World Country Guide

Population
127,450,000 (official estimate 2002).

Population Density
337.3 per sq km.

Capital
Tokyo. Population: 8,130,408 (2000).

Geography
Japan is separated from the Asian mainland by 160km (100 miles) of sea. About 70 per cent of the country is covered by hills and mountains, a number of which are active or dormant volcanoes. A series of mountain ranges runs from northern Hokkaido to southern Kyushu. The Japanese Alps (the most prominent range) run in a north–south direction through central Honshu. The highest mountain is Mount Fuji at 3776m (12,388ft). Lowlands and plains are small and scattered, mostly lying along the coast and composed of alluvial lowlands and diluvial uplands. The coastline is very long in relation to the land area, and has very varied features. The deeply indented bays with good natural harbours tend to be adjacent to mountainous terrain.

Government
Constitutional monarchy. Head of State: Emperor Akihito since 1989. Head of Government: Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro since 2001.

Language
Japanese is the official language. Some English is spoken in major cities.

Religion
Shintoism and Buddhism (most Japanese follow both religions) with a Christian minority. In Okinawa, however, people believe in Niraikanai, the realm of the dead beyond the sea.

Time
GMT + 9.

Electricity
100 volts AC, 60Hz in the west (Osaka); 100 volts AC, 50Hz in eastern Japan and Tokyo. Plugs are flat two-pin and light bulbs are screw-type.

Communications

Telephone
Full IDD service. Country code: 81. Outgoing international code: Variable; 0051 through the operator. Three companies provide international communications services: KDDI, IDC and ISD, each possessing their own international access number (001 010, 0061 and 0041, respectively). Credit cards can also be used directly in some phoneboxes.

Mobile telephone
The Japanese mobile network uses PDC (Personal Digital Cellular System) technology, which is not compatible with GSM or other mobile services. Visitors can hire handsets from companies such as NTT, Mover Rental Centre, 2-2-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8019 (tel: (3) 3282 0100) or Sony Finance, Rental Sales Department, Minamiaoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo (tel: (3) 3475 5721). For UK travellers, mobiles can also be hired before departure from Adam Phones (tel: (0800) 123 000), Cellhire PLC (tel: (0800) 610 610; e-mail: london@cellhire.com) or Mobell Communications (tel: (01543) 426 999).

Fax
Sending and receiving can be arranged at any hour at major hotels. KDDI offers facilities in Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo and Yokohama.

Internet
There are many Internet cafes in Tokyo and in the main cities in Japan. The main ISPs include ASCII (website: www.ascii.co.jp), Jeton and Starnet. Some hotel telephones and the new grey telephones have modular sockets for computer network access.

Telegram
These can be sent from the main hotels and from the above company, also from larger post offices in major cities. Two rates are available. Overseas telegrams can also be sent from the Central Post Office in Tokyo until midnight.

Post
Letters can be taken to the Central Post Office in front of Tokyo Station or the International Post Office, near exit A-2 Otemachi subway station, which provide English-speaking personnel. Airmail to Europe takes four to six days. All main post offices have Poste Restante facilities and will hold mail for up to 10 days. Post office hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1700. The International Post Office and Central Post Office are open weekdays until 1900, and Saturday until 1700.

Press
The English-language daily newspapers in Tokyo include Daily Sports, The Daily Yomiuri, The Japan Times and The Mainichi Daily News.

Radio
BBC World Service (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice) and Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov) can be received. From time to time the frequencies change and the most up-to-date can be found online.