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A Short History of Japan

Description

Japan is a country of contradictions and extremes. It is a country of age-old practices and cutting edgetechnology, strong martial traditions and refined artistic accomplishments. Few countries have been thesubject of so much attention yet remain so elusive. Japan is an island nation defined by its close proximity to, yet isolation from the Asian mainland.Throughout history, ideas adopted from both Asia and the West have, through this isolation, evolved in Japan into unique cultural hybrids. The result is a society that has traces of many civilisations and yet itsown distinctive identity. Despite the region's few natural resources and frequent natural disasters, Japanese society has learned to thrive through a complex network of dependency and obligation born ofthe need to work together in a country where survival is relatively difficult.From the influence of China to the impact of feudalism, modernisation and imperialism, from war andpeace to the miracle economy and contemporary uncertainty, Curtis Andressen traces the threads ofhistory, environment and culture that run through the centuries to explain much about the Japan oftoday.

The People of Japan

According to the 1996 national population census, Japan's total population was 125.7 million. This made Japan the seventh most populous nation in the world. The population has more than doubled since thefirst national census in 1920, when it was about 56 million.Population growth has slowed in recent years. The annual growth rate averaged 0.3% in the 1990-95period, considerably lower than the world average of 1.6%.As of 1994 Japan' population density was335.4 persons per square kilometer, one of the highest in the world.By comparison, the population density was 828 persons per square kilometer in Bangladesh, 440 in SouthKorea, 328 in Belgium, 237 in Britain, 124 in China and 27 in the United States (1992 figures).The

people of Japan

are mostly the residents of the islands of Honshu, Kyushu, Hokkaido and Shikoku,apart from these

Japanese people

has also settled in various parts of the world. ‘Nipponjin' and‘Nihonjin' are the two Japanese terms which means

people of Japan

Japanese people

. Contemporaryscientific researches have shown that the

people of Japan

have genetic resemblance to the Tibetans. Sometheories have evolved in recent years which associate the origin of the Japanese people with the ‘Jomon'clan and the native Yayoi people. The term ‘

Japanese people'

had a wider approach during the colonialtimes as it was used to refer to the residents of Taiwanese population and the Korean populace.Population wise Japan ranks tenth worldwide and the recent census of 2002 declare that there are about127 million

Japanese people

in the world living in Japan and in other parts of the planet. The

Japanesepopulation

is facing a steady decline in the recent years as the birth rate has dropped considerably. Thewestern influence on the oriental culture of Japan has led to the shrinkage of family tradition and smallhouseholds have become the latest trend. The young

population of Japan

is also low in comparison tothe other nations due to the lack of interest in conception by the young couples.

People of Japan

all over the world have a homogenous and identical culture, tradition and language. Thenational language of Japan is Japanese which is of the Altaic language group. The Japanese language iscomparatively easy to enunciate and pronounce. The main religions which are practiced by most of the

people of Japan

are Buddhism and Shinto. Religions do not play a big role in the everyday life of Japanese people and sometimes both the religions are practiced at a time by few of them.The

population of Japan

is high in comparison to the area of the country thus the density is alsorelatively high. Most of the people are urban residents and concentration is limited to the cities. The lowlands by the coasts give shelter to a mass of people in Japan. The parts of the world other than their nativeland where

Japanese people

has most emigrated are Latin American countries and United States Japan is around 377, 835 sq km.

Population

: The population of Japan is around 128 million.

System of government

: Japan is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government.

Capital

: Tokyo, with a population of more than 8 million inhabitants, is the capital of Japan.

Religion

: Shinto and Buddhism.

Official Language

: The official language is Japanese.

Government

: Japan is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government.

Climate

: Japan experiences a temperate climate.

Units of measure and electricity

: Japan follows the metric system of measurement, with the traditionalsystem still in use in some parts of the country. The official electricity unit is 100V, with 50 Hz in east Japan and 60 Hz in west Japan.

Time Zone

: The Japanese standard time is GMT + 9.

Currency

: Yen (1 € = 163.246 JPY).

Travel documents required

: Nationals of 62 countries (list available at the Japanese Ministry of ForeignAffairs’ Website) enjoy a waiver of visa requirements for a stipulated time of stay. Nationals of othercountries require a visa for travel.

Economy

Japan has the second largest market economy in the world. The main sectors include banking, realestate, transportation, telecommunication, science and technology, insurance and retail. Japan’s mainexports are electronic goods, automobiles, machinery and chemicals.The average daily cost of living for a tourist is about

10,000 JPY

; an average meal costs about

2000 JPY

.When in Japan, opt for a Japan Rail Pass. It allows for unlimited rides on the local rail system.

Economy of JapanThe economy of Japan

is the second largest economy in the world,

[1]

after theUnited States, at around US$4.5trillion in terms ofnominal GDP

[1]

and third after the United States andChina when adjusted for purchasing power parity.

[2]

The workers of Japan rank 18th in the world in GDP per hour worked as of 2006.

[3]

Japan's economy is highly efficient, highly diversified, and very competitive, being ranked19th among111 countries on productivity. Japan has a well-educated work force and high levels of savings andinvestment rates.For three decades, Japan's overall real economic growthhad been spectacular: a 10% average in the 1960s,a 5% average in the 1970s, and a 4% average in the 1980s.

[4]

Sliding stock and real estate prices marked the end of the " Japanese asset price bubble" of the late 1980s,and ushered in a decade of stagnant economic growth. These problems may have been exacerbated bydomestic policies intended to wring speculative excesses from the stock and real estate markets. RealGDP in Japan grew at an average of roughly 1.5% yearly between 1991-1999, compared to growth in the1980s of about 4% per year. Growth in Japan throughout the 1990s was slower than growth in other majorindustrial nations, and the same as in FranceandGermany.Government efforts to revive economic growth have met with little success and were further hampered in 2000 to 2001 by the slowing of theglobal economy.

[5]

However, GDP per worker has increased steadily even through the nineties, given asdssdscan to recover, growing at 2.0% per year in 2003 and 2004, and 2.8 percent in 2005. Unlike previousrecovery trends, domestic consumption has been the dominant factor in leading the growth. Aspredicted, the economic recovery continued in 2006 and 2007.

Government and politics

Japan is aconstitutional monarchywhere the power of theEmperoris very limited. As a ceremonial figurehead, he is defined by the constitution as "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people". Power is held chiefly by thePrime Minister of Japan and other elected members of theDiet,while sovereignty is vested in the Japanese people.

[26]

The Emperor effectively acts as thehead of stateondiplomatic occasions. Akihitois the current Emperor of Japan. Naruhito , Crown Prince of Japan,stands as next in line to the throne. Japan's legislative organ is theNational Diet,a bicameralparliament.The Diet consists of aHouse of Representatives,containing 480 seats, elected by popular vote every four years or when dissolved and aHouse of Councillorsof 242 seats, whose popularly elected members serve six-year terms. There isuniversal suffragefor adults over 20 years of age,

[6]

with a secret ballot for all elective offices.

[26]

Theliberal conservative Liberal Democratic Party(LDP) has been in power since 1955, except for a short-lived coalition government formed from opposition parties in 1993.

[27]

The largest opposition party is the social liberal Democratic Party of Japan. The Prime Minister of Japan is thehead of government.The position is appointed by theEmperor of Japanafter being designated by theDiet from among its members and must enjoy the confidence of the