| Japan Information (What do you know?) |
| Japan Geography: Location: Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula Area: total: 377,835 sq km land: 374,744 sq km water: 3,091 sq km note: Includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto) Area - comparative: Slightly smaller than California Coastline: 29,751 km Climate: Varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north Terrain: Mostly rugged and mountainous Elevation extremes: lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m highest point: Mount Fuji 3,776 m Natural resources: Negligible mineral resources, fish Natural hazards: Many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons Environment - current issues: Air pollution from power plant emissions results in acid rain; acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality and threatening aquatic life; Japan is one of the largest consumers of fish and tropical timber, contributing to the depletion of these resources in Asia and elsewhere |
| People of Japan Population: 127,417,244 (July 2005 est.) Religions: Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other (including Christian 0.7%) 16% Languages: Japanese Flag description: White with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center Food There is a great variety of uniquely-Japanese food. There are foods that are national dishes and there are regional specialties. The staple of a Japanese diet is rice, which is eaten at almost every meal. The other food that would be used in place of rice is noodles. In Japan, a lot of fish is also eaten. Fish is served both cooked and raw. It is both the use of food and the way it is combined that makes Japanese food unique. Here we will look at a few of the better-known foods in order to understand what the Japanese diet is like and recognise the differences between this and our own standard foods. Rice Rice is often served in a bowl as a side dish at lunch and dinner. A bowl of rice is also often eaten for breakfast. This bowl of plain rice can be mixed with soy sauce, raw egg and various other foods and sauces. Another Japanese food that uses rice is sushi. Sushi combines rice and, generally, seafood. This can be wrapped in seaweed, which holds it together. Because the rice is sticky, it can just be shaped into a ball with other foods positioned on top. Rice is also served in a bowl with other foods on top of it, like chicken or tempura. The Japanese also make fried rice, which was introduced to Japan from China. Soft, watery rice and rice with green tea is also eaten in Japan. Noodles Noodles have a dominant place in Japanese cuisine. Many noodle dishes are traditional Japanese foods, and some of them are dishes that have been made Japanese. Soba noodles are thick noodles that are like spaghetti. These are served both hot and cold. The native udon noodles are very thick noodles that are also served either hot or cold. Both these types of noodles are served with various things on top. A Chinese-influenced meal is made with ramen noodles. These noodles are served in a soup. Noodles are also fried and deep-fried sometimes. Seafood The Japanese find a lot of their food from the water. Seafood in Japan is prepared in a great many ways. A lot of seafood is eaten raw. It is also cooked by grilling, deep-frying, steaming or grilling. Sashimi is raw seafood. A lot of seafood can safely be eaten raw if it is fresh and prepared in the correct way. Other foods There are many other traditional Japanese foods, including skewers. Different foods, whether it be vegetables, meat or seafood are cooked on a skewer, which is called yakatori. A lot of dishes in Japan incorporate soya beans. These are used in miso soup, which is often served at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Soya beans make tofu, which is used in a lot of traditional Japanese dishes. Tempura is when different food is battered and then deep-fried. These are just a few of the foods that you would be likely to find in Japan. Drink The Japanese drink a lot of tea. Green tea is very popular and is consumed nationally. There are different varieties of green tea, and different qualities. Green tea is taken at all times of the day. The Japanese drink tea from a cup that does not have a handle. Milk and sugar are never put into tea. Other herbal teas, like jasmine tea, are drunk in Japan. Japanese rice wine, which is called sake or nihonshu, is a traditional Japanese drink made from rice and water. This can be taken either hot or cold. Utensils The Japanese do not use a knife and fork to eat their food. In Japan, people use chopsticks. Chopsticks are two thin sticks of equal length that taper at one end. In Japan they are called hashi. Hashi are not only used for eating, they are also used in cooking. Japanese chopsticks are usually made from wood that is then lacquered. They can also be made from a variety of other materials. When they are not being used, the pointed ends of chopsticks should be placed on a chopstick rest. Another important rule in Japan, to be polite, is to never transfer food from your plate to other people's with your chopsticks. This is a cultural rudeness. General etiquette requires that you do not wave your chopsticks around when you are talking. It is also impolite to leave your chopsticks in the food in your bowl while you are not using them. Spoons are sometimes used in a Japanese meal. This is mostly a ceramic spoon that has been adopted from the Chinese. Japanese Homes The standard of living in Japan is much higher than it used to be. The average wage is better and therefore life at home is better. While houses are still small, due to a lack of room, they are comfortable. Many things in a Japanese home are traditional. A family of four will live in a two- or three-room home, with a bathroom and a kitchen. In this instance the two rooms double as living and sleeping areas. Beds called futons are pulled out of cupboards at night and laid on the floor and then they are put back the next morning. The floors are typically covered in a springy mat called tatami. People do not wear shoes inside. They are removed at the front door and replaced with slippers. Today's home in Japan is also generally full of modern appliances, like televisions and stereos. In Japan, only around 60% of people own their own home. In Tokyo only approximately half the population lives in rented accommodation. A lot of the time, the nearest place available to rent, or the nearest place that is affordable, is an hour from the city. Accommodation an hour from the centre of Tokyo is often still far more expensive than a place in the middle of another city. Very few young people today buy their own houses. Home life It is common in Japan for three generations to live under one roof. This is becoming less common today, but still exists, certainly in the countryside. The norm in Japan is for the husband to go to work and the wife to take care of all things domestic. This, also, is changing with more women going to work. Mothers play an enormous role in the lives of their children and the bond is very strong. Babysitters are rarely used and mothers often sleep with their babies. A mother will also spend hours with children doing school work. Few Japanese men help with housework. There is more pressure today for this to change. The finances of a family, though, are the responsibility of the women who handle most of the household expenses. There are exceptions in instances when something of value, like a car, is being bought. Husbands in Japan give their salaries to their wives. They are returned a sum of money as pocket money, otherwise how to use the rest is the wife's decision. |
| Japan Government: Government type: Constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government Capital: Tokyo Administrative divisions: 47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gumma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi Independence: 660 BC (traditional founding by Emperor JIMMU) National holiday: Birthday of Emperor AKIHITO, 23 December (1933) Constitution: 3 May 1947 Legal system: Modeled after European civil law system with English-American influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal Executive branch: chief of state: Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989); note - head of government: Prime Minister Junichiro KOIZUMI (since 26 April 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister elections: Diet designates prime minister; constitution requires that prime minister commands parliamentary majority; following legislative elections, leader of majority party or leader of majority coalition in House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister; KOIZUMI's term as leader of the LDP is scheduled to end in September 2006; a new prime minister may be chosen at that time; monarch is hereditary election results: NA Legislative branch: Bicameral Diet or Kokkai consists of the House of Councillors or Sangi-in (242 seats - members elected for six-year terms; half reelected every three years; 144 members in multi-seat constituencies and 98 by proportional representation) and the House of Representatives or Shugi-in (480 seats - members elected for four-year terms; 300 in single-seat constituencies; 180 members by proportional representation in 11 regional blocs) elections: House of Councillors - last held 11 July 2004 (next to be held in July 2007); House of Representatives - last held 11 September 2005 (next election by September 2009) election results: House of Councillors - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LDP 115, DPJ 82, Komeito 24, JCP 9, SDP 5, others 7; distribution of seats as of October 2004 - LDP 114, DPJ 84, Komeito 24, JCP 9, SDP 5, others 6 : House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - LDP 47.8%, DPJ 36.4%, others 15.8%; seats by party - LDP 296, DPJ 113, Komeito 31, JCP 9, SDP 7, others 24 (2005) Judicial branch: Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the monarch after designation by the cabinet; all other justices are appointed by the cabinet) Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ [Seiji MAEHARA, leader; Yukio HATOYAMA, secretary general]; Japan Communist Party or JCP [Kazuo SHII, chairman; Tadayoshi ICHIDA, secretary general]; Komeito [Takenori KANZAKI, president; Tetsuzo FUYUSHIBA, secretary general]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Junichiro KOIZUMI, president; Tsutomu TAKEBE, secretary general]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Mizuho FUKUSHIMA, chairperson; Seiji MATAICHI, secretary general] |
| Industry in Japan Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of GDP) helped Japan advance with extraordinary rapidity to the rank of second most technologically-powerful economy in the world after the US and third-largest economy after the US and China, measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis. (Using market exhange rates rather than PPP rates, Japan's economy is larger than China's.) One notable characteristic of the economy is the working together of manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors in closely-knit groups called keiretsu. A second basic feature has been the guarantee of lifetime employment for a substantial portion of the urban labor force. Both features are now eroding. Industry, the most important sector of the economy, is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. The tiny agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected, with crop yields among the highest in the world. Usually self sufficient in rice, Japan must import about 50% of its requirements of other grain and fodder crops. Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch. For three decades overall real economic growth had been spectacular: a 10% average in the 1960s, a 5% average in the 1970s, and a 4% average in the 1980s. Growth slowed markedly in the 1990s, averaging just 1.7%, largely because of the after effects of overinvestment during the late 1980s and contractionary domestic policies intended to wring speculative excesses from the stock and real estate markets. From 2000 to 2003, government efforts to revive economic growth met with little success and were further hampered by the slowing of the US, European, and Asian economies. In 2004, growth improved and the lingering fears of deflation in prices and economic activity lessened. Japan's huge government debt, which totals more than 160% of GDP, and the aging of the population are two major long-run problems. A rise in taxes could be viewed as endangering the revival of growth. Robotics constitutes a key long-term economic strength with Japan possessing 410,000 of the world's 720,000 "working robots." Internal conflict over the proper way to reform the ailing banking system continues. |
| Japanese Clothing The Japanese have traditional clothes that they still wear today. These clothes, however, are reserved for special occasions, like visiting a Shinto shrine or a festival that requires they are worn. This chapter looks at what is being worn in Japan today. Uniforms Uniforms are an important aspect of Japanese clothing. There are many situations in which it is part of a day-to-day role that a Japanese person may have to wear a uniform. There are the more obvious situations, like school. There are also the less common examples, like some large businesses. Many places that have uniforms do so to encourage employees to work as a team. Putting on a uniform is not restricted to these areas, however. The Japanese have a deeply-ingrained notion of loyalty and unity. This means that many groups of Japanese people insist on wearing the same clothes in a casual situation. Business If a business does not require that a uniform is worn, then it is up to the person to choose their own clothes. In Japan, for men this means that a business suit would be worn. This would be the same for any women who may be working in a business, they would also wear formal business clothing. Women are becoming more of a presence in the working environment in Japan, which did not used to be the case. Teenagers The young people in Japan today have a lot more money to spend on things like clothes than their parents had. Furthermore, there is more of a desire to do so than there was in their parents' generation. This is because for teenagers in Japan today, it has become very important to keep up to date with the trends in fashion. This is also the same for music, entertainment, food and sport. In Japan, when someone adopts a fashion, then everyone does. The trends change as fast as the teenagers pick them up. In their school uniforms, teenagers look very formally dressed, usually wearing dark colours, like navy and black. When these same teenagers are out at night, on the other hand, they transform completely. They have interesting hair designs and clothes. Casual People in Japanese cities are more fashion conscious than the Japanese living in the country. At home, Japanese people dress in casual Western-influenced clothes. Much like Australians, Japanese people wear jeans, tracksuits, shorts, T-shirts and jumpers. Harajuku girls Harajuku girls are named after the area of Tokyo that is known as Harajuku. Harajuku girls are famous for the wild outfits they wear. They pull together anything to make an outrageous outfit. Since the 1990s, Harajuku girls have become Japanese cultural icons. |
| Transportation in Japan The people of Japan love to travel, both internationally and nationally. On the weekends and when they have holidays they enjoy taking trips to different Japanese locations. These include places like the hot springs, onsen, or historic Japanese sites. The problem for the Japanese people is that they live in a country that is made up of four main islands and many smaller ones. Most of Japan is covered in mountains. We will look at the main ways the Japanese travel within Japan. We will also look at inner-city travel and travel between cities. Cars Many people in Japan own cars. People living in a city very rarely use them during the week. This is because there are very few carparks and the traffic is very congested. Traffic is so heavy that the pollution levels are quite high in cities. People wear face masks when walking around. Also, the public transport system is so good that there is no need to take a car to work. Motorways run through the city to help ease the traffic problems. These are often raised above the ground. Because the cities are so crammed there is no room to build motorways on the ground. Motorways also provide a link between the main cities. Motorways include the Tomei and Meishin expressways. The mountains in Japan are an obstacle when planning a motorway between some cities. One way to get around this problem is to put the motorway through the mountain. Part of the motorway from Tokyo to Niigata is a tunnel through the mountains. This tunnel is nearly 11 kilometres long. Trains Trains provide a great deal of Japan's transportation. For the reasons that people will not use cars in the city, people use trains. Trains travel not only within a city and between cities, there are also several trains that travel between the islands of Japan. Trains are in heavy demand in Japan, especially to provide transport form outer city suburbs into the city and within the city. Due to the cost of living within some of the major cities, and the lack of available space, many people live in the suburbs. Some of these people have to commute up to two hours a day to get to work. The demand for public transport can easily be seen in a Japanese railway station. Here, there are people who are specifically employed to be pushers. This means that their job is to push as many people on to a train as possible. There are three kinds of train that may run in a city. Some cities have a combination of the three. There are land trains that run on tracks at ground level. Some cities now have trains that run on tracks above ground, which are called monorails. Then, there are the underground train systems, which, as their name suggests, run below the buildings and streets. What trains a city has depends on how much space there is and how many people need this type of transport regularly. There is often so little space that some trains actually pass through the sides of buildings. Japan is the home of one of the fastest methods of land travel. This is the Bullet Train, or Shinkansen in Japanese. Developed in the 1960s, this train reaches speeds of up to 270 kilometres an hour. The 550 kilometre distance from Tokyo to Osaka takes only two and a half hours. There are 150 of these trains and all of them are controlled by a computer in Tokyo. Island travel has also been made easier through the use of trains, tunnels and bridges. There are even tunnels that run under the sea from island to island. The Seikan rail tunnel runs from Honshu to Hokkaido. This is the world's longest tunnel at approximately 54 kilometres long. The island of Kyushu is also linked by an undersea tunnel. Planes Ferries are still used in Japan, although this form of transport is used mainly between the smaller islands. The more usual mode of travel is by train and car. The other method of travel, which is also heavily used by the Japanese, is air travel. This is the quickest and easiest way to travel in Japan. The main cities of Japan are linked by regular flights. In fact, Japan is the only country in the world to use jumbo jets for domestic flights. This is due to the enormous demand. |
| Japanese History After the Japanese attacked the United States, a three- year war ensued in the Pacific. America made the decision to use the atomic bomb on the Japanese. This was a weapon that had only been tested once before - and only two weeks before the first one was dropped. The reason behind the decision to use this weapon against the Japanese was to prevent further deaths of American soldiers and to hasten the surrender of Japan. On 6 August, 1945 the United States of America dropped the first of two atomic bombs on Hiroshima, a city in the south of Honshu. Then, on 9 August, 1945 the United States of America dropped the second atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki on the Japanese island Kyushu. The dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan had the effect the Americans had hoped for. Japan was sufficiently devastated that surrender came soon after. Five days after the second bomb was dropped, on 14 August, 1945, the emperor of Japan surrendered to the United States. Japan was conquered for the first time in history. Hiroshima On 6 August, 1945 an American plane dropped an atomic bomb called 'Little Boy' on the city of Hiroshima. The bomb generated huge amounts of air pressure and heat. The bomb also released atomic radiation, the effects of which still cause problems for some Japanese people. The heat that was released from the explosion burned everything, including people, in its path. Approximately 10 square kilometres of the city were destroyed, which was about 60% of the city. In just a moment, 70 000 buildings were incinerated and 80 000 people had been killed. 60 000 more people would die before the end of the year from the effects of this bomb, either through burns, wounds or radiation sickness. Nagasaki The bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki on 9 August, 1945 was a more explosive bomb than the one that was dropped three days before on Hiroshima. This bomb killed 70 000 people immediately and, like the first bomb, killed many more through the fatal side-effects that were inflicted. In Nagasaki, 70 000 people died of related illness during the decade that followed the dropping of the bomb. Remembering The devastation of the bombs both physically and mentally will be forever remembered in Japan. There are many monuments that have been erected or left in place after the explosion. These remind the Japanese of the horror of nuclear weapons. The building that was directly beneath the point of explosion of the first bomb in Hiroshima is one such memorial and it has been left as a reminder. |
| Traditions, Holidays, Celebrations in Japan Celebration Festivals and celebration play an important role in Japanese life. Festivals are a way in which religion can be kept alive and celebrated. Public holidays Japan has 15 official public holidays. There is a public holiday that celebrates all people who turn 20 years of age during that year, which is the Coming-of-Age Day. There is a day set aside to reflect on the establishment of the nation. Twice a year the day and night are exactly the same length of time, the spring and autumn equinox, these are also national holidays. Because two national holidays fall a day apart, the day between two national holidays is also a national holiday by law. This day is called the between day. There is a day for children and a day to respect the aged. National holidays are also for culture, health and sports, thanking labourers and the birthday of the emperor. Coming-of-Age Day, Seijin Shiki, includes festivities that celebrate the age of majority in Japan, which is 20. Festivities on this day involve celebrations at local prefecture offices. Families will hold parties to celebrate a child at this age. When the official celebrations have ended, the young people will often join together and continue to celebrate. Young women will often wear a kimono on this day. The Doll Festival in Japan takes place on 3 March, which is Girls' Day. In Japan, this is known as Hinamatsuri. Dolls wearing kimonos are displayed for people to see and admire. The original belief behind this festival was that dolls could hold bad spirits inside their bodies, which meant that they were protecting their owner. Tanabata is the Star Festival. It is believed that the Milky Way, which looks like a river of stars in the sky, separates two lovers called Orihime and Hikoboshi. The lovers are allowed to come together one day of the year, 7 July. On this day the Japanese hold the Star Festival in celebration of these two lovers. Schichi-Go-San translated means 7-5-3. This is a festival held for all seven-year-old girls, all five- year-old boys and all three-year-olds. The day celebrates a rite of passage for children and is commonly a day to take photographs of your children dressed in traditional Japanese clothes. Bon is a Buddhist festival that honours deceased relatives. This is the most important festival of the summer and it lasts for four days from 13 to 16 August. Traditionally, people will light lanterns and place them outside their houses. The lights are there to guide the spirits on their journey home. These are just a few Japanese festivals, there are many more. These include Omisoka, which is an important celebration as it is New Year's Eve. This is even more important because it is the night before the most important celebration in Japan, which is New Year's Day. There is also the Sapporo Ice Festival, where artists make things from the snow. On Children's Day people fly flags shaped as a fish called a carp. At the Aoi festival in Kyoto, people dress in the original clothes of the Imperial court. The Hakada festival is held in Osaka during winter. Hakada means naked. The point of this festival is for men to show how brave they are. The tea ceremony The Japanese tea ceremony was developed in the sixteenth century by a Buddhist Zen master. The tea ceremony in Japanese is called 'Chanoyu'. This ceremony, along with the martial arts, was studied by the samurai warriors. The rituals of this ceremony draw on both the Shinto and Buddhist religions. The aim of the tea ceremony is to achieve inner peace and harmony. It also aims to open the mind in preparation for meditation. The tea that is served is green tea, 'Cha' in Japanese. This is a bitter tea that is served to guests in little cups. When the tea is finished the guest will regard and admire the cup. This is because every instrument that is used in this ceremony has been carefully selected for its beauty. Once the cup has been admired, the guests eat a sweet cake. The tea ceremony traditionally takes place in a beautiful tea garden. Ceremonies can last up to four hours. Guests at the tea ceremony sit on the floor with their knees bent and their legs beneath them. Tea masters train for years to perfect the art of a tea ceremony. The ceremony is structured down to the last detail, which has to be followed precisely and in time when put into practice. Even the preparation of the tea itself has a ritual with rules that need to be followed. The women performing the ceremony traditionally wear black wigs with intricate white makeup. They also wear a traditional kimono. |
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