transport: Economy of Japan

Evidence: 40 • authority: 72

Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known as Formosa, lies between the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south. It has an area of 35,808 square kilometers (13,826 square miles), with mountain ranges dominating the eastern two-thirds and plains in the western third, where its highly urbanized population is concentrated. The combined territories under ROC control consist of 168 islands in total covering 36,193 square kilometers (13,974 square miles). The largest metropolitan area is…

Evidence: 32 • authority: 80

Oral Health Status, Manpower, and Delivery Systems in a Developed Country–Japan*

Evidence: 32 • authority: 72

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asian mainland, it is bordered to the west by the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk in the north, and the East China Sea in the south. The Japanese archipelago consists of four major islands alongside over 14,000 smaller islands. Japan is divided into 47 administrative prefectures and eight traditional regions, and around 75% of its terrain is mountainous and heavily forested, concentrating its agriculture and highly urbanized population along its eastern coastal plains. With a population of almost 123 million as of 2026, it is the world's 11th most populous country. Tokyo is the country's ca…

Evidence: 24 • authority: 80

Transitions from Less-Developed Country to Advanced Nation Status: Case Studies of the Asia Pacific and Brazil

Evidence: 24 • authority: 88

Kiribatiʼs graduation from Least Developed Country status: An analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Abstract The Pacific Small Island Developing State (SIDS) of Kiribati has met the formal, minimal criteria for graduation from the Least Developed Country (LDC) category of the United Nations on multiple occasions from 2003 to 2018. Nevertheless, in light of both structural, long‐standing constraints and severe more recent challenges – such as the COVID‐19 pandemic, the Russia‐Ukraine conflict and the exacerbation of the climate crisis – that past assessments took into only partial consideration, the country still appears, at present, unready to lose the support measur…

Evidence: 24 • authority: 80

VII. Burma's Status as a Least Developed Country

Evidence: 24 • authority: 92

Addressing low-value care (LVC) in Asia: a narrative review of Choosing Wisely and other initiatives across Asia.. Background Low-value care (LVC) research originates predominantly from Western healthcare systems. This narrative review offers the first synthesis of LVC patterns, determinants and reduction initiatives across six diverse Asian countries (Japan, Singapore, South Korea, China, Malaysia and India), comparing them with Western models to inform context-specific de-implementation strategies and identify key priorities for further research. Methods This is a narrative review of 132 English and non-English literature (2000-2025) from academic databases, grey literature, and policy do…

Evidence: 24 • authority: 92

Availability and Quality of Long-Term Care Services for Older Adults in Five Southeast Asian Countries.. Objective This study assessed the current status and quality of long-term care (LTC) services in five Southeast Asian countries, including Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Myanmar, amid rising demand due to population aging. Methods A mixed-methods approach was used. First, the relationship between population aging and Universal Health Coverage (UHC) was analyzed using demographic and health system data. Semi-structured interviews were then conducted with key stakeholders involved in care provision for older adults, guided by seven evaluation domains identified through…

Evidence: 24 • authority: 72

The least developed countries (LDCs) are developing countries listed by the United Nations that exhibit the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development. The concept of LDCs originated in the late 1960s and the first group of LDCs was listed by the UN in its resolution 2768 (XXVI) on 18 November 1971. A country can be classified among the least developed countries when it meets the three following criteria: Poverty – adjustable criterion based on the gross national income (GNI) per capita averaged over three years. As of 2024, a country must have GNI per capita less than US$1,088 to be included on the list, and over $1,306 to graduate from it ($3,918 under income-only threshold). Low leve…

Evidence: — • authority: 65