Japan

Contents Facts about Japan Brief History Geography & Climate Physical Geography Population Language Religion

Facts about Japan Government: Parliamentary with constitutional monarchy Prime Minister: Shinzō Abe (elected Dec 2012) Capital: Tokyo GDP: 4.34 Trillion (2008) Electric Power Generation: Conventional thermal (coal, oil, natural gas) 60%, Nuclear 29%, Hydroelectric 9%, Renewables 2% Industries: Consumer electronics, motor vehicles, machine tools, steel, and nonferrous metals Exports: Motor vehicles, semiconductors, and office machinery Agriculture: Rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit, pork, fish Currency: Yen Life Expectancy: Average: 82, Male: 78.8, Female: 85.6 Literacy Rate: 99% Environmental Issues: Acid rain and global warming. Japan is the world’s largest consumer of Amazon rainforest timber.

Brief History Yayoi Period, 300 BC: Agricultural development. Nara Period, 700 BC: First strong central state. Heian Period, 784 AD: Indigenous Japanese culture developed, noted for art, poetry, and literature. Era of warring feudal states, 1180: Samurai culture emerges. Tokugawa (Edo) Period, 1600: Japan is unified and Samurais are divested of some power. Japan flourishes, and becomes isolationist, only trading with Dutch and Chinese from Nagasaki. Meiji Period, 1868: Japan is forced open by Commodore Perry’s US Naval threats. Samurai culture is abolished, and Japan begins to modernize and industrialize. Era of Japanese Imperialism, 1910: To establish itself as a world power, Japan begins invading and occupying Korea, China, and other regions of Asia. Japan declares war on the U.S. in the Pacific with the attack at Pearl Harbor in 1941. Post WWII Era: Japan has developed into one of the world’s economic powers.

Geography & Climate The area of Japan is 377,873 square kilometers. Although slightly smaller than California, Japan extends further north and south. Climate ranging from subtropical in the south, to almost subarctic in the north. However, most of Japan’s climate is temperate. Japan is a rugged and mountainous country, with the Japanese Alps covering 85 percent of its territory. There are many small plains and lowlands. The largest Japanese lowland is the Kanto Plain. However, it is only 80 miles wide and 100 miles long. Main geographical challenge is sustaining its large population on an island with little arable land and few natural resources.

Japanese Alps

Japanese Lowlands

Physical Geography The islands of Japan are located in an area known as the Pacific Ring of Fire. This area is where most of the world's earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur. Japan is located at the convergence of three major tectonic plates; The Pacific Plate, the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate. Japan experiences numerous earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its geography. Japan experiences heavy snow in its mountains and is vulnerable to typhoons, which frequently strike their coastlines.

Population Population: 127,368,088 (July 2012) Birth Rate: 8.39 births/1,000 population (2012) World Rank: 217th Population Growth Rate: -0.077% (2012) Total Fertility Rate: 1.4 Population Density (per square kilometer): 337 Percent Urban: 86 percent Tokyo, a megalopolis and the capital of Japan, is located on Honshu Island. Central Tokyo has a population of 12 million people, with the population of the Greater Tokyo Area estimated at over 35 million people.

Language Japanese is the official language of Japan. Many Japanese have some ability in English, as it is a mandatory part of curriculum. Japanese uses four different writing systems. Kanji, Hiragana, Katakana and Romaji. Japanese strongly influenced by loanwords from Chinese and English.

Religion The two major religions in Japan are Shinto and Buddhism. While religion does not play a major role in the life of the average Japanese, religious ceremonies are usually held at births, weddings, and funerals. On New Year's Day visiting a temple or shrine is also a common custom. About 1% of the population follows Christianity, which was heavily persecuted in Japan prior to the Meiji Restoration in 1873.

Arigato! Any question?