Surrounded by oceans, located off the east coast of Asia, there is an island.

Well,
actually, islands, in plural. These islands, combined, produce a first world country that is
filled with earthquakes, kind people, and rich history. This country goes by the name of
Japan.
Cut off from the rest of the world by the Sea of Japan, Japan is a group of islands that is
in the North Pacific off the east coast of Asia. Japan’s closest neighbors are Russia, North
and South Korea, and China. Around the coast of the countries, are the islands of Japan.
Japan has more than 6,800 islands in their control; the four main islands are Honshu,
Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku (Tidmarsh 14). These four islands make up 98% percent
of Japan’s total area (Tidmarsh 4).
All these islands together stretch over 20 degrees of latitude (Tidmarsh 14). Because of
this, Japan’s climate is very diverse. Hokkaido has cool summers and chilling winters
with temperatures often less than the freezing point. On the other hand, Kyushu, which is
the southernmost island, has a very humid climate. The summers are sweaty and even the
winter temperatures are almost always higher than 50 degrees Fahrenheit (Tidmarsh 17).
The latitude also affects the annual precipitation of Japan. The annual precipitation is
about 79 inches (Tidmarsh 17). Besides the precipitation, there are a lot of other sources
of water in Japan. One of these sources is rivers.
There aren’t many long rivers in Japan. The longest river in Japan is the Shinano River,
which flows for a little bit more than 228 miles (Tidmarsh 15). All the rivers drain into
the sea and ocean that surrounds Japan, making them not much useful for making lakes.
Most of the rivers in Japan don’t drain into lakes, causing only a few of them to be made
by rivers. In fact, most of the lakes are made of rainwater in the craters of dormant or
extinct volcanoes.
Volcanoes are quite common in Japan. This is because Japan is located on a part of
Earth’s crust where 3 tectonic plates meet- the Pacific plate, the Philippine plate, and the
Eurasian plate. These collisions of these plates cause volcanoes, earthquakes, and
mountains to be formed. Japan has quite a few active volcanoes. Japan has 10% of the
world’s active volcanoes- 77 in the grand total (Tidmarsh 4). In addition to their active
volcanoes, Japan has many dormant and extinct volcanoes. In fact, Mount Fuji, which is
the highest peak in the country, is a dormant volcano. A few of Japan’s other highest
peaks are also dormant or extinct volcanoes.
Because of the tectonic plates, Japan also has many earthquakes. Recently, Japan had a
9.0 earthquake, with more than 3 aftershocks of a magnitude of 6.0 afterward. This
earthquake happened in the area near the coast of the island of Honshu, which caused the
undersea waves to roll onto the shore, which turned into a tsunami. This 33 foot tsunami
(“Facts: Japan earthquake, tsunami, nuclear crisis March 2011.” 1) hit the coastal areas of
Honshu on its northeast side. The death toll was many, but then, another misfortune
occurred. The earthquake had caused some of Japan’s nuclear reactors to meltdown and
one to leak. Japan is currently in turmoil, and this misfortune caused some mysterious
changes that we are still aware of; the report will focus on how things were before the
disaster occurred, because we do not know what things will be like in the future.
The tectonic plates, besides creating volcanoes and earthquakes, also create mountains.
Japan is an extremely mountainous country- 70% of Japan is devoted to mountains and
hills (Allinson 45). The highest mountain range in the country is the Japanese Alps. They
are located in central Honshu, and have some of the tallest peaks there. In fact, Mount
Fuji is in the Japanese Alps. The mountains cause the land to be broken up into small
plains. The largest of these plains is the Kanto Plain. This plain is approximately 5,018
square miles (Tidmarsh 15). It is home to the largest urban area of Japan, and it owns the
capital city, Tokyo.
The people of Japan have to live in unevenly distributed land because of the limited
amount of space. Most of the Japanese live near the coast- there really isn’t that much
space anywhere else. Another example of limited space is the cities; Tokyo has about
28,490 people per square mile (Tidmarsh 15). That’s one of the highest densities in the
world.
Because of the dense area, Japanese often live in crowded apartments. Because they
live so close, Japanese families share family-like relationships. Sometimes, they even
share rituals and practices of their religions.
Japan has two major religions- Shinto and Buddhism. Shinto is the native religion of
Japan, and it dates back from ancient times. Like most religions at that time, Shinto was
polytheistic and remains so today as well. Shinto means “the way of the gods.” Though
Shinto is a major religion, hardly anyone practices traditional Shinto. Most people follow
a mix of Shinto and Buddhism. Buddhism follows a more elaborate set of beliefs than
Shinto. Buddhism believes in reincarnation, and it especially stresses the unimportance of
worldly things.
Though people have become lenient on following strict and traditional religions,
people still hold on to their traditional attitude, especially the senior citizens. One aspect
of their traditional thinking is the way they think about women. Women, in their opinion,
are supposed to take of the home. She is supposed to raise the kids and run the household.
However, now, the younger generations have to realize that women are important outside
of the home as well.
One other aspect of their thinking is how think of their minority groups in Japan. Japan
has a minority group known as the “burakumin”; this group’s ancestors used to do the
“unclean” work in the ancient villages (slaughter of animals, execution of criminals, etc).
This group has been trying to get their rights in Japan. Unfortunately, they are still a far
way off. Besides the traditional attitude, Japan’s other aspects of life are high-minded.
Education is valued highly in Japan. Even though Japan has one of the most difficult
writing systems, the country has one of the highest literacy rates. In fact, Japan has more
than 500 universities (Allinson 42). Besides the writing, Japanese is also a very difficult
spoken language. Japanese is derived from many languages around the world. Some of
the words date back to prehistoric time, while some are based on modern English. The
language has many different dialects, which makes it difficult to govern the whole
country while they are speaking different dialects.
Japan’s government is a democratic, parliamentary government that is based on a
constitution. The parliament is a bicameral system. It is made up of the House of
Representatives and the House of Councilors (also known as the Diet). The constitution
was made by both of the Houses in 1947, and it changed the way the country thought.
The constitution fixed many things in Japan’s government. Japanese citizens over the
age of 20, regardless of their gender or ethnic origins, were now able to vote for members
of the Diet. This meant that women were able to vote, and this really was a huge leap in
women’s rights. This triggered a new generation of thought in Japan.
 The constitution also fixed Japan’s foreign policy; it made Japan a very pacifist
country. It changed Japan’s military into the SDF (self Defense Forces). The SDF was
never sent into a battle zone for an offensive attack until 2003; in fact, that was the first
time that Japan sent troops into a battle zone since World War II. However, even after the
2003 event, Japan is still known as a very peaceful, calm country.
One other major thing that the constitution changed was the monarchy. Japan has the
oldest hereditary monarchy (called the Chrysanthemum Throne). The emperor even had
the status of a living god until World War II. However, the constitution changed this. The
constitution declared that the emperor had no political power. Now, the emperor has only
the power to perform ceremonial and social duties. The constitution, which was made
after World War II, changed the Japanese culture and future.
Japan’s history is a long, unique type of history. Japan has had habitants living on it for
more than 30,000 years (Allinson 52). The earliest era of Japan is known as the Jomon
Era. The people of that time got food by hunting and gathering, they made their tools out
of stone, and they lived in small villages made of about 50 people. The Jomon Era wasn’t
a time of learning and arts- it was a time to survive.
After the Jomon Era, the Japanese began to learn new and different ideas from Korea
and China. China especially influenced Japan. Some of the things that Japan learned from
China were: how to grow rice, how to make tools out of iron, and how to settle down in
one place. Japan also found out about Buddhism from China. This period of learning,
from about 300 B.C. – 300 A.D., is called the Yayoi Era.
When the Chinese influence had caused the Japanese to settle down, families began to
dominate over each other. The dominating family became known as the Imperial
Household. Many Imperials Households came and went, but in 645, one family, called
the Kotoku, arrived and they changed Japan’s government system. They started
something called the Taika reform. The Taika reform involved building capital cities, and
setting up a central government. The government that Kotoku set up was extremely close
to the Chinese. This time, around the 600’s and 700’s, is known as the Kofun period.
After the Kofun, there was a small era of peace. When that peace ended (also known as
the Heian Era) ended, there was absolute pandemonium. Families were fighting one
other, soldiers known as “samurai” were roaming the countryside, and regional lords
were battling each other for land and power. In 1549, some missionaries came from
Portugal to Japan and they added a new element in the war- guns. This added an
explosive addition to the civil wars that were happening in Japan.
In the 1600’s, more foreigners came besides the Portuguese- the Spanish, Dutch,
English, and Chinese all came into Japan. The shogun (military commander) didn’t like
it, so he banished all of them away from Japan. Japan then closed off from the rest of the
world, and the long civil wars ended. Afterward, Japan began to develop its own unique
culture and art. It was two centuries later when Japan finally renewed relations with the
west. They made treaties with the other nations, and tried to get along with the rest of the
world.
Japan tried to establish an official religion in 1868, but they abolished it after World
War II for the religion stated that the emperor was divine, and the new constitution
declared that the emperor wasn’t divine. After that, Japan has always had two major
religions, not just one strict religion.
World War II didn’t just change the religion rule of Japan: it changed a lot more too.
Including the actual war, the country also lost many other things; it suffered
economically, they lost some of their islands, and because of the deadly battles, Japan
had to reconstruct their country. Additionally, many social changes occurred- fewer
people began to live in rural areas and society became less strict and conservative.
Furthermore, Japan has also lost their system of monarchy; they still have an emperor,
but he has no ruling power.
Japan’s economy boosted back in the 1960’s and 1970’s, when Japan became the
leading manufacturer in ships and steel. This was also the time when Japan decided to go
greener and they began to make nuclear reactors.
Currently, Japan’s economy is unknown because of the crisis that just happened in
Japan. Japan’s economy used to be rich and prosperous. It will probably still be a first
world country, but some areas of its economy will be majorly affected. For example,
Japan’s nuclear energy plants used to supply almost 30% of Japan’s electricity. They had
more than 51 power plants, and Japan used to be one of the world’s leading nuclear
energy users. However, since the disaster happened, Japan’s power plants have been in a
catastrophic state. People have evacuated, and the radiations levels are high in the area.
Other things like this have happened, so, because of unknown changes, the report will be
focusing on things were before the crisis.
Japan has two key elements of their economy: manufacturing and trade. Manufacturing
takes a major role in the economy; it employs about 20% of the labor force. Japan
manufactures some of the latest technology, like cars, computers, and robots.
Trade probably plays even a bigger part in Japan’s economy than manufacturing. Since
Japan does not have that many resources to fulfill its needs, Japan depends heavily on
trade. Its largest imports are crude oil, fish, machinery, and chemicals. Besides importing,
Japan also exports. Japan is one of the leading exporters in the world- cars are among the
long list that Japan exports. Without these two industries, Japan would be an extremely
poor country.
However, these top two aren’t the only industries in Japan that help boost the country
ever-changing economy; small industries also play a large role. Two industries that used
to play a big role are fishing and agriculture. But, now, these two industries are waning.
Fishing has declined tremendously because of overfishing and the drop of people
employed. In fact, the situation has gotten so bad that even though Japan is surrounded by
water, Japan has begun to import fish from surrounding nations.
Agriculture also used to be one of the most important industries in the nation. However,
as the other industries grew, the importance of agriculture declined. Since only 15% of
the land can be farmed, agriculture has grown even smaller.
A few of the other smaller industries that help in Japan’s economy include mining,
construction, and transportation. Mining has dropped a little bit because the resources are
running out in Japan, but, some gold, nickel, and silver are still mined in the country.
Construction is another small industry. Japan has many giant firms, but this industry
employs only 10% of the labor force. The last small industry is transportation.
Transportation is actually a large industry, but is outshone by the other major industries.
Japanese transportation is very modern, with some of the highest technology available.
Japan is home to undersea tunnels, the longest suspension bridge in the world, and bullet
trains. It transportation is amazingly efficient and lightning quick.
 Japan is a country that has intriguing history, diverse geography, and an interesting
lifestyle. Currently, it is turmoil, and hopefully, it will return to be the beautiful country
that it was before.