People of Japan

The people of Japan are mostly the residents of the islands of Honshu, Kyushu,

Hokkaido and Shikoku, apart from these Japanese people has also settled in various parts of the world. 'Nipponjin' and 'Nihonjin' are the two Japanese terms which means people of Japan or Japanese people . Contemporary scientific researches have shown that the people of Japan have genetic resemblance to the Tibetans. Some theories have evolved in recent years which associate the origin of the Japanese people with the 'Jomon' clan and the native Yayoi people. The term ' Japanese people' had a wider approach during the colonial times as it was used to refer to the residents of Taiwanese population and the Korean populace.

Population wise Japan ranks tenth worldwide and the recent census of 2002 declare that there are about 127 million Japanese people in the world living in Japan and in other parts of the planet. The Japanese population is facing a steady decline in the recent years as the birth rate has dropped considerably. The western influence on the oriental culture of Japan has led to the shrinkage of family tradition and small households have become the latest trend. The young population of Japan is also low in comparison to the other nations due to the lack of interest in conception by the young couples.

People of Japan all over the world have a homogenous and identical culture, tradition and language. The national language of Japan is Japanese which is of the Altaic language group. The Japanese language is comparatively easy to enunciate and pronounce. The main religions which are practiced by most of the people of Japan are Buddhism and Shinto. Religions do not play a big role in the everyday life of Japanese people and sometimes both the religions are practiced at a time by few of them.

The population of Japan is high in comparison to the area of the country thus the density is also relatively high. Most of the people are urban residents and concentration is limited to the cities. The low lands by the coasts give shelter to a mass of people in Japan. The parts of the world other than their native land where Japanese people has most emigrated are Latin American countries and United States.