Asia Pacific Studies

Asia Pacific Studies

JAPAN

Geography - 地理学 • Japan known as “Land of the Rising Sun”, is a country of over a thousand islands extending 4 thousand km along the Pacific coast of Asia. • The main islands from north to south are Hokkaido, Shikoku, and Kyushu • At south of Kyushu are the Rykuku islands (72) known as the Japanese Archipielago and the most important is Okinawa

• About 70% to 80% is mountainous, with more than 200 volcanes, 40 with volcanic activity.

• The mountains of the hounshu island are known as The Japanese’s Alps

The highest mountain Fujiyama(3776m).

is

the

Houses type " A" in the province of Shirakawa-go. Patrimony of the Humanity by UNESCO, in the surroundings of The Japanese Alps

Society - 社会 • • • • •

Officially Nippon Capital city: Tokio Population: 127,078.679 Official language: Japanese Other language: chinese and Philippine languages

National Celebration: December 23th, Birhtday of the Akihito emperator. National Foundation Day

• Main citys: Tokio, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Hiroshima.

• Education: 98% middle school 75.% of high school graduates attend a university.

•Religion: Buddhist

Templo de Tōdai-ji.

84%

Sintoistas

and

HiSTORY - 歴史 • The first signs of occupation on the Japanese Archipelago appeared with a Paleolithic culture around 30,000 BC, followed by the Jōmon period and the Yayoi period. • The most powerful kingdom on the archipelago during the third century was called Yamataikoku Buddhism was first introduced to Japan from Baekje of the Korean Peninsula. The Nara period of the eighth century marked the first emergence of a strong central Japanese state centered on an imperial court in the city of Heijō-kyō but Nara was not the first capital city in Japan, though. Before Nara, Fujiwara-kyō and Asuka served as capitals of the Yamato state.)

• Japan entered to modernity and 1857 when it opened his ports to commercialize with countries of the West. • In 1868 it was overthrown the last Shogun a kind of Mr. Feudal, an imperial government was stablish and began a modernization program.

At the end of the century XIX, Japan began with his own imperialist expantion, and in 1894 Japan won de war with China and then in 1904 with Rusia.

• In the World War I enabled Japan, joined the side of the victorious Allies to expand its influence and territorial holdings with the Versalles Agreement • In 1920 Japan achieved a great infuences and prestige, but the great depression of the thirty finished with it economy.

• 1941 declared war on the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. • 1952 The emperor Hirohito give up and they stablish a Democratic Constitution

• After the second half of the twenty century Japanese economy

grown up and become the second largest economy in the world.

Government and politics 政府および政治 • Constitutional monarchy - Emperor is "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people".

Taro Aso

•Power is held chiefly by the Prime Minister of Japan and other elected members of the Diet a bicameral parliament.

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko

• The Diet consists of: – House of Representatives, containing 512 seats, – House of Councillors of 252 • Since the late nineteenth century, the judicial system has been largely based on the civil law of Europe, notably France and Germany.

Economy - 経済 •

Currency: Yen, 96.51 yens per USD

•

GDP 2008 Total= $4.348 trillion – Per capita: $34,100

•

Economic growth -0.4%

•

Unemployment 4.2%

•

HDI: 0.956

• Industry: motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles and processed foods The service sector accounts for three quarters of the gross domestic product

Agriculture Rice, Pope, Grape, Apple, carrot, watermelon, melon, pear, spinach, pumpkin, lettuce, peach tree

• Exports: US 778,6 billones f.o.b. – Electrical machinery, chemical, scientific and optical equipment, steel

• Imports US 696,2 billones f.o.b. – Foof, oil and derivatives, chemical.

Culture - 文化 • Japanese culture combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America

Japanese arts

Origami • Craft

Performance

Kabuki

tea ceremony

architecture

Himeji Castle

Garden Bonsai

Traditional Fashion

Exotic Fashion

Anime

• Japanese cuisine has developed over the centuries as a result of many political and social changes.

Rice Beans, Eggs, Flour, Fruits, Fu (wheat gluten, Meats, Mushrooms, Noodles, Soy products, Vegetables. Many types of Seafood are part of Japanese cuisine. Seafood, Finned fish, Sea mammals, Shellfish, Crab (Kani),Roe, Processed seafood and Seaweed

Literature and Religion -文献および宗教 • The earliest works of Japanese literature include two history books the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki and the eighth century poetry book Man'yōshū, all written in Chinese characters. In the early days of the Heian period, the system of transcription known as kana (Hiragana and Katakana) was created as phonograms. The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is considered the oldest Japanese narrative.

Shinto