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JAPAN

Officialname:Nihon,orNippon(Japan)

Formofgov’t:constitutionalmonarchywithanationalDietconsistingoftwolegislativehouses

Symbolofstate:EmperorAkihito

Headofgovernment:PrimeMinisterAbeShinzo

Capital:Tokyo Officiallanguage:none Officialreligion:none

Monetaryunit:yen(¥) Population:126,915,000 Totalarea:145,898 Urban-ruralpopulation:Urban:93%Rural:7% Lifeexpectancy:Male:80.2yearsFemale:86.6years Literacy:Male:100%Female:100%

GNIpercapita:(U.S.$)36,680

Introduction Japanisoneoftheworld’smosttechnologicallyandeconomicallyadvancedcountries.Itbeganitsmodernperiodinthelate19thcentury,butbeforethen,Japanhadlargelycutitselfofffromtheoutsideworld.JapansufferedacrushingmilitarydefeatinWorldWarII,andfacedmajorsetbacks.Butmanagedtoquicklybecomeleaderintheworldseconomyandfinance.Infewotherplacesintheworlddothevaluesandtraditionsofthepastcontinuetoflourishsostronglyalongsidetheideasandpracticesofthepresent.Thepersistingcontrastbetweenthenewandtheold,themodernandthetraditional,isoneofthemostcharacteristicfeaturesofpresent-dayJapan.LandandClimateJapanislocatedofftheeastcoastofAsia.Itconsistsoffourlargeislandsandmorethan3,900smallerislands.SeasonaltemperaturesinJapangenerallyincreasefromnorthtosouth.AverageJanuarytemperaturesare15to20°Finthenorthbut45°Finthesouth.VirtuallyallofJapanexceptpartsofeasternHokkaidoaveragesmorethan40inchesofprecipitationannually,one-thirdofwhichcomesfromtyphoons.Japan’shashadmanyvolcanoesandearthquakesbecauseoftheinstabilityoftherocksunderlyingthecountry.ThisinstabilityiscausedbythemovementofseveralofEarth’smajorcrustalplatesneartheJapaneseislands.Thecountryhasabout200volcanoes,60ofwhichhavebeenactiveinrecordedhistory.MountFuji(12,388feet),thefamousvolcaniccone,isthehighestpeakinJapan.MountFujihasbeendormantsince1707.Japanexperiencessome1,000tremorseachyear,mostofthemminor.However,majorearthquakeshavecausedconsiderablelossoflifeandwidespreaddestruction.OneoftheworstwastheGreatKantoEarthquakeof1923,which,combinedwiththeensuingfire,wipedoutmuchofTokyoandYokohama.Morethan140,000liveswerelost.AnearthquakeinKobein1995killedabout6,400people.

UnderseaearthquakesintheNorthPacificbasinstirupunusuallylargetsunamis.In1896atsunamisevenstorieshighobliteratedseveralvillagesnearSanriku,drowningroughly26,000people.In2011a

powerfulearthquakeandlargetsunamidevastatedHonshu’seasterncoast,killingmorethan18,000people.PlantsandAnimalsForestscoveralargepartofJapan.Thecountry’severgreentreesincludepines,cypresses,hemlocks,cedars,firs,andspruces.Numerousbroad-leavedtreesincludeoaks,maples,ashes,birches,beeches,andpoplars.BambooandpalmsgrowinsouthernandcentralJapan.CherrytreesareknownassymbolsofJapan.TheJapaneseplantthemthroughoutthecountry.Manyanimalsliveintheforestedmountains.Mammalsincludebears,foxes,deer,wildboars,antelope,hares,andwildmonkeys.Onemonkey,theJapanese,isfoundasfarnorthasnorthernHonshu,makingitthenorthernmostmonkeysintheworld.Theseasarehometowhales,dolphins,porpoises,andawidevarietyoffish.Theraisingofgoldfishandcolorfulcarp(koi)isaJapanesespecialty.PeopleJapanistheworld’stenthmostpopulouscountry,andmostJapanesepeoplesharethesameethnicandculturalbackground.TheyarecloselyrelatedtotheotherpeoplesofEastAsia.OnegroupofJapanese,theburakumin(peopleofthevillage),oftenliveinpoorerconditionsthanotherJapanese.Theirancestorsbelongedtothelowestclassintraditional

Japanesesociety.Koreansformthelargestminoritygroup.TherearealsosmallnumbersofAinu,anativepeopleofnorthernJapan.

Thecountry’smainlanguageisJapanese,buttherearedozensofdifferentdialects.Morethan1,500yearsago,theJapaneseadoptedChinesecharactersforwritingtheJapaneselanguage.TheJapanesealsodevelopedtheirowncharacters,standingforasyllablerather

thanaseparateconsonantorvowel.AfterWorldWarIItheJapanesegovernmentmodifiedthesystemofwriting,andreducedthemanythousandsofcharacterstoaboutacouplethousandbasiccharacters,andtheirformsweresimplified.ShintoandBuddhismarethemajorreligions,butthemajorityofpeopledonotpracticeanyformalreligion.MostJapaneseliveincities,mainlyonHonshu.EconomyMostJapaneseworkinservices,includingbanking,healthcare,andcommunications.Manufacturingandinternationaltradearealsostrongpartsoftheeconomy.Japanisaleadingmakerofships,automobiles,watches,andelectronics—especiallycellularphonesandrobots.Majorcompaniesheadquarteredthereinclude:Toyota,Honda,Sony,Canon,Panasonic,Toshiba,andSharp.Farmingandfishingaresmallpartsoftheeconomy.Nevertheless,Japanproduceslargeamountsoffood.Itsleadingcropsincluderice,potatoes,sugarbeets,fruits,vegetables,andtea.Japanalsocatchesmorefishthanmanyothercountries. HistoryPeoplelivedinJapanatleast10,000yearsago.Accordingtolegend,theemperorJimmufoundedtheJapanesestatein660BC.Historicalrecords,

however,showthatJapanwasnotunitedasonestateuntilthelate300sorearly400s.FormanycenturiestheJapaneseborrowedheavilyfromChineseculture.Besidesborrowingthelanguage,theyalsousedsomeChineseideasaboutgovernment.Japan’sculturebecamemoreJapaneseafterthe800s.MilitaryGovernmentDuringthe1100saclassofwarriorscalledsamurairosetopower.Thesamuraidevelopedadvancedmilitaryskills.Soontheysetupamilitarygovernment,calledashogun.Japanhadanemperor,butheheldlesspowerthantheshogun,ormilitaryruler.MeanwhileJapanwasdevelopingtradecontactswiththeoutsideworld.TrademissionstoChinabeganin1404.In1543PortuguesetradersarrivedinJapan.Spanish,English,andDutchtradersfollowed.

Duringthe1600sand1700sstrongshogunsoftheTokugawafamilyruledJapan.Japanenjoyedpeace,stability,andagrowingeconomy.Atthesametime,theshogunsbegantofearconquestbyforeignpowers.TheybannedChristianity(aforeignreligion),stoppedforeigntravel,andcutbackonforeigntrade.

Bythemid-1800stheTokugawashogunwasunabletokeepEuropeanandU.S.tradersaway.Theshogun’ssupportamongtheJapanesepeoplecollapsed.In1868theshogunwasforcedtostepdown.TheJapaneseEmpireJapansetupanewgovernmentunderanemperorwhotookthenameMeiji,meaning“enlightenedgovernment.”ThistransferofpowertotheMeijiemperorwasthestartofJapan’smodernera.JapansoonstartedtobuildanempireanddefeatedChinaandRussiainwar.ItmadeKoreaintoaJapanesecolonyin1910.DuringWorldWarI,JapanfoughtonthesideoftheAllies.JapanseizedadditionalterritoryinEastAsiaduringthewar.

WorldWarIIIn1931JapanseizedcontrolofManchuriafromChina.JapanmovedtroopsintoChinain1937andintoSoutheastAsiain1940.TheJapanesealsoformedanalliancewithGermanyandItaly.ThethreecountrieswereknownastheAxispowers,fightingagainsttheAlliesduringWorldWarII.In1941JapanattackedU.S.forcesatPearlHarbor,Hawaii.TheattackpulledtheUnitedStatesintothewar.In1945theUnitedStatesdroppedatomicbombsontheJapanesecitiesofHiroshimaandNagasaki.Thebombsdestroyedthecitiesandkilledmorethan100,000people.TheJapanesethensurrendered.PostwarJapanAfterthewarJapanhadtogiveupalltheterritoryithadoccupiedsince1895.Italsobrokeupitsmilitary.Inaddition,U.S.forcesoccupiedJapanuntil1952.Anewconstitutionin1947tookpowerawayfromtheemperorandmadeJapanmoredemocratic.Japanquicklyrebuiltitsruinedeconomywiththehelpofnewtechnology.By1990Japanhadoneoftheworld’slargesteconomies.Althougheconomicgrowthslowedinthe1990s,Japanremainsoneoftherichestcountriesintheworld.FUNFACT:Twenty-onepercentoftheJapanesepopulationisovertheageof65,thehighestproportionintheworld.Andasthebirthratethereissolow,moreadultdiapersaresoldthanbabydiapers.FUNFACT:InJapanese,thename“Japan”means“LandoftheRisingSun.”ItwasoncebelievedthatJapanwasthefirstcountrytoseethesunrise.FUNFACT:Japanhasmorethan3,000McDonald’srestaurants,thelargestnumberinanycountryoutsidetheU.SFUNFACT:Japanhasaround5.5millionvendingmachineswithoneonalmosteverystreetcorner.Therearevendingmachinesthatsellbeer,comicbooks,hotdogs,lightbulbs,toiletpaper,umbrellasandfishbait.