Resident population by ethnic group: Japanese 98,5%, Korean 0,6%, Chinese 0,2%, Latin Americans 0,2%, Filipinos 0,1%, native minority of Ainu on Hokkaido (25 000), other 0,2% - despite the fact that data can vary between sources, Japan is one of the most ethnically homogeneous countries in the world

Registered foreigners living in Japan: 1 778 462 (r. 2001), mainly from Asian countries
Japanese living abroad: 811 712, out of which the permanent expatriates 285 027 (r. 2000), mainly in North and South America

Religion: Shintoist 49,7%, Buddhist 44,6%, Christian 0,7%, other 5%

Official language: Japanese
Literacy: 100%

Life expectancy: men 76 year, women 83 year

Population of Major Cities [As of October 1, 2000]
Source: Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications

City	Population (1000)	Population density (per km2)
Nagoya	2,172	6,652
Sapporo	1,822	1,626
Kyoto	1,468	2,405
Sendai	1,008	1,287
Osaka	2,599	11,743
Chiba	887	3,261
Kobe	1,493	2,716
Tokyo (23 wards)	8,135	13,093
Hiroshima	1,126	1,518
Yokohama	3,427	7,839
Fukuoka	1,341	3,953
Kawasaki	1,250	8,759
Kitakyushu	1,011	2,089