( CNN ) -- Comprised of four main islands , and over 6,000 smaller ones , Japan stretches for around 1,500 miles from sub-tropical Okinawa in the south to the frozen climes of Hokkaido in the north . The bulk of the country 's 127 million inhabitants live in urban areas , mostly on Honshu island , the country 's largest . The capital since 1868 , modern Tokyo is a sprawling mega city and home to over 36 million people . From the 12th century until the mid 19th century , Japan was a feudal society dominated by military leaders known as shoguns . A long period of self-imposed international isolation ended when the Emperor Meiji took direct control of the country in 1867 and began a period of modernization . Western trade began to influence the development of the country . The period also saw the beginning of Japan 's pursuit of an overseas empire , the legacy of which still affects relations with its neighbors to this day . Japan is a constitutional monarchy , headed by 80-year-old Emperor Akihito . Although the emperor 's powers are politically limited , he is regarded as the highest authority of the country 's dominant Shinto religion . Reconstruction and recession . After the Second World War Japan witnessed spectacular economic growth , transforming a country physically and psychologically scarred by military defeat and the atomic bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima into a world leader in electronics and manufacturing , especially in the automotive industry . However , those post-war decades of high growth came to a juddering halt in in 1990 , when real estate and stock market prices plummeted ; the 1990s are now commonly known as the `` lost decade '' . Japan has more government debt than any other developed nation -- nearly 230 % of its GDP according to the CIA World Fact Book -- and has struggled to sustain steady economic growth . It has slipped into recession four times since 2008 , the latest being the third quarter of 2014 . That grim economic news led the country 's current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to call a snap parliamentary election for December 14 . Despite the country 's financial challenges , compounded by an ageing population , Japan has some of the world 's most valuable companies and remains a source of global innovation and cultural trends . It is the world 's third largest economy in terms of GDP . Present day Japan blends modernity and tradition , with society and work environments structured around well-defined hierarchies . According to recent OECD figures , Japan has some of the most highly educated women in the world , yet ranks among the bottom of developed countries when it comes to employing women with college degrees ; only 69 % are in the workforce . While diverse in its climatic regions , much of Japan is mountainous and remains one of the world 's most seismically active areas of the world . Earthquakes and regional relationships . On March 11 , 2011 , a 9.0 magnitude earthquake off the eastern coast of the Tohoku region unleashed a devastating tsunami . Over 15,000 people died and thousands more were displaced . The tsunami hit the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant causing extensive damage and a radiation leak , and leaving surrounding areas uninhabitable . The material damage from the earthquake and tsunami is estimated at around $ 300 billion . On the international stage , Japan exerts considerable soft power as a major aid donor and source of capital . Its projection of power militarily is limited by its post-war pacifist constitution . However pressure has been building from hawkish elements in the country to allow the Japanese Self Defence Forces to take a more assertive role . This summer Prime Minister Shinzo Abe 's cabinet approved a white paper on defence policy that allows the military to act in support of its allies . The background to this recent revision of military policy has been an increase in regional tensions . While North Korea 's missile program remains an ongoing security concern , conflicting territorial claims by Japan and China in the East China Sea over a group of islands known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan and the Diaoyu Islands in China have inflamed nationalist rhetoric on both sides and strained relations between the countries . Other tensions with China and South Korea persist over the use of so-called `` comfort women '' by the Japanese military before and during the Second World War . While an official government apology was issued in 1993 , known as the Kono statement , it remains a sensitive international issue and source of contention within Japan . Some conservative elements in Japan suggest there remains insufficient evidence to prove that the military directly recruited women as sex slaves . In September , South Korea 's President Park Geun-hye has stated that no formal summit meeting with Abe can happen until `` sincere efforts to heal the wounds of the past '' are made . Follow CNN 's On the Road Japan coverage .
Japan is the world 's third largest economy in terms of GDP size . Rapid post-war growth ended in 1990s ; country has slipped in to recession four times since 2008 . Exerts global power as source of capital , innovation and cultural trends . Relationship with neighbors strained over territorial claims and colonial history .