What would happen if Japan disappeared?
Fears of further recessions or not, if Japan were to suddenly vanish, the world economy would take a major hit. According to the numbers collected by the book's original author, Japan has the world's third highest GDP (gross domestic product), having overtaken China in 2010.
Looking into 2022, Japan's economy faces several challenges, like keeping the economic recovery going, diversifying investments away from China, and addressing demographic problems.
Supply chain issues, rising labor costs, and political issues have highlighted problems with Japan's reliance on China as a base for its manufacturing investments. With a low birthrate and aging population, Japan's social security system is under strain and is suffering from labor shortages.
Japan's population structure was shifting and becoming increasingly elderly. Aging meant slower growth of the labor force. Declining fertility combined with aging eventually reduced the domestic saving that supported economic expansion during the rapid economic growth period.
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Total number of people reported missing in Japan from 2014 to 2021 (in 1,000)
In Japan, the topic of jouhatsu is taboo in regular conversation, like the topic of suicide. It has been estimated that 100,000 Japanese people disappear annually. However, jouhatsu may be underreported in the official numbers.
The Japanese economy is recovering from the pandemic as related uncertainty and supply constraints subside and consumption gradually rebounds. Growth will accelerate to 2.4 percent this year, the fastest in 12 years, and maintain nearly the same pace next year, according to our latest economic projections in April.
A two-child policy is a government-imposed limit of two children allowed per family or the payment of government subsidies only to the first two children.
Instead of settling for 1.3 percent annual GDP growth, Japan could grow by an average of approximately 3 percent through 2025. This would lift Japan's projected annual GDP in 2025 by almost 20 to 30 percent over current trends—for an increase of up to some $1.4 trillion in that year alone (Exhibit E3).
If you've been to Japan, you're likely as astonished as I am to learn that the World Health Organization recently reported Japan to be the world's noisiest country. Chiara Terzuolo, Japan Today, writes: [T]he WHO recommends avoiding being exposed to noise over 53 decibels.
What will happen to Japan in the future?
On the other hand, Japan, with its rapidly shrinking and aging population, is expected to see its population decrease to 119.2 million by 2050, crack 100 million by 2053, and decline to 59.72 million by 2100—approximately half of what it was at its peak.
Weaknesses: A decline in birth rate and hike in aging population leads to economic debt. Japan has far too many people for its little island. Most populations congregate in major cities, like Tokyo, because much of the island is inhabitable.

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the reason for Japan's surrender and the end of World War II.
Another factor making the Japanese taller, according to the Health Ministry, is that Japanese people today commonly sit in Western-style chairs at home and work, instead of kneeling on rice-straw mats as they did for centuries.
While the average height of Japanese adults had grown some 15 centimeters over the past century with improved nutrition and public health conditions, it has started to decline for those born in 1980 or later, research showed.
However, Japan along with other Asian cultures has the concept of “face” (mentsu). To disagree with someone in public, thus causing them embarrassment, is to make them “lose face” (mentsu wo ushinau).
Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has one of the world's highest number of disappearances, with between 60,000 and 100,000 people vanishing since the late 1980s.
In 2016, kidnapping rate for Japan was 0.2 cases per 100,000 population. Though Japan kidnapping rate fluctuated substantially in recent years, it tended to increase through 2007 - 2016 period ending at 0.2 cases per 100,000 population in 2016.
No official statistics exist on how widespread the issue is. But non-profit organization Kizuna Child-Parent Reunion estimates that roughly 150,000 children lose contact with a parent every year in Japan because of estrangement from the non-custodial parent.
Traditionally, 4 is unlucky because it is sometimes pronounced shi, which is the word for death. Sometimes levels or rooms with 4 don't exist in hospitals or hotels. Particularly in the maternity section of a hospital, the room number 43 is avoided because it can literally mean "stillbirth".
How many children go missing every day?
It is estimated that 2,300 children are missing every day in the United States . Children can become missing for many reasons.
Japan was formerly considered a potential superpower due to its high economic growth. However, its status as a potential superpower has eroded since the 1990s due to an aging population and economic stagnation.
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Economy of Japan.
Statistics | |
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Population below poverty line | 5.5% (2020) 0.7% on less than $1.90/day (2013) 0.9% on less than $3.20/day (2013) 1.2% on less than $5.50/day (2013) |
Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution (日本国憲法第9条, Nihonkokukenpō dai kyū-jō) is a clause in the national Constitution of Japan outlawing war as a means to settle international disputes involving the state.
In 1983 mandatory sterilization occurred after the birth of the second or third child. As the restrictions tightened a few years later, if a woman gave birth to two children, legally she had to be sterilized. Alternatively, in some cases her husband could be sterilized in her place.
While the legal age of consent set by the penal code is 13 in Japan, there are other multiple laws imposing penalties for engaging in lewd acts with minors. The Child Welfare Law defines a youth under the age of 18 as a child and provides for criminal penalties for “causing” a child to engage in lewd acts.
In 2013, as Chinese officials began to understand the implications of the country's aging population, the government allowed parents who were from one-child families to have two children themselves. Two years later, the limit was raised to two children for everyone.
The Self Defense Force, the country's current military, was founded in 1954. Today, Japan is ranked fifth globally in overall military power after the United States, Russia, China and India, and its defense budget ranked sixth in the 2021 ranking of 140 countries by the Global Firepower rating site.
The yen's slide has been driven by the difference between interest rates in Japan and the US. Since March, the US Federal Reserve has aggressively raised its main interest rate - from 0.25% to 3.25% - as it tries to tackle the rising cost of living.
With the Act of Seclusion (1636), Japan was effectively cut off from Western nations for the next 200 years (with the exception of a small Dutch outpost in Nagasaki Harbor).
Is it rude to stare in Japan?
Prolonged eye contact (staring) is considered rude. Don't show affection, such as hugging or shoulder slapping, in public. Never beckon with your forefinger. The Japanese extend their right arm out in front, bending the wrist down, waving fingers.
Dictionary.com on Twitter: "In Japan, cats do not meow. They nyan.
Others are manner rules universal: don't speak with your mouth full, and close your mouth while you are chewing. What's special for Japanese food is perhaps the use of chopsticks. Please avoid holding food with two pairs of chopsticks.
After hovering around zero growth in the late 2000s, Japan's population has been shrinking since 2010, with the decline accelerating in recent years.
Individual tourists may visit Japan starting October 11, 2022, subject to vaccine or testing requirements as further described in the U.S. Embassy's “Information for U.S. Citizens Traveling to Japan” webpage. Tourists with U.S. passports no longer need a visa to stay up to three months.
Population collapse of Japan
By 2050, 106 million people are expected to live in Japan and by 2100 just 75 million. This means that in 90 years the population will decrease by 53 million people - over half a million people a year or more than one person every second around the clock.
The sanguinary battles in the Pacific had so depleted the strength of the Japanese navy and air force that the home islands could be threatened with invasion. The American occupation force found Japan's cities in ruins, its supplies exhausted, and its factories gutted.
For 2022, Japan is ranked 5 of 142 out of the countries considered for the annual GFP review. It holds a PwrIndx* score of 0.1195 (a score of 0.0000 is considered 'perfect').
Japan is famous for natural sights like cherry blossoms and Mount Fuji, cutting-edge technology like Japanese cars and bullet trains, wacky inventions like karaoke and vending machines, cultural values like politeness and punctuality, popular anime and manga, and mouth-watering food like ramen and sushi.
While the United States hoped embargoes on oil and other key goods would lead Japan to halt its expansionism, the sanctions and other penalties actually convinced Japan to stand its ground, and stirred up the anger of its people against continued Western interference in Asian affairs.
Did we warn Japan about the atomic bomb?
Leaflets dropped on cities in Japan warning civilians about the atomic bomb, dropped c. August 6, 1945. TO THE JAPANESE PEOPLE: America asks that you take immediate heed of what we say on this leaflet.
Seeking raw materials to fuel its growing industries, Japan invaded the Chinese province of Manchuria in 1931. By 1937 Japan controlled large sections of China, and war crimes against the Chinese became commonplace.
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Self-reported feeling of happiness in life among Japanese as of 2021.
Personal information | |
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Nationality | Japanese |
Listed height | 7 ft 8 in (2.34 m) |
Listed weight | 330 lb (150 kg) |
Career information |
South Korea is another East Asian country whose inhabitants are materially shorter than in the West—indeed in 1978 South Korean children were shorter even than the Japanese (Y. S. Kim, 1982).
Country / region | Average male height | Average female height |
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China | 167.1 cm (5 ft 6 in) | 155.8 cm (5 ft 1+1⁄2 in) |
China | 169.7 cm (5 ft 7 in) | 158 cm (5 ft 2 in) |
China | 172.6 cm (5 ft 8 in) | 160.6 cm (5 ft 3 in) |
Colombia | 170.6 cm (5 ft 7 in) | 158.7 cm (5 ft 2+1⁄2 in) |
Let's Ask the Numbers! The average height of 17-year old Japanese men is 170.7cm (5'6”) and 157.8cm (5'1”) for women. When it comes to weight, men weigh in with 62.5kg (137.7lbs) and women with 52.9kg (116.6lbs). Some people might be surprised that the average height is still relatively tall!
In East Asia, South Korean and Chinese men are now taller than Japanese men. Adults in the South Asian countries of Bangladesh and India have heights that are plateauing, at about 2 to 4 inches (5 cm to 10 cm) shorter than adults in Japan and South Korea.
It sits at the intersection of several tectonic plates. The shape and location of Japan is gradually transformed by plate movements. However, Japan is generally not sinking. In fact, its mountains are becoming higher as these plates crush together.
Although heavily damaged by the nuclear bombardment in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and other Allied air raids on Japan, Japan was able to recover from the trauma of WWII, and managed to become the third-largest economic entity of the world (after the United States and the Soviet Union) by the 1960s.
How many Japanese are missing from ww2?
TOKYO (AP) — Seventy-five years after the end of World War II, more than 1 million Japanese war dead are scattered throughout Asia, where the legacy of Japanese aggression still hampers recovery efforts.
It is conventionally regarded that the shogunate imposed and enforced the sakoku policy in order to remove the colonial and religious influence of primarily Spain and Portugal, which were perceived as posing a threat to the stability of the shogunate and to peace in the archipelago.
Toilet sinks
Many toilets in Japan with a water tank include a built-in sink. This is a simple water-saving grey water system: clean municipal water is used to wash the hands, then the waste water from hand washing is used to fill the tank for flushing. It also is a space saving feature in small, older bathrooms.
The Kazu 1 with two crew was taking 24 passengers, including two children, on a scenic tour at Shiretoko national park on the northern side of Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost main island, when it sent a distress call Saturday afternoon saying it was sinking.
While Sakoku, Japan's long period of isolation from 1639 to 1853, kept it closed off from much of the world, one upshot was the rise of cultural touchstones that persist to this day.
From the 1960s to the 1980s, Japan achieved one of the highest economic growth rates in the world. This growth was led by: High rates of investment in productive plant and equipment. The application of efficient industrial techniques.
Japan is rated Free in Freedom in the World 2022, Freedom House's annual study of political rights and civil liberties worldwide.
For the Japanese, surrender was unthinkable—Japan had never been successfully invaded or lost a war in its history.
Hiroo Onoda | |
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Died | 16 January 2014 (aged 91) Tokyo, Japan |
Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
Service/branch | Imperial Japanese Army |
Years of service | 1942–1945 (continued voluntary service until 1974) |
Constitutional limitations
Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution prohibits Japan from establishing a military or solving international conflicts through violence.