---
title: "Japan — capital, area, population and currency"
description: "Japan: capital Tokyo, area 377,915 km², population 123,366,734 (2025), currency Japanese yen. Languages, time zones and calling code."
url: https://atoneplace.net/country/japan/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Japan

**Japan: Capital Tokyo**

377,915 km² · 123,366,734 people (2025) · Japanese yen

A 2023 government survey using digital mapping counted 14,125 islands, more than double the long-quoted figure of 6,852. About three-quarters of the land is mountain, so nearly everyone lives on a narrow band of coastal plain. Japan sits where four tectonic plates meet and records a fifth of the world's magnitude-6-and-above earthquakes.

## The facts

- **Capital:** Tokyo
- **Area:** 377,915 km² — 145,914 sq mi
- **Population:** 123,366,734 (2025)
- **Density:** 326.4 people per km²
- **Currency:** Japanese yen (JPY, ¥)
- **Official language:** Japanese
- **Time zone:** UTC+09:00
- **Calling code:** +81
- **Drives on the:** left
- **ISO codes:** JP · JPN
- **Continent:** Asia

## How it compares

- **By area:** 62 of 200
- **By population:** 12 of 200

> Population is the only figure on this page that dates — it is a 2025 estimate and will drift. Area, capital, currency, languages, calling code and driving side change rarely or never.

## Countries of a similar size

| Country | Area (km²) | Population |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Paraguay | 406,752 | 7,013,078 |
| Zimbabwe | 390,757 | 16,950,795 |
| Japan ← | 377,915 | 123,366,734 |
| Germany | 357,022 | 83,491,249 |
| Republic of the Congo | 342,000 | 6,484,437 |

## Common questions

### What is the capital of Japan?

Tokyo

### What currency does Japan use?

The Japanese yen (JPY).

### How big is Japan?

377,915 km², or 145,914 square miles — 62 of 200 by area.

### Which side of the road does Japan drive on?

The left.

## Related pages

- [Paraguay](https://atoneplace.net/country/paraguay/)
- [Zimbabwe](https://atoneplace.net/country/zimbabwe/)
- [Germany](https://atoneplace.net/country/germany/)
- [Republic of the Congo](https://atoneplace.net/country/republic-of-the-congo/)
- [India](https://atoneplace.net/country/india/)
- [China](https://atoneplace.net/country/china/)
- [Indonesia](https://atoneplace.net/country/indonesia/)
- [Pakistan](https://atoneplace.net/country/pakistan/)
- [Bangladesh](https://atoneplace.net/country/bangladesh/)
- [Philippines](https://atoneplace.net/country/philippines/)
- [Vietnam](https://atoneplace.net/country/vietnam/)
- [Iran](https://atoneplace.net/country/iran/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]
- World Bank Open Data — The World Bank (https://data.worldbank.org/) [CC BY 4.0]