Japan lovers!!!
Japan Flag and Fast Facts
Population
127,728,000
Life Expectancy
81
Language
Japanese
Religion
Shinto, Buddhist
Literacy Percent
99
Capital
Tokyo; 35,327,000
Currency
yen
Area
377,887 square kilometers
(145,902 square miles)
Japan Information and History
Japan, a country of islands, extends along the Pacific coast of Asia. The
main island is Honshu, and the country has
three other large islands—Hokkaido to the north and Shikoku and Kyushu to the south. More than 4,000 smaller islands surround the four largest. A modern transportation system connects the main islands, including the Seikan Tunnel linking Honshu to Hokkaido—the world's longest railroad tunnel at 54 kilometers (33 miles). Japan's high-speed trains (known as shinkansen, or bullet trains) connect major urban areas.
About
73 percent of Japan is mountainous, and all its major cities, except the ancient capital of Kyoto, cling to narrow coastal plains. Only an estimated 18 percent of Japan's territory is suitable for settlement—so Japan's cities are large and densely populated.
Tokyo, the capital, is the planet's largest urbanized area at
35 million people. However, Tokyo has a worrisome environmental
history of destructive earthquakes and tsunamis (seismic sea waves). A major earthquake in 1923 killed an estimated 143,000 people.
One of the most traditional and isolated societies on Earth when Commodore Matthew C. Perry sailed an American fleet into Tokyo Bay
in 1853,
Japan is democratic and outward-looking today.(WOOT XD)
Among the top three exporters of manufactured goods, the nation has the
second largest economy after that of the U.S.
Aggressive expansion across the Pacific led to
war with the U.S. in 1941. Defeat ended Japan's dream of ruling Asia, and the U.S. occupation imposed a parliamentary constitution, free labor unions, and stringent land reform. Despite a lack of raw materials,
the economy was revived with the help of U.S. grants, high rates of labor productivity, personal savings, and capital investment.
Emperor Hirohito's death in 1989 marked the start of an era in which
Japan faces the challenges of an aging population,
rising inequality of wealth, the
changing role of women in society, and
growing concern about security and the environment. Current problems include unemployment—the highest since the end of World War II—and low economic growth. Relations with North Korea are tense because of that country's nuclear weapons program and its abduction of Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s. Japan's ties with Russia are hampered because of some small islands east of Hokkaido known as the Northern Territories—the Habomai Islands, Shikotan, Kunishiri, and Etorofu (called Iturup by Russia). Japan still claims these Russian-held islands that were taken at the end of World War II.
The Golden Pavilion is one of Kyoto's 1,600-plus Buddhist buildings. Temple grounds and gardens provide many enticing green areas for urban dwellers.
ECONOMY
Industry: motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals.
Agriculture: rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit; pork; fish.
Exports: motor vehicles, semiconductors, office machinery, and chemicals.
More Cool Japan here:
http://www.crunchyroll.com/series-5279/Cool-Japan.html
Sailor Moon Live Action for fun!
More here:
http://www.crunchyroll.com/series-444/Sailor-Moon-Live-Action.html
Japan-a-radio!:
http://www.japanaradio.com/
Download ITunes 7.6 player here!:
http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/
Moderator sam-mo and jen0apple =
Feel free to join!
To our members:
