Japan
By
Grant Lanham
Human Geography
Coach May
12/12/18
Geographically, Japan is in north-east Asia. It is not connected to the mainland of Asia though. Japan is a group of islands, with over 3,000 small islands and four larger, main islands. It is located to the east of China, North Korea and South Korea and Russia.
The current population of Japan is 127,060,271 as of 2018. Based on the latest United Nations estimates, The Japanese population is equivalent to 1.67% of the total world population. Japan ranks eleventh of all countries in population count.
The people of Japan tend to have a longer life expectancy than most other countries. The reasoning for this may be because of the food they eat. Their main diet is fish and rice. The biggest benefit of eating fish may be this: many people that eat it live longer. The consumption of fish lowers the risk of death by heart disease by 36 percent. More astounding, older people who have higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, largely due to their consumption of fatty fish, lived an average of 2.2 years longer than those with lower levels. Diets high in fatty fishes are also proven to elevate mood and prevent certain types of cancer and inflammation. Rice is by far the most important crop in Japan and planted on the best agricultural land. Other crops grown in Japan include soybeans, wheat, barley, and a large variety of fruit and vegetables.
Immigration to Japan is generally a small-scale, although the illegal entering of migrants is starting to pose as a problem. The number of illegal immigrants and legal migrants is starting to bring forth some problems. 150,000 Chinese people constituted the second-largest group. Nearly 42,000 foreigners entered as permanent residents per year. Because citizenship is based on nationality of parent rather than place of birth, registered migrants may be seen as having spent their entire lives in Japan. In 1999 the net emigration rate was 0.34 migrants per 1,000 population.
Japanese popular culture includes Japanese cinema, cuisine, television programs, anime, manga, and music. all of these retain older artistic and literary traditions, and many of their themes and styles of presentation can be traced to traditional art forms. Contemporary forms of popular culture are not only forms of entertainment, but also aspects to distinguish contemporary Japan from the rest of the modern world. There is a large industry of music, films, and the products of a huge comic book industry, among other forms of entertainment. Game centers, bowling alleys, and karaoke parlors are well-known hangout places for teens while older people may play different games or go in specialized parlors.
Japanese is the official language used in the country and is also the primary language in the country with over 125 million speakers. However, there is no law that provides for the language official status with the language being the national language in the country. Locally, the Japanese language is referred to as “Nihongo” and is native to Japan.
Shinto is one of the main religions in Japan, as well as Buddhism. the term Shinto is a religion based on a system of gods and beliefs about the relationship between people, the natural environment, and the state. Shinto teaches that Japan is uniquely the land of the gods.. During much of Japanese history, Shintoism and Buddhism have coexisted and influenced each other.
The Yamato Japanese are the dominant group in Japan. They make up around 98% of Japan. The term Yamato Japanese was not used until the late 1800s and started being used so that the people of mainland Japan would be distinguished from the other ethnic groups who were being incorporated into the entire Empire of Japan.
The Japanese political system is based on Japan’s constitution, which was drafted after the end of World War II. Enacted on May 3, 1947, it firmly established a democracy in form of a constitutional monarchy, which is similar to the United Kingdom’s. They maintained their long-standing imperial family as the honorary figurehead of the country. From this point forward, governmental power has been distributed between three branches which are known as the National Diet, the Cabinet, and the judiciary sections of the government.
Japan is a very highly developed country because of it's high GDP, or gross domestic product. The GDP measures the sum total of the income generated by the country's productive activities. Japan has the third largest economy in the world. Japan is the eighth most developed country in the world. The Japanese currency is known as Yen. 1000 Japanese yen is equal to 8.81 American dollars.
Japan's major export industries include automobiles, consumer electronics, computers, semiconductors, copper, iron and steel. Additional key industries in Japan's economy are petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, bioindustry, shipbuilding, aerospace, textiles, and processed foods. The country is home to a number of companies that produce cars, construction vehicles, motorcycles, ATVs, and engines. Japanese automotive manufacturers include Toyota, Honda, Daihatsu, Nissan, Suzuki, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Isuzu, Kawasaki, Yamaha, and Mitsuoka.