Japan

Asia

Japan

• Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of China, Korea, and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. The kanji characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes identified as the "Land of the Rising Sun". Its capital and largest city is Tokyo.

Japan

– Japan comprises over 3,000 islands, the largest of which are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.

Japan

• Most of the islands are mountainous, many volcanic, including Japan’s highest peak, Mount Fuji. Japan has the world's tenth largest population, with about 128 million people.

Japan

• Archaeological research indicates that people were living on the islands of Japan as early as the upper paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan begins with brief appearances in Chinese history texts from the 1st century CE. Influence from the outside world followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. Thus, its culture today is a mixture of outside influences and internal developments. Since adopting its constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament, the Diet.

Government and politics

• Since adopting its constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament, the Diet.

• The Japanese first appear in written history in China’s Book of Han. It is later recorded that in 57 BC, the southern Wa kingdom of Na sent an emissary named Taifu to pay tribute to Emperor Guangwu and received a golden seal. According to China's Records of the Three Kingdoms, the most powerful kingdom on the archipelago in the third century was called Yamataikoku and was ruled by the legendary Queen Himiko.

Japan

Japanese Flag

Government and politics

• Government

• Constitutional monarchy - – EmperorHIM Emperor Akihito - 

• Prime Minister– Shinzo Abe (LDP

Currency

• Yen (¥) (JPY)

Government and politics

• On March 31, 1854, Commodore Matthew Perry and the "Black Ships" of the United States Navy forced the opening of Japan to the outside world with the Convention of Kanagawa

• The Boshin War of 1867–1868 led to the resignation of the shogunate, and the Meiji Restoration established a government centred around the emperor. Japan updated its political, judicial and military institutions by adapting Western examples. A parliamentary system modeled after the British parliament was introduced, with Ito Hirobumi as the first Prime Minister in 1882

Government and politics

• Japan attacked the United States naval base in Pearl Harbor and declared war on the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. This act brought the United States into World War II. After the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, Japan agreed to an unconditional surrender.

Government and politics

• The Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed on September 2, 1945 (V-J Day). The war cost Japan millions of lives and left much of the country's industry and infrastructure destroyed.

Government and politics

• The International Military Tribunal for the Far East, was subsequently convened (on May 3, 1946) to prosecute Japanese leaders for crimes against peace and humanity.

Government and politics

• In 1947, Japan adopted a new pacifist constitution which sought international cooperation and emphasized human rights and democratic practices. Official American occupation lasted until 1952 and Japan was granted membership in the United Nations in 1956.

Government and politics

• Under a program of aggressive industrial development and with US assistance, Japan achieved spectacular growth to become the second largest economy in the world, with a growth rate averaging 10% for four decades. This ended in the mid-1990s when Japan suffered a major recession from which it has since been slowly recovering

Government and politics

• Japan is a constitutional monarchy where the power of the Emperor ( 天皇 tennō, literally "heavenly sovereign") is very limited.

Government and politics

• As a ceremonial figurehead, he is defined by the constitution as "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people". Power is held chiefly by the Prime Minister of Japan and other elected members of the Diet, while sovereignty is vested in the Japanese people.

Government and politics

• The emperor effectively acts as the head of state on diplomatic occasions. Akihito is the current Emperor of Japan.

Government and politics

• The Diet consists of a House of Representatives, containing 480 seats, elected by popular vote every 4 years or when dissolved, and a House of Councillors of 242 seats, whose popularly-elected members serve six-year terms. There is universal suffrage for adults over 20 years of age, with a secret ballot for all elective offices. The liberal conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has been in power since 1955, except for a short-lived coalition government formed from opposition parties in 1993. The largest opposition party is the social liberal Democratic Party of Japan.

Foreign policy and military

• Japan maintains close economic and military relations with its key ally the United States, with the US-Japan security alliance serving as the cornerstone of its foreign policy..

Foreign policy and military

• A member state of the United Nations since 1956, Japan is currently serving as a non-permanent Security Council member. It is also one of the "G4 nations" seeking permanent membership in the Security Council

• Japan contributed non-combatant troops to the Iraq War, but has subsequently withdrawn forces from the region.

Foreign policy and military

• Japan has several territorial disputes with its neighbors: with Russia over the Kuril Islands, with South Korea over Dokdo (Takeshima), with China and Taiwan over the Senkaku Islands (Diaoyutai Islands), and with China over the status of Okinotorishima. These disputes are in part about the control of marine and natural resources, such as possible reserves of crude oil and natural gas.

Foreign policy and military

• The country also has an ongoing dispute with North Korea over its abduction of Japanese citizens and its nuclear weapons and missile programs

Foreign policy and military

• Japan's military is restricted by Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan of 1946, which states that

• "Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes."

Foreign policy and military

• Thus, Japan's current constitution prohibits the use of military force to wage war against other countries.

Geography and climate

• Japan is a country of over 3,000 islands extending along the Pacific coast of Asia. The main islands, running from north to south, are Hokkaidō, Honshū (the main island), Shikoku, and Kyūshū. The Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa, are a chain of islands south of Kyushū. Together they are often known as the Japanese Archipelago.

• About 70% to 80% of the country is forested, mountainous, and unsuitable for agricultural, industrial, or residential use. This is due to the generally steep elevations, climate and risk of landslides caused by earthquakes, soft ground and heavy rain. This has resulted in an extremely high population density in the habitable zones that are mainly located in coastal areas. Japan is the thirtieth most densely populated country in the world

• Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, at the juncture of three tectonic plates, gives Japan frequent low-intensity tremors and occasional volcanic activity. Destructive earthquakes, often resulting in tsunamis, occur several times each century. The most recent major quakes are the 2004 Chūetsu Earthquake and the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995. Hot springs are numerous and have been developed as resorts

• The climate of Japan is predominantly temperate, but varies greatly from north to south. Japan's geographical features divide it into six principal climatic zones:

• Hokkaidō: The northernmost zone has a temperate climate with long, cold winters and cool summers. Precipitation is not heavy, but the islands usually develop deep snow banks in the winter.

• Sea of Japan: On Honshū's west coast, the northwest wind in the wintertime brings heavy snowfall. In the summer, the region is cooler than the Pacific area, though it sometimes experiences extremely hot temperatures, due to the Föhn wind phenomenon.

• Central Highland: A typical inland climate, with large temperature differences between summer and winter, and between day and night. Precipitation is light.

• Seto Inland Sea: The mountains of the Chūgoku and Shikoku regions shelter the region from the seasonal winds, bringing mild weather throughout the year.

• Pacific Ocean: The east coast experiences cold winters with little snowfall and hot, humid summers due to the southeast seasonal wind.

• South-west Islands: The Ryukyu Islands have a subtropical climate, with warm winters and hot summers. Precipitation is very heavy, especially during the rainy season. Typhoons are common.

Mt. Fuji

Tokyo

• The main rainy season begins in early May in Okinawa, and the stationary rain front responsible for this gradually works its way north until it dissipates in northern Japan before reaching Hokkaidō in late July. In most of Honshū, the rainy season begins before the middle of June and lasts about six weeks. In late summer and early autumn, typhoons often bring heavy rain

• Japan is home to nine forest ecoregions which reflect the climate and geography of the islands. They range from subtropical moist broadleaf forests in the Ryūkyū and Bonin islands, to temperate broadleaf and mixed forests in the mild climate regions of the main islands, to temperate coniferous forests in the cold, winter portions of the northern islands.

Economy

• Close government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation have helped Japan become the second largest economy in the world, after the United States, at around US $4.5 trillion in terms of nominal GDP and third after the United States and China if purchasing power parity is used.

Science and technology

• Japan's population is estimated at around 127,463,611.[34] For the most part, Japanese society is linguistically and culturally homogeneous with only small populations of foreign workers, Zainichi Koreans, Japanese Brazilians, and others. Japan also has indigenous minority groups such as the Ainu and Ryūkyūans, and social minority groups like the burakumin.

• Japan has one of the highest life expectancy rates in the world, at 81.25 years of age as of 2006.[35] However, the Japanese population is rapidly aging, the effect of a post-war baby boom followed by a decrease in births in the latter part of the 20th century. In 2004, about 19.5% of the population was over the age of 65.[36]

• The changes in the demographic structure have created a number of social issues, particularly a potential decline in the workforce population and increases in the cost of social security benefits such as the public pension plan. It is also noted that many Japanese youth are increasingly preferring not to marry or have families as adults. Japan's population is expected to drop to 100 million by 2050 and to 64 million by 2100

• Immigration and birth incentives are sometimes suggested as a solution to provide younger workers to support the nation's aging population. Immigration, however, is not popular.

Tsunami by hokusai 19th century

Culture

• Japanese culture has evolved greatly over the years, from the country's original Jomon culture to its contemporary hybrid culture, which combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America. Traditional Japanese arts include crafts (ikebana, origami, ukiyo-e, dolls, lacquerware, pottery), performances (bunraku, dance, kabuki, noh, rakugo), traditions (games, tea ceremony, budō, architecture, gardens, swords) and cuisine

• Post-war Japan has been heavily influenced by American and European culture which has led to the evolution of popular band music (called J-Pop).

• The fusion of traditional woodblock printing and Western art led to the creation of manga, a typically Japanese comic book format that is now popular within and outside Japan. Manga-influenced animation for television and film is called anime. Japanese-made video game consoles have prospered since the 1980s.

• Japanese music is eclectic, having borrowed instruments, scales, and styles from neighboring cultures. Many instruments, such as the koto, were introduced in the ninth and tenth centuries. The accompanied recitative of the Noh drama dates from the fourteenth century and the popular folk music, with the guitar-like shamisen, from the 16th. We stern music, introduced in the late nineteenth century, now forms an integral part of the culture, as evident from the profusion of J-Pop artists. Modern Japanese music generally uses Western instruments, scales and style

Sports and recreation

• Traditionally, sumo is considered Japan's national sport and is one of its most popular. Martial arts such as judō, karate and kendō are also widely practiced in the country.

• After the Meiji Restoration, many Western sports were introduced in Japan and began to spread through the education system. These sports were initially stressed as a form of mental discipline, but many Japanese have now come to enjoy them as recreational activities

• Baseball is the most popular spectator sport in Japan and the professional baseball league in Japan was established in 1936. One of the most famous Japanese baseball players is Ichiro Suzuki, who plays in North American major league baseball, after having won Japan's Most Valuable Player award for the three consecutive years of 1994, 1995, and 1996. Since the establishment of a professional soccer league in Japan in 1992, football has also gained a wide following. Japan was a venue of the Intercontinental Cup from 1981 to 2004 and co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup with South Korea.

• Golf is popular in Japan, as is auto racing, the Super GT sports car series and Formula Nippon formula racing.

• Every year, Japan observes the second Monday in October as Health and Sports Day. The date, originally October 10, commemorates the opening day of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Other major sporting events that Japan has hosted include the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo and the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.