A current and comprehensive source of information on contemporary Japanese society, history, and culture. This monumental work is packed with data on the economy, government, and politics of Japan, as well as articles on Japanese art, culture, and history. In addition to the main entries and over 4,000 fullcolor illustrations, nearly 100 feature articles and pictorial essays expand on subjects of particular interest 4,000 color photos and illustrations 2 million words in 12,000 entries Easy-to-use reader's guide to entries 20 pages of maps 14 page bibliography of major works on Japan Japanese-English bilingual title entries and index.