Japan is a highly developed country, and a great power in global politics. Its economy is the world's third-largest by nominal GDP and the fourth-largest by PPP.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange is the third largest stock exchange in the world by market capitalization, as well as the 2nd largest stock market in Asia, with more than 2000 listed companies. The Nikkei 225 and the TOPIX are the two important stock market indexes of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The Japanese yen (JPY, ¥) is the world's third-largest reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro.