Japan
Japan was granted membership in the United Nations in 1956. A period of record growth propelled Japan to become the second-largest economy in the world. On 11 March 2011, Japan suffered one of the largest earthquakes in its recorded history, triggering the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. On 1 May 1 2019, after the historic abdication of Emperor Akihito, his son Naruhito became Emperor, beginning the Reiwa era. On 8 July 2022, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated while giving a campaign speech in Nara.