The book "Japan 1972" is the first issue of the periodical, which will be published annually as an organ of the Section for the Study of Japan under the Scientific Council for Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences. The publication was prepared for publication by the editorial board of the yearbook with the assistance of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and the Institute of Far East of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. The yearbook aims to satisfy the growing interest of our public in the Far Eastern neighbor of the Soviet Union - Japan and to give readers in a concentrated presentation reliable information on the most acute and topical problems of a very complex and dynamic life in Japan. Naturally, the main task of the team of authors and the editorial board is to promote the development of good-neighborly relations between the Soviet Union and Japan, to deepen mutual understanding and friendship between the peoples of both countries.