Japan (Vegetarian World)

**日本(国)**
**Nihon/Nippon (koku)**
**Japan**

Location of Japan
Official language	Japanese
Capitals	Kyoto and Tokyo
Largest City	Tokyo
Population	32,147,000
HDI	0.949
Current constitution	1947
President	Kaoru Yoshikawa
Currency	Japanese Yen (JPY)
Our Timeline Equivalent	Japan, minus most of the Ryukyu Islands and northern and eastern Hokkaido

Japan, also known as Nihon or Nippon, has one of the largest economies in the world. A large percentage of major multinational companies, especially concerning technology, are Japanese. After a long period of isolationism, Japan had a revolution. Shortly thereafter (in the 1860s), it started its industrial revolution. It became the first Oriental nation to modernize itself. This would later lead it into conflict with its neighbors. Wanting European privileges like the ability to colonize other states, it eventually came under control of right-wing militants and started the war in the east, which would escalate into a major theatre of the Pan-Global War. After the war, Japan lay in ruins. However, its economy took off in subsequent decades and it eventually became the economic powerhouse that it is today. Its largest city, Tokyo, is one of the most important cities in Asia, and the world.

Japan's contributions to international culture are numerous, and have been increasing rapidly over the past decades. Whereas Japanese companies gained prestige by the 1970s, Japanese culture itself only became rapidly disseminated by the 1990s. Currently, Japanese animation is the most popular animation globally, and Japanese music is the most listened-to of any single country's (with the born-in-New England-and-living-in-Japan Japanese Utada Hikaru holding the title for most records sold by any artist or band). This pervasiveness of Japanese culture has increasingly promoted the Japanese language around the world, making it one of the more popular languages to learn as a second-language, especially among the most diehard fans of Japanese media.

JPN Shiba Koen 01 (VegWorld) — Shiba Park, Tokyo

Demographics[]

Vegetarianism[]

69% Non-Vegetarian

31% Vegetarian

Ethnic Groups[]

94% Japanese (non-Ainu)

03% Ainu (mostly Native Japanese)

01% Koreans

01% Chinese

01% others

Languages[]

97% Japanese

02% Ainu

01% others (Korean, Chinese, English, Japingurisshu, Boueki, etc)

Note - Japanese is, by far, the most widely spoken language, and is understood by nearly 100% of the population. Also, as immigration levels are not currently great, a large number of non-Japanese ethnicities are largely "Japanized" and natively speak Japanese. In addition, some non-native languages like Chinese and English have variants (some say other languages) based on Japanese pronunciation (the Boueki language and the Japingurisshu language respectively.) These languages are often spoken in Japanese port cities (like Nagasaki and Yokohama), but are even more widespread abroad.

Religion[]

71% Freethinker

51% agnostic

20% atheist

20% Buddhist*

07% Shinto*

01% Christian

01% other

(*Buddhism and Shintoism are practiced together by many people. Also, even atheists and agnostics sometimes take part in some religious rituals, even if they aren't religious.)

Architecture[]

Japanese architecture has, for centuries been simple. Older Japanese architecture is based on Chinese designs, modified and simplified. Japanese temples often lack the color and intricate carvings of their Chinese brethren, though this is not always the case. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Japan started to build in Western styles, and many buildings turned out to be not so different than those found in Europe and elsewhere. Indeed many European architects came to Japan. However, after the Pan-Global War, things changed, and Cheapie architecture came to dominate. This is still the case in Japan, when compared to most other countries. However, compared to the Japan of the 1960s and 1970s, there have been some visible improvements in the aesthetics of buildings. High-profile buildings today are often constructed in the Experimental vein.