Jamaica
Jamaica gained full independence within the British
Commonwealth in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the
1970s led to recurrent violence and a dropoff in tourism. Elections
in 1980 saw the democratic socialists voted out of office.
Subsequent governments have been open market oriented. Political
violence marred elections during the 1990s.
Jan Mayen
This desolate, mountainous island was named after a Dutch
whaling captain who indisputably discovered it in 1614 (earlier
claims are inconclusive). Visited only occasionally by seal hunters
and trappers over the following centuries, the island came under
Norwegian sovereignty in 1929. The long dormant Haakon VII
Toppen/Beerenberg volcano resumed activity in 1970; it is the
northernmost active volcano on earth.
Japan
While retaining its time-honored culture, Japan rapidly
absorbed Western technology during the late 19th and early 20th
centuries. After its defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to
become an economic power and a staunch ally of the US. While the
emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, actual
power rests in networks of powerful politicians, bureaucrats, and
business executives. The economy experienced a major slowdown
starting in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented
growth.
Jarvis Island
First discovered by the British in 1821, the
uninhabited island was annexed by the US in 1858, but abandoned in
1879 after tons of guano had been removed. The UK annexed the island
in 1889, but never carried out plans for further exploitation. The
US occupied and reclaimed the island in 1935. Abandoned after World
War II, the island is currently a National Wildlife Refuge
administered by the US Department of the Interior; a day beacon is
situated near the middle of the west coast.
Jersey
The island of Jersey and the other Channel Islands represent
the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy that held sway
in both France and England. These islands were the only British soil
occupied by German troops in World War II.
Johnston Atoll
Both the US and the Kingdom of Hawaii annexed
Johnston Atoll in 1858, but it was the US that mined the guano
deposits until the late 1880s. The US Navy took over the atoll in
1934, and subsequently the US Air Force assumed control in 1948. The
site was used for high-altitude nuclear tests in the 1950s and
1960s, and until late in 2000 the atoll was maintained as a storage
and disposal site for chemical weapons. Munitions destruction is now
complete. Cleanup and closure of the facility is progressing, with
completion anticipated in 2004.
Jordan
For most of its history since independence from British
administration in 1946, Jordan was ruled by King HUSSEIN (1953-99).
A pragmatic ruler, he successfully navigated competing pressures
from the major powers (US, USSR, and UK), various Arab states,
Israel, and a large internal Palestinian population, through several
wars and coup attempts. In 1989 he resumed parliamentary elections
and gradually permitted political liberalization; in 1994 a formal
peace treaty was signed with Israel. King ABDALLAH II - the eldest
son of King HUSSEIN and Princess MUNA - assumed the throne following
his father's death in February 1999. Since then, he has consolidated
his power and established his domestic priorities, including an
aggressive economic reform program. Jordan acceded to the World
Trade Organization in January 2000, and signed free trade agreements
with the United States in 2000, and with the European Free Trade
Association in 2001.
Juan de Nova Island
Named after a famous 15th century Spanish
navigator and explorer, the island has been a French possession
since 1897. It has been exploited for its guano and phosphate.
Presently a small military garrison oversees a meteorological
station.
Kazakhstan
Native Kazakhs, a mix of Turkic and Mongol nomadic tribes
who migrated into the region in the 13th century, were rarely united
as a single nation. The area was conquered by Russia in the 18th
century and Kazakhstan became a Soviet Republic in 1936. During the
1950s and 1960s agricultural "Virgin Lands" program, Soviet citizens
were encouraged to help cultivate Kazakhstan's northern pastures.
This influx of immigrants (mostly Russians, but also some other
deported nationalities) skewed the ethnic mixture and enabled
non-Kazakhs to outnumber natives. Independence has caused many of
these newcomers to emigrate. Current issues include: developing a
cohesive national identity; expanding the development of the
country's vast energy resources and exporting them to world markets;
achieving a sustainable economic growth outside the oil, gas, and
mining sectors; and strengthening relations with neighboring states
and other foreign powers.
Kenya
Founding president and liberation struggle icon Jomo KENYATTA
led Kenya from independence until his death in 1978, when President
Daniel Toroitich arap MOI took power in a constitutional succession.
The country was a de facto one-party state from 1969 until 1982 when
the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU) made itself the sole
legal party in Kenya. MOI acceded to internal and external pressure
for political liberalization in late 1991. The ethnically fractured
opposition failed to dislodge KANU from power in elections in 1992
and 1997, which were marred by violence and fraud, but are viewed as
having generally reflected the will of the Kenyan people. President
MOI stepped down in December of 2002 following fair and peaceful
elections. Mwai KIBAKI, running as the candidate of the multiethnic,
united opposition group, the National Rainbow Coalition, defeated
KANU candidate Uhuru KENYATTA and assumed the presidency following a
campaign centered on an anticorruption platform.