lock themselves in their bedrooms for years is estimated to be affecting at least 1 million Japanese men.

60. Japan’s Tsunami hit areas in 2011 were found to have ancient stone tablets with inscriptions “do not build your homes below this point”.

61. Japanese can say “Sorry” in 20 different ways.

62. Japan is the only country in the world that suffered from an atomic weapon attack.

63. Tokyo, the capital of Japan, is one of the most expensive cities to live in.

64. Kimigayo is Japan’s national anthem. It is the world’s shortest anthem with a length of 11 measures and 32 characters.

65. Japan boasts the longest reigning monarchy in the world.

66. Blowing your nose in Japan is considered inappropriate.

67. There are 109,252,912 Internet users in Japan. This is 3.74% of the world’s share of total Internet users.

68. The average height of men in Japan is 171.4 cm.

69. Almost 25% of Japan’s population is over 65 years of age.

70. Japan’s is slightly smaller than California in terms of total area.