Japan
By: Maritza Mata
If you had a free airline ticket to go anywhere in the world, where would you go? Would it be somewhere in Brazil? Or the European country of Ireland? While these may be some of the top choices for a few people living in the United States and other parts of the world, another undoubtedly common answer would be Japan. Japan is located in eastern Asia and is home to 127,103,392 citizens, making it the tenth most populated country in the world. Japan is actually an incredible place once you take into account amazing environment, the inhabitants and their culture, and the sights of the nation, the answer would come very easily.
To begin, Japan has a varied physical geography. For instance, it is home to multiple rivers. The top three longest rivers in Japan are the Shinano River, the Tone River, and the Ishikari River, respectively. The Shinano River’s length measures at about 228 miles and eventually pours into the Sea of Japan. The Tone River goes on for about 200 miles, leaving it slightly shorter than the Shinano. This leaves Ishikari as the shortest of the three, only streaming for about 167 miles. However, these rivers aren’t the only magnificent features of the archipelago. Approximately 200 volcanoes rise on the nation, 60 of them active. Among them are the notable Unzen Volcano and the Sakurajima, which rises at an astounding 1,711 feet. Both volcanoes are located in Kyushu, Japan. The only difference (aside from height) is the exact locations; Unzen is adjacent to Shimabara, while Sakurajima lies near Kagoshima City. Due to volcano existence, hot springs lay at their bases. In addition to rivers and volcanoes, Japan also contains mountains. The main mountain range in the country is the Japan Alps locat...
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...ave the sight of nature can go visit the Ryoanji Temple. Turned into a Zen temple in 1405, it holds the well-known rock garden, which is made of of small pebbles and large rocks. The sight’s day of creation, intended interpretation, and creator continues to be a mystery to natives and tourists alike. The last wonderful sight found in Japan is the Tokyo Skytree. The Tokyo Skytree is 2, 080 feet, making it the tallest structure in all of Japan! Its 29 floors have multiple purposes such as an aquarium, restaurant, and a shopping center.
With all of this considered, it isn’t such a mystery as to why people revere Japan. The country’s incredible geography, its people, and various sights do wonders to capture the minds of people all over the world. Japan, like all other places on earth, has unique qualities that make it a great place to see at least once in your lifetime.
Japan has a history that dates back thousands of years. Researchers believe the Japanese people descended from many groups that migrated to the islands from other parts of Asia, including China and Korea. As early as 4500 B.C., the Japanese islands
About three-quarters of Japan is mountainous. They were formed by tectonic plates colliding. Volcanoes were formed by the land breaking, and the liquid rock built up in it. A lot of the volcanoes are active, yet no one knows when one will erupt. The
The topography of Japan is extreme but is amazing. Opposite of the U.S., Japan’s l...
Japan is located on the east coast of Asia. It consists of over 6,852 islands with four main islands: Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku. Almost 80% of Japan’s population lives on Honshu Island. Japan is the sixty-second largest country based on the area measurement, and it is comparable to the state of California. It consists of a coastline, which is 29,751 kilometers in length without any land boundary. The climate varies, with the dominant climates ranging from temperate to subtropical; it is possible for snow to be falling in Hokkaido Island and to have warm temperatures in Okinawa at the same time. As Japan lies in the Pacific ‘region of fire’, the country is highly prone to tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanoes; Japan has about 108 active volcanoes. The following table summarizes information on the geography of Japan:
A small empire lies off the Chinese coast that’s approximately 378 square kilometers known as the "Land of the Rising Sun". Japan got its nickname because from China it appears that the sun rises from that direction. The current emperor of Japan is Emperor Akihito and the current Prime Minister is Shinzo Abe who was appointed by Emperor Akihito in 2012. Emperor Jimmu was the first emperor of Japan in 660 B.C. and since then Japan has been involved in thirty-six wars combined. Japans 6,852 islands hold a population of approximately 128 million and the country is divided into forty-seven prefectures which is equivalent to our states. Each prefecture has their elected governor, legislature and administrative cabinet. Japan is a tradition country and some of the original traditions and practices are still used to this day.
Japan is a harmonious society with low rates of litigation, crime, and divorce. Their citizens learn to be attentive to others, to value group goals more than immediate personal gain, and to broadly include everyone in group activities and decisions.
Denison (2002) stated that “Japanese strive to meet the expectations of others, especially those in power. As well as Behavioral skills in the work place are more important to success than analytical skills” Another good example of how you are seen by your peers, co workers, or anyone with a position of power is important because It effects their standing and it helps their important sense of conformity. I personally find the culture interesting because it is all so different from my own culture, as well as what I've learned from my acculturation to the american culture.
The country of Japan is an island nation, which is separated from Mainland Asia by the Sea of Japan. (“Facts about Japan”) On the west side it is surrounded by the Northern Pacific Ocean. It has no land boundaries. Japan has four main islands: Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku. Seventy percent of Japan consists of mountains and volcanoes. (“Facts about Japan”) The climate in Japan is very tropical in the southern parts and much cooler in the northern parts. (“Facts about Japan”) Based on location, Japan is prone to typhoons and heavy snowfall in the north which can cause landslides and avalanches. (“Facts about Japan”) Japan is part of the Ring of Fire of the Pacific. (“Facts about Japan”) The ring of fire is where the earthquakes and volcanoes generally occur in the basin of the Pacific Ocean. (“Facts about Japan”) About 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire. (“Facts about Japan”) Over a thousand earthquakes occur each year in Japan. (“Facts about Japan”) In March of 2011, Japan suffered one of the largest most powerful earthquakes to hit Honshu, Japan. (“Facts about Japan”) The earth...
Perhaps more than any other nation in the world, Japan is shaped by its geography to a tremendous extent. Technically classified as an archipelago, Japan is a curved chain of four islands (Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, plus over a thousand smaller islands). However, it is first and foremost an island nation, a fact which isolated Japan from the rest of the world. The second largest influence in Japanese geography is the size of the nation. The total area of Japan proper is a little under 143 thousand square miles; the contiguous United States spreads across just over 3 million. To say that
Throughout its history, Japan has striven to define its national identity not by its own means, but by those predefined by foreign, and most recently, Western powers. Despite legends of the island archipelago being created by the sun goddess Amaterasu, Japan seems to have consistently maintained a indecisive self-image with respect to its neighbors. In the past, China had represented the pinnacle of culture and technology and had tremendously influenced other surrounding countries in Asia and in the world. Indeed, Japan owes its written language to imported and adapted Chinese characters. Without question, China remained for a long time the most influential force upon Japan. However, island nation maintained a rather precarious self-identity: How could a country like Japan, which was supposedly created by the gods and therefore a divine nation, consider itself the apex of the world, given China’s tremendous influence and power? Could Japan truly consider itself the greatest land in the world if China, or Chugoku in Japanese, literally meant “the central country?” For this reason, Japan never truly accepted a position of “belonging” to Asia. That is, despite a considerable amount of imported culture, Japan was still somehow inherently different from other Asian countries.
Many of us, if not everyone, has heard of the country of Japan through various means. Possibly through popular films such as Godzilla or the renowned horror films which the country produces. Perhaps through the various anime TV shows that have been dubbed in English creating a massive fan base here in the United States, or the massive franchise Nintendo that has filled our child memories with countless hours spent in front of a screen playing Mario or Pokémon. One way or another the Japanese have shared their culture with a huge audience but thats only scratching the surface of the Japanese culture. The country of Japan wasn’t always the islands that we see there today, the formation of the islands occurred during 50,000 BC and ended in 10,000 BC following the end of the last ice age. This is when we find the first signs of civilization in Japan but they are nowhere near the modern day Japanese culture today. The early beginnings of today’s Japanese culture dates back to the year 538 AC with multiple time periods slowly building up to today. The Japanese culture of today shares a few aspects with our American culture we are familiar with, both cultures love baseball, we both have representative democracies as a form of government, and both cultures do not label outsiders differently and accept them just as equally. Even though we may share aspects of our culture with the Japanese our cultures couldn’t be anymore different from each other.
Japan is made up of 98.5% Japanese, 0.5% Korean, 0.4% Chinese and 0.6% other ethnicity. It does not seem that the small percentage of non-Japanese cultures have had much of an impact on the Japanese culture. Around 99% of the population speak Japanese and less than 1% of the population speaks Korean. Japan does not display ethnic, religious and class divisions in their social structure. Even 90% of the population consider themselves as middle class.
Japan is also differentiated by the widely known comparison between other nations, especially those of Europe when it comes to lifestyle and how various economical groups live similarly, since there are no foreign populations in japan the advantage is given to those of authentic Japanese origins regarding the fact they follow their traditions and ethics.
Japan is one of the greatest countries in the world and it has offered many things as well. The Japanese have given the world a better understanding of their culture and history along with a good look at the future from a technological standpoint. They have developed and created the future for their country that has allowed them to be prosperous and powerful. They once isolated themselves from the rest of the world, but now they share their knowledge with other countries in order to create a better understanding of the world. Through their trade and creative thinking they have become one of the world’s largest and powerful countries and have allowed their economy to flourish and prosper.
The small island country of Japan is rich in a culture that has developed over thousands of years. It is very difficult to analyze another culture without some knowledge of that culture first. During my two year residency in Japan, my eyes were opened to the culture of Japan and its people and I grew to love it as much as my own. (The ideas expressed in this essay mainly consist of my own knowledge and observations of Japan). The Japanese are a very traditional people. But this should not be confused with a primitive people, because the Japanese are not primitive by most dictionaries' definitions of the word. Japan has been changing in recent years in its view of its own economy, in its social interactions, in its thoughts about religion, and in its overall view of its place in the world and among other nations.