National name: Nippon
Emperor: Akihito (1989)
Prime Minister: Yasuo Fukuda (2007)
Land area: 152,411 sq mi (394,744 sq km);
total area: 145,882 sq mi (377,835 sq km)
Population (2007): 127,467,972 (growth rate: 0.0%); birth rate: 9.2/1000; infant mortality rate: 3.2/1000; life expectancy: 81.4; density per sq mi: 836
Capital: Tokyo, 35,327,000 (metro. area), 8,483,050 (city proper)
Other large cities: Yokohama, 3,494,900 (part of Tokyo metro. area); Osaka, 11,286,000 (metro. area), 2,597,000 (city proper); Nagoya, 2,189,700; Sapporo, 1,848,000; Kobe, 1,529,900 (part of Osaka metro. area); Kyoto, 1,470,600 (part of Osaka metro. area); Fukuoka, 1,368,900; Kawasaki, 1,276,200 (part of Tokyo metro. area); Hiroshima, 1,132,700
Monetary unit: Yen
Language: Japanese
Ethnicity/race: Japanese 99%; Korean, Chinese, Brazilian, Filipino, other 1% (2004)
Religions: Shintoist and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%)
Literacy rate: 99% (1995)
Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 71.149 million (2002); mobile cellular: 86,658,600 (2003).
Radio broadcast stations: AM 215 plus 370 repeaters, FM 89 plus 485 repeaters, shortwave 21 (2001).
Television broadcast stations: 211 plus 7,341 repeaters; note: in addition, U.S. Forces are served by 3 TV stations and 2 TV cable services (1999).
Internet hosts: 12,962,065 (2003).
Internet users: 57.2 million (2002).
Transportation:
Railways: total: 23,577 km (16,519 km electrified) (2004). Highways: total: 1,171,647 km; paved: 903,340 km (including 6,851 km of expressways); unpaved: 268,307 km (2001). Waterways: 1,770 km (seagoing vessels use inland seas) (2004).
Ports and harbors: Chiba, Kawasaki, Kiire, Kisarazu, Kobe, Mizushima, Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo, Yohohama. Airports: 174 (2004). |
JAPAN
Geography
Japan is an arc-shaped archipelago about 3,000 km (1,860 miles) in length, located in Eastern Asia on the island chain in the Pacific 
Ocean.It consists of four main islands-Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu-as well as more than 4,000 smaller ones (Ogasawara-gunto, Minami-jima, Nansei-shoto, and others), giving a total land area roughly the same as Germany, or one-twenty- fifth that of the United States or China. Around 67% of the land is mountainous, and plains account for only 13%. The southern latitude of Japan almost coincides with that of Los Angeles and the Mediterranean Sea. The population is homogenous, with 98.5% of Japanese descent. The remaining ethnic groups, which represent no more than 1.5% of the population, include Koreans and Chinese. The predominant religions in Japan are Buddhism and Shinto, which together account for 84% of the religions present in the country. Imported Confucianism and Taoism are less popular, with Christianity worshipped by only 0.7% of the population. The country has seven volcanic zones, one of which is Mr. Fuji, and lies on a complex system of four tectonic plates including the Pacific and Eurasian plates, resulting in frequent earthquakes.
Climate
The four seasons are very distinct in Japan due to its mountainous topography and monsoon climate. Another characteristic of the country is the contrasting climates of its northern, southern, eastern and western areas. The northernmost region is very cold in the winter and cool in the summer, while the southernmost part has mild winters and hot, rainy summers. The Pacific side has dry winters with very litter snow, while the Sea of Japan side has heavy snowfalls in winter. Since Japan is situated in the typhoon corridor it receives a great deal of rain in summer, particularly in the southernmost area and the Pacific side. June and July are the months of the rainy season. . During September and early October, tropical low-pressure systems can develop into typhoons over the Pacific. Travelers should pay attention to storm warnings, particularly for coastal areas, if traveling in Japan
Politics
The country is a constitutional monarchy. The Emperor of Japan is still a symbol of the nation, but political power belongs to a parliamentary government and is actually concentrated in the hands of top politicians and members of the business elite. The capital of Japan is Tokyo and the country is divided into 47 administrative prefectures. The modern legal system is derived from the German Civil Law and influenced by the English and American legislatures. Japan observes universal suffrage - a voting system which has existed in the country for about 20 years. The major political parties are: Democratic Party of Japan, leaded by I. Ozawa, Japan Communist Party headed by K. Shii, Komeito with its leader A. Ota; and less influential Liberal Democratic and Social Democratic Parties of Japan.
People's lives
Most workers except for those in service-related occupations work from 9 to 5, with Saturdays and national holidays off. The majority of students also have the same days off. Since the new school year starts in April in Japan£¬ that is the time when the students starts in a news grade or move on to higher education. It is also when many personal transfers take place in companies. The introduction of daylight saving time is currently under study, but as of 2003 it has not yet been initiated. |
