The United States is Japan's closest ally, and Japan relies on the U. S. for its national security to a high degree.

Priests were officially nominated and organized by the state, and they instructed the youth in a form of Shinto theology based on the official dogma of the divinity of Japan's national origins and its Emperor.

He was firmly against Korea falling into China or Russia's sphere of influence, which would cause a grave threat to Japan's national security.

Two months before the announcement, Japan's largest yakuza group, Yamaguchi-gumi, bought 50 prized seats during a tournament so that gangsters were prominently visible during the national broadcast of the match.

Japan's reforms under the Meiji emperor gave significant priority to naval construction, and the creation of an effective modern national army and navy.

Some of Japan's literary monuments were written during the Nara period, including the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, the first national histories, compiled in 712 and 720 respectively ; the Man ' yōshū, an anthology of poems ; and the Kaifūsō, an anthology written in Chinese by Japanese emperors and princes.

The Act on National Flag and Anthem was passed in 1999, choosing both the Hinomaru and " Kimigayo " as Japan's national symbols.

In 2008 she received France's Ordre national de la Légion d ' honneur for her contribution to Japan's cultural awareness of France, and she will be a guest of the 2011 Angoulême International Comics Festival.

Sumo wrestling is considered Japan's national sport.

NHK (, ; official English name: Japan Broadcasting Corporation ) is Japan's national public broadcasting organization.

Four of Japan's national parks lie within its borders, in whole or in part.

The young company's national aspirations were conveyed by its original brand mark, which evoked Japan's imperial rising sun flag.

In 1869, the British military band instructor John William Fenton, who was then working in Yokohama as a o-yatoi gaikokujin, told the members of Japan's military band about the British national anthem " God Save the King " and emphasized the necessity of a similar national anthem for Japan.

The band members requested artillery Captain Ōyama Iwao, who was well versed in Japanese and Chinese literature, to select appropriate words and Ōyama selected the poem which came to be used in Japan's national anthem kimigayo.

Japan's national public broadcaster NHK uses involving Yamanashi, Nagano and Niigata Prefectures for regional programming and administration.

A national ceremony to mourn the people who died during the Second World War is held with the attendance of the Prime Minister, the Emperor and the Empress annually in Budokan on August 15, the day of Japan's surrender.

As concerns over the increasing number of incursions by foreign vessels and attempts to end Japan's self-imposed national seclusion policy, the Shogunate established a number of coastal artillery batteries around Yokosuka, including an outpost at Ōtsu in 1842.

He argued that this would increase leisure time, quality of life, and benefit Japan's national competitiveness.

Kyushu Institute of Design ( 九州芸術工科大学 ; Kyūshū Geijutsu Kōka Daigaku, KID ) in Fukuoka, Japan is one of Japan's prestigious national universities and was founded in April, 1968.

As with most other courtiers in Kyoto, Iwakura opposed the Tokugawa Shogunate's plans to end Japan's national isolation policy and to open Japan to foreign countries.

One of Japan's oldest and largest national daily newspapers, the Asahi Shimbun began publication in Osaka on January 25, 1879 as a small-print, four-page illustrated paper that sold for one sen ( a hundredth of a yen ) a copy, and had a circulation of approximately 3, 000 copies.

In spite of Japan's policy of national isolation in the Edo period, in 1862 Takasugi was ordered by the domain to go secretly to Shanghai in China to investigate the state of affairs and the strength of the Western powers.

Japan's national seclusion policy was tightened, and formal persecution of Christianity continued until the 1850s.

In addition, this war and its aftermath established red and white, the colors of the Taira and Minamoto standards, respectively, as Japan's national colors.

The National Diet Library is the successor of three separate libraries: the library of the House of Peers, the library of the House of Representatives, both of which were established at the creation of Japan's Imperial Diet in 1890 ; and the Imperial Library, which had been established in 1872 under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education.

It is the home of Japan's largest science and technology library.

The, or " Oriental Library ", is Japan's largest Asian studies library and one of the world's five largest.

He collects manga despite his hatred of Japan's influence on American animation.

Hikaru Utada's debut album, First Love, went on to be the highest-selling album in Japan with over 7 million copies sold, whereas Ayumi Hamasaki became Japan's top selling female and solo artist, and Morning Musume remains one of the most well-known girl groups in the Japanese pop music industry.

Nearly all the former League of Nations mandates had become sovereign states by 1990, including all of the former United Nations Trust Territories with the exception of a few successor entities of the gradually dismembered Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands ( formerly Japan's South Pacific Trust Mandate ).

After making his declaration, which all schools of Nichiren Buddhism regard as marking their foundation ( 立宗: risshū ), Nichiren began propagating his teachings in Kamakura, then Japan's de facto capital since it was where the shikken ( regent for the shogun ) and shogun lived and the government was established.

There are several different series that are run all over the world, most notably, Japan's Super Taikyu and IMSA's Firehawk Series which ran between the 1980s to 1990s all over the United States.

To the tune of a Susa march, they bid Japan " Please Hello " and are followed by a Gilbertian British Admiral, a clog-dancing Dutch Admiral, a gloomy Russian and a dandified Frenchman all vying for access to Japan's markets.

The Commission eventually decided in favor of a slightly modified version of Nihon-shiki, which was proclaimed to be Japan's official romanization for all purpose by a September 21, 1937 cabinet ordinance and is now known as Kunrei-shiki.

Japan's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission has knowledge of more than 50 listed companies with ties to organized crime, and in March 2008, the Osaka Securities Exchange decided to review all listed companies and expel those with yakuza ties.

The Japanese also agreed with the United Kingdom to extend the Anglo-Japanese treaty to cover all of Eastern Asia, and in return the UK also agreed to Japan's control over Korea.

Japan gained a great deal from the treaty, but it was not what the Japanese public had been led to expect, since Japan's initial negotiating position had demanded all of Sakhalin and a monetary indemnity as well.

The battle was a devastating loss for Russia, which lost all of its battleships, most of its cruisers and destroyers, and effectively ended the Russo-Japanese war in Japan's favor.

After the outbreak of World War II, the state was recognised by Slovakia ( 1 June 1940 ), France ( 12 July 1940 ), Romania ( 1 December 1940 ), Bulgaria ( 10 May 1941 ), Finland ( 18 July 1941 ), Denmark ( August 1941 ), Croatia ( 2 August 1941 )— all controlled or influenced by Japan's ally Germany — as well as by the China's Wang Jingwei government ( 30 November 1940 ), Thailand ( 5 August 1941 ) and the Philippines ( 1943 )— all under Japanese control.

In an audience poll ( with 80, 402 voters ) of 100 best animations of all time, conducted by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs in 2007, Castle in the Sky was the second highest-ranked animated film, and third highest-ranked animation overall on the list.

In Yokohama Chinatown, Japan's biggest Chinatown, tourists from all over Japan come to enjoy the festival.

One of Japan's top ranked kickboxers, Nagashima makes all his entrances and publicity appearances for K-1 dressed as different female anime characters, accompanied by cosplaying girls.

Okinawa comprises just 0. 6 % of Japan's total land mass, yet U. S. military bases use about 10 % of all the land in the Ryukyus, including 18. 8 % of the land on Okinawa Island itself.

* Japan's Sadaharu Oh retires from the Yomiuri Giants as the all time professional baseball home run king.

The new group included former Prime Ministers Mitsumasa Yonai, Nobuyuki Abe, and Konoe Fumimaro, all of whom supported Japan's aggressive foreign policy and the right-socialist ideals of Kingoro Hashimoto on creation of a Military Shogunate that would manage the Imperial affairs directly.

Japan's postal codes all start with a three-digit number, ranging from 001 to 999.

Prior to the Restoration, Japan's feudal fiefs all issued their own money, hansatsu, in an array of incompatible denominations, but the New Currency Act of Meiji 4 ( 1871 ) did away with these and established the yen as the new decimal currency, which had parity with the Mexican silver dollar.

Despite the best that has been done by everyone – the gallant fighting of the military and naval forces, the diligence and assiduity of Our servants of the State, and the devoted service of Our one hundred million people – the war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage, while the general trends of the world have all turned against her interest.

Emerging Chinese nationalism, the victory of the communists in Russia and the growing presence of the United States in East Asia all worked against Japan's postwar foreign policy interests.

Japan's current and next generation cellular systems are based on W-CDMA ( UMTS ) and CDMA2000 and all use SIM cards.

Nakata played in all four of Japan's matches at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, scoring the second goal of a 2-0 first round win against Tunisia.