Japan History

Japan's earliest settlers were fishers, hunters and gatherers who slogged over the land bridges from Korea to the west and Siberia to the north. It's also thought that seafaring migrants from Polynesia were part of the ethnic blend. By AD 300, the sun-worshipping Yamato kingdom had loosely unified the nation through conquest and alliance. Buddhism was introduced from China in the mid-6th century and soon became the state religion. Rivalry between Buddhism and Shintō, …

…he announced his resignation in early April 2001. Mori's succesor was the eccentric Junichiro Koizumi, who brought a beguilling mix of nationalism and reform to Japan's top job. Promising to the culture of high-level nepotism that had in part led to the deflation, he distinguishes himself with his charisma and dashing haircut. By the end of 2003, his energies seemed to be paying off: Japan's economy was ever-so-slowly climbing out of its deflationary hole in the ground.