Japan 

Human occupation of Japan dating back to the Paleolithic, and more consensual date for the first human presence in this archipelago of 35 000 BC, when hunter-gatherers arrived in the islands from the mainland through isthmuses. The first Japanese flint tools dating from this period, and the polished stone dating from 30,000 BC, is the oldest in the world. It is unclear why these tools have emerged so early in Japan In 1985 divers made discoveries of underwater structures in Yonaguni, in Okinawa, which attracted many historians, archaeologists and scientists to the archaeological site, which conducted studies for its dating. They concluded that the monuments are more than 11 000 years old, the oldest in the world. Scientists confirm that these monuments found submerged off the coast of Japan are evidence that there may have been an unknown civilization, previous to the Stone Age. The first ceramic culture and civilization to develop in Japan was the Jomo nomadic people who did not develop agriculture or animal husbandry. Between 250 BC and 250 AD, the nomadic culture Yayoi, coming of Kyushu, superseded the earlier and brought rice farming, metal tools and making clothes.

 Literacy in Japan dates back prior to the introduction of Chinese writing in the sixth century. Initially restricted to the aristocratic classes, education has reached the general population in the Edo Period, when there were special schools for the samurai class, but also mixed schools that taught reading, writing and arithmetic. Thanks to this system, it is estimated that in 1868, the time of the Meiji Restoration, 40% of the Japanese population was literate. The division into primary schools, secondary schools and universities were introduced in Japan in 1871 as part of the Meiji Restoration.

In Japan, health care is provided by national and local governments. Payment for personal medical services is offered through a system of universal health insurance that provides relative equality of access, with fees set by a government committee. People without insurance through employers can participate in a national health insurance administered by local governments. Since 1973, all elderly persons have been covered by government-sponsored insurance. [143] Patients are free to select physicians or facilities of their choice. The country has the highest life expectancy in the world (according to estimates UN and WHO) and the third lowest infant mortality rate.