JAPAN This is old Japan… And this is Japan today! By : Sandrine

Japan is an archipelago. It has about 6,000 islands. The four largest islands are Honshū,Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku. Japan is sometimes called “Land of the Rising Sun” and “The Floating world”. Japan has a lot of mountains. The country has a few active volcanoes and many inactive volcanoes. Japan has three holy mountains: Mount Fuji, Mount Haku and Mount Tate. About 73% of Japan is mountainous, with a mountain range running through each of the main islands. Land

Japan has 4 main seasons: summer, spring, winter and fall. In the north it can be cold and to the south it can be warm. Each year, Japan receives between 39 and 118 inches (100 and 300 mm)of rainfall. Climate

Government The Prime minister of Japan is the head of the Government. The current Prime minister is Yoshihiko Noda. He has been in power since September 2, He was elected by the people of Japan.

Famous Landmarks Japan’s famous landmarks are Mt. Fuji, and the Akashi Kakiyo suspension bridge. Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, also called “Pearl Bridge”, is the world’s longest suspension bridge with a length of 3911 meters (12,831 ft). Mount Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan. With the length of 3, meters (12,389 ft). It is located in the Chubu region on Honshu, the largest island of Japan.

Money In Japan the currency is called “Yen”. A Canadian dollar equals 80 Japanese Yen.

Religion Long ago in Japan, the religion was Buddhist and Shinto. The current religion of Japan is Christianity, Catholicism, Protestantism.

Population The population of Japan is HUGE!!! The population is about 130,000,000 today. And it will be growing for many years. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population. Tokyo has about 9,000,000 today!

Language Japanese is one of the hardest languages anyone can learn. Japan has a lot of languages! The major languages are: Japanese, Korean, and Okinawan. A few minor languages are: Kikai, Kunigami, Oki- No-Erabu, and Yonagami. Most people in Japan speak Japanese.

Education Going to school in Japan is a serious job. Children start in kindergarten and continue to university. The schools are very competitive even in kindergarten. Instead, of learning at their own pace they study at the same level. Both boys and girls go to school. The literacy rate is 99% both boys and girls in rural and urban places.

Food Sushi can be defined as a dish which contains sushi rice, cooked rice that is prepared with sushi vinegar. Ramen are Chinese style noodles prepared in a soup with many toppings. Ramen is one of the many popular dishes that were mainly introduced from China. It is a popular noodle dish in Japan too.

Sports There are all types of sports in Japan. People play baseball, and they do martial arts, and sumo wrestling. Japanese people have been playing those things for over a hundred years.

Animals There are 188 types of wild animals in Japan. On the main land of Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu there are animals like the japanese serow, giant flying squirrel, japanese bear, and the wild boar. There are 665 types of birds such as the swallow, common pheasant and chopper pheasant.

Anime and Manga Anime and Manga is popular in Japan and other countries. You might have heard of Naruto, Digimon, Dragon Ball Z, and ever so popular Pokemon. The female has round beautiful eyes and a perfect figure. Some males have enormously huge muscles or nice hair styles. This started in The Father of Anime and Manga is Marwah Zagzoug.

Facts Japan has several kinds of holidays and special days. These include Coming of the Age Day, Foundation Day, Equniox Day, Constitution Memorial Day, Children’s Day, Marine Day, Respect for the Aged Day, Health and Sports day, Culture day, Emperor’s Birthday. They also celebrate Christmas and other days you celebrate.