Japan is a mountainous island nation with few natural resources. It has focused on intensive cultivation of its limited land and industrialization to develop its economy. Japan's emphasis on education, with long school days and high college attendance, has contributed to its reputation as a technologically advanced country with a highly skilled workforce. The population is over 126 million and largely concentrated in major cities. Traditional arts and religions like Shintoism and Buddhism still play a role in Japanese culture alongside modern influences.

1. D: 5/1/13
A: Japan Notes
S: Why are the Japanese so
technologically advanced?
H: None
w.o.d: intensive cultivation
Warm-Up: Japan & Koreas Video Quiz

2. Word of the Day
Word
Intensive
cultivation
Definition
Growing
crops on
every
available
piece of
land.
Sentence
In Japan they
practice
intensive
cultivation so
you can see
crops growing
between
buildings.
Picture

4. I. Japan’s Land
A. Japan is an archipelago the four largest islands are
Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, & Kyushu
B. These islands are volcanic mountains that extend to
the ocean floor. The most famous of these
mountains is Mt. Fiji
C. Since Japan is mostly mountains most live on the
coastal plains
D. People are never further than 70 miles from a sea
E. Suffer from tsunamis or huge waves from under sea
earthquakes

5. II. Japan Climate
A. Ocean currents & winds affect the climate of
Japan
B. In the North Arctic currents and winds bring in
snowy winters
C. In the South the pacific current creates a sub
tropical climate

6. III. Japan’s Economy
A. Has few mineral resources so it imports coal,
iron, & oil
B. Japan is an industrial giant known for
manufactured goods
C. Japan technology advanced factories & robots
produce quick and fast

7. III. Japan’s Economy
D. Japan leads the world in automobile production
and 95% of American own a TV, DVD, camera,
appliance, game system or MP3 player made in
Japan
E. They practice intensive cultivation and grow
rice, sugar beets, potatoes, fruit and tea
F. They import more fish than any other country
but very few finished goods.

8. IV. Environmental Changes
A. Pollution from factories into the air has made
acid rain
B. Overfishing has caused laws to limit the amount
of fish that can be caught in a year

9. V. Japan’s History
A. People have lived on these islands in clans since
the 400s
B. Japan has close ties with China and has modeled
their society
C. Japans was ruled by emperors until the shoguns
gained control using their samurai
D. In 1853 the U.S. sent a fleet to Japan to make
them trade

10. V. Japan’s History
E. After Industrialization Japan became the
military leader in Asia
F. In the 1930’s Japan spread in Southeast Asia &
China
G. In 1941 Japan attacked the U.S. to enter them
into WWII and fought for four years until the
U.S. dropped the atomic bomb on 2 cities.
H. Their economy collapsed until the U.S. set up a
democracy and helped them rebuild

11. VI. Japan’s Government
A. Japan’s democracy is a constitutional monarchy
the emperor is the head of state but elected
officials run the government
B. People elected representatives to the legislature
and the political party with the most
representatives in office elect the prime
minister
C. Today the government has kept the military
small

12. VII. Japan’s People
A. 126.5 million people live in Japan and are ethnic
Japanese
B. The four major cities create a megalopolis with
skyscrapers, public transportation and
CROWDS.
C. Men work while women take care of kids and
return to work later
D. Kimonos and other traditional ways of life are
mixed with modern times
E. Family is the center of Life

13. VIII. Japan’s Religion
A. People practice Buddhism & Shinto
B. Shinto teaches respect for natures, love of
simplicity, cleanliness and good manners

14. VIV. Japan’s Art
A. Paintings reflect the beauty in nature
B. Haiku is the most used form of poetry
C. The world’s first novel The Tale of Genji is
believed to come from Japan
D. Kabuki plays feature color costumes & sets
E. Sumo, Judo and karate are major sports but
baseball is most popular

15. X. Japan’s Schools
A. The world market believes that Japan is so
technologically advanced due to the emphasis
on education
B. In Japan students go to school for 6 hours a day
but have no elective classes. Those classes are
held on Saturdays for 3 hours and 90% of
students attend these classes.
C. All people who can afford college go. In 1991
80% of seniors went to college compared to the
U.S. 65%