
The earliest people of Japan, the so-called Jōmon people, consisted of multiple genetically heterogenous groups. Human habitation upon the archipelago that would become modern Japan dates back to 40,000 BCE. Up until the asset price bubble and resulting economic turmoil of the 1990s, Japan was even considered to have the potential to upstage the United States as top superpower, because it seemed to have everything penetrated, from consumer goods, automobiles, and an entertainment sec tor with a commercial and cultural exposure potency rivaling that of the USA. For a long time, it was the only Asian country that could "stand on equal footing" with Western Europe and the Anglophone countries in terms of economy and development it is the only Asian representative of the G7, which grouped the world's seven largest economies when it was created in the 1970s. Within the span of a mere 30 years, Japan transformed from a poor, loosely-knit, largely-feudal, agriculture-concentric society into an industrial and military powerhouse, enabling it to pursue a campaign of exploration and colonialism abroad and participate in two world wars as key players. While many countries in Asia (and especially East Asia) are today considered developed and high-economic, Japan has the quirk of having experienced mass industrialization and development predating them by decades. Japan is a free-market, developed, democratic country, with the world's 3rd largest economy, and very high standards of living. With a population of 125 million, it is the sixth most populous country in Asia, and the eleventh most populous in the world.

Known principally as the land of Shinto, Samurai, Ninjas (or Shinobi for those who value historical accuracy), electronic and general consumer Mega Corps and incredible innovation (although not as much today), one-third of the interactive entertainment industry, Manga, Anime, an interesting fusion of Orientalist and Western architecture, kawaisa, sushi, rather-frequent natural disasters, and two cities that bore witness to the true potential of nuclear warfare. Officially, the monarch of Japan is called "Emperor" ( Tennō), which would mean Japan is an empire, but that would bring to mind terrible memories of the 1940s.) is probably East Asia's most famous nation, second only to the Middle Kingdom.

There is no "Kingdom" or "State" in its title. An archipelago off Asia's eastern coast, comprising of four major islands (from north to south: Hokkaidō, Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū) and thousands of smaller ones, Japan ( Japanese: 日本 Nippon or Nihon note Yes, it's just Japan and just Nippon.
