Japan attacked US forces in 1941 - triggering America's entry into World War II - and soon occupied much of East and Southeast Asia. After its defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become an economic power and a staunch ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, actual power rests in networks of powerful politicians, bureaucrats, and business executives. The economy experienced a major slowdown starting in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented growth.
The Japanese language is spoken by over 130 million people, mainly in Japan, but also by Japanese emigrant communities around the world. Unlike most western languages, the Japanese language has an extensive grammatical system to express politeness and formality. The Japanese language is distinguished by verb forms and vocabulary which indicate the relative status of the speaker and listener, reflecting the hierarchical nature of Japanese society.
There are two forms of the Japanese language considered standard, Hyojungo or "standard Japanese", and Kyotsugo or "the common language", though many of the distinctions between the two have blurred. Hyojungo, or standard Japanese can be subdivided into Bungo or "literary language" and Kogo or "oral language". Bungo has less relevance today with Kogo being the predominant method of speaking and writing Japanese and that which is taught in schools and used on television.
International interest in the Japanese language dates to the 1800s but has become more prevalent following Japan's economic bubble of the 1980s and the global popularity of Japanese pop culture in the 1990s and beyond. It is estimated that around 2.3 million people are learning Japanese worldwide.
