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OVERVIEW

Japan is an island nation in Eastern Asia. The name Japan means “sun-origin”, which is why Japan is sometimes called “the Land of the Rising Sun.” Japan is actually made up of 6,852 islands, but only the biggest four make up 97% of Japan’s area, so most people only talk about those. Japan also has the tenth-largest population of the world, with a total of over 126 million people living there.

Japan’s climate is very diverse. There are locations where the winters are warm and the summers are cool and vice versa. (See CLIMATE, slide 5) The average temperature is between 41.2°F and 77°F.

The Japanese economy is the third-largest in the world, after China and the USA.

CRASH COURSE BASIC JAPANESE HISTORY

500 BC—Archaeologists have found records of farming and pottery this far back in time, but not much is known about Japan in the BC’s.

300 BC—The Yayoi period. The Yayoi people immigrate to Japan.

250 AD—The Kofun period. Japan establishes a strong military state.

400 AD-538 AD—The Asuka period. This marks the creation of a code of governing laws.

Late 700s and 800s—The Heian period. This marks the end of Ancient and Classical Japan. Japan is renowned for their art and culture.

1185-1600—A long time passes, but Japan shifts into the medieval age. For almost 450 years, Japan is dominated by powerful families (like in Assassins Creed), and military warlords (shogun).

1603-1789—The Edo period rises. Japan’s economy grows and the age of the Samurai arrives. The Samurai are essentially the soldiers of Japan.

1800s and beyond—Japan grows its government, population, size, economy, and everything else. They become the Japanese empire!

THE WORLD WARSWorld War I permitted Japan, which fought on the side of the victorious Allies, to expand its influence in Asia and its territorial holdings in the Pacific. Acting virtually independently of the civil government, the Japanese navy seized Germany's Micronesian colonies. The postwar era brought Japan unprecedented prosperity. Japan went to the peace conference at Versailles in 1919 as one of the great military and industrial powers of the world and received official recognition as one of the "Big Five" of the new international order.. Japan was also involved in the post-war Allied intervention in Russia, occupying Russian (Outer) Manchuria and also north Sakhalin (with its rich oil reserves).

During the 1920s, Japan progressed toward a democratic system of government. However, parliamentary government was not rooted deeply enough to withstand the economic and political pressures of the 1930s, during which military leaders became increasingly influential. These shifts in power were made possible by the ambiguity and imprecision of the Meiji constitution, particularly as regarded the position of the Emperor in relation to the constitution. In 1936, Japan signed a mutually beneficial agreement with Nazi Germany, which eventually led to Japan attacking U.S. troops at Pearl Harbor.

After almost 4 years of war, resulting in the loss of 3 million Japanese lives and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan signed an instrument of surrender on Missouri in Tokyo Harbor on September 2, 1945. As a result of World War II, Japan lost all of its overseas possessions and retained only the home islands.

NOTE: This information is ALL from http://www.japan-101.com/history/history_ww1_ww2.htm

BEYOND

COLD WAR—Japan sides with the U.S.

1989—Japan enters the “Modern Era”. The current Emperor Hirohito dies, leaving his son Akihito the throne.

1991—The value of the Yen skyrockets, as does property prices.

2001—Japan Prime Minister has an active part in the “War on Terrorism”.

2011—The biggest earthquake in Japan’s history occurred, registering a 9.0 on the Richter Scale.

2012—Damage to Fukushima causes a major meltdown.

CLIMATE

Japan has four distinct seasons:

Winter, from December to February, is quite dry and sunny along the Pacific coast and the temperatures rarely drop below 32°F.  The temperatures drop as you move north, with the Central and Northern regions experiencing snowfall.  Southern Japan is relatively temperate and experiences a mild winter.

Spring is from March to May.  Temperatures are warm but not too hot, plus there isn’t too much rain.  The famous cherry blossoms are out during this time and there are plenty of festivals to enjoy.

Summer begins in June and the country experiences a three to four-week rainy season during which the farmers plant their rice.  It is hot and humid during this time and temperatures are often in the high 90’s.  Summer wraps up in August.

Autumn is from September to November and is characterized by light breezes and cooler temperatures of around 46-50ºF.  It’s during autumn that many exhibitions, music concerts and sports tournaments are held in Japan.

Thanks to http://www.statravel.com/japan-climate.htm for this info.

GEOGRAPHY

Japan consists of several thousands of islands, of which Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku are the four largest. Japan’s closest neighbors are Korea, Russia, and China. The Sea of Japan separates the Asian continent from the Japanese archipelago.

The population of Japan is about 125,000,000, including approximately two million foreign residents. More than half of the non-Japanese population is of Korean descent.

Because Japan is located in a region, where several continental plates meet, the country experiences frequent earthquakes. For the same reason, there are many volcanoes in Japan. Japan’s most famous volcano and highest mountain is Mt. Fuji.

SNAPSHOTS

Japan is a controversial yet beautiful country, with a rich history and climate. Thanks for reading!

BIBLIOGRAPHY

SLIDE 1: japan-guide.com

SLIDE 2: wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Japan

SLIDE 3: japan-101.com/history/history_ww1_ww2.htm

SLIDE 4: wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Cold_War_history_of_Japan

SLIDE 5: www.statravel.com/japan-climate.htm

SLIDE 6: www.japan-guide.com/list/e1000.html

SLIDE 7 PHOTOS: tinyurl.com/imagesjapan

THANK YOU FOR READING!