Some basic information about this country

1. GENERAL INFORMATION
• Full name: Japan • Flag:
• Population: 126.9 million (UN, 2010)
• Capital: Tokyo
• Major language: Japanese. Some English is
spoken in Tokyo and other large cities but is
less usual in rural areas.
• Major religions: Shintoism and Buddhism
(most Japanese follow both religions,
although religion does not play a major
everyday role in most Japanese lives, with
frequent temple visits being more usually
attributed to tourism). There is a Christian
minority. (it is known as Hinomaru, 日の丸,
• Time: GMT + 9 (if it’s midnight here, it’s "sun disc")the white part stands for
8am in Japan: when you go to sleep, they peace and honesty, the red one for
are going to work!). hardiness, bravery, strength and
valour)
• Monetary unit: yen
• Economy: Japan has the world's third-largest
economy (main exports: vehicles, computer
parts, chemicals, scientific instruments and
watches)
• International dialling code: +81 (if you want to
call to Japan)
• Government: constitutional monarchy.
Yukio Hatoyama
• Head of state: Emperor Akihito (he succeeded
his father, Hirohito, in 1989. Under the 1947
constitution, Japan's emperors have a purely
ceremonial role).
• Prime minister: Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama
since 2009.
Emperor Akihito and his wife

2. GEOGRAPHY AND WEATHER
Japan is situated in the
PACIFIC OCEAN. Japan's
"mainland" consists of
four primary islands:
Hokkaido, Honshu,
Shikoku, and Kyushu.
HOKKAIDO is in the
northeast and the home
of the island's capital city
of Sapporo.
SHIKOKU and KYUSHU are in the south HONSHU is the largest island and is
(Kyushu is in the extreme southwest economically and culturally the most
and Shikoku is to its east). Besides important of the four major islands, the
these four islands, Japan includes Japanese core area which includes Tokyo and
2,000 additional smaller islands. Osaka-Kyoto. Honshu is the world's seventh
largest island.
Except for the Hokkaido area and
the subtropical Okinawa region, the
weather in Japan is mostly
TEMPERATE, with FOUR SEASONS.
Winters are cool and sunny in the
south, cold and sunny around Tokyo
(which occasionally has snow), and
very cold around Hokkaido, which is
covered in SNOW for up to four
months a year. Summer, between
June and September, ranges from
warm to very hot, while spring and
autumn are generally mild
throughout the country. RAIN falls
throughout the year but June and
early July is the main rainy season.
Hokkaido, however, is much drier
Much of the archipelago is MOUNTAINOUS and
than the Tokyo area. Rainfall is
only a small percentage of land is available for
intermittent with sunshine.
agriculture and development. Thus large areas
TYPHOONS are only likely to occur
remain forested while TOWNS AND CITIES tend
in September or October but rarely
to be densely populated.
last more than a day.
The climate varies from one island to another.

3. HISTORY
In the FEUDAL ERA (12th-19th century), a new ruling class of
warriors emerged: the SAMURAI (not to be confused with the
NINJAS who did not have rules of honour as strict as the
samurai). One of the most famous and successful samurai, ODA
NOBUNAGA, conquered numerous other warlords and had
ALMOST UNIFIED JAPAN when he was assassinated in 1582.
TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI succeeded him and UNITED THE LAND in
1590 but OPEN WAR broke out following his death.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
TOKUGAWA IEYASU defeated all rival clans in the Battle of
Sekigahara in 1600 and was appointed SHOGUN (= ruler of Japan).
The Tokugawa shogunate began the ISOLATIONIST SAKOKU (=
locked country) POLICY that spanned the two and a half centuries of
tenuous political unity known as the EDO PERIOD.
Tokugawa Ieyasu
In 1854, the US Navy forced the opening of Japan to the outside
world. Ensuing economic and political crises led to the BOSHIN
WAR and the establishment of a CENTRALIZED STATE unified
under the name of the EMPEROR (MEIJI RESTORATION).
Emperor Kōmei
The Meiji Restoration transformed Japan into an
INDUSTRIALIZED WORLD POWER that embarked on a
number of MILITARY CONFLICTS to expand the nation's
sphere of influence, including two Sino-Japanese Wars
(1894-1895 and 1937-1945) and the Russo-Japanese War
(1904-1905).
Japan farm in the 19th century
On 7 December 1941, Japan attacked the US naval base in PEARL
HARBOR. This act brought the USA into WWII and, on 8
December, the USA, UK and Netherlands declared war on
Japan. After the devastating atomic bombings of HIROSHIMA
and NAGASAKI in 1945, Japan surrendered on 15 August. The
war cost Japan millions of lives and left much of the country's
industry and infrastructure destroyed. Hiroshima atomic
bombing
Japan later achieved exceptional growth to become one of the
world's most powerful economies. In August 2009, Yukio
Hatoyama led the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), the main
opposition party, to victory and became Prime Minister,
defeating the long-governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP),
which had been in power almost continually since 1955.
Eitai Bridge, Tokyo

4. FOOD and DRINKS
National specialties:
• TERIYAKI (marinated beef/chicken/fish seared on a hot
plate).
• TEMPURA (deep-fried seafood and vegetables).
• SUSHI (slices of raw seafood placed on light and vinegary
rice balls).
• SASHIMI (slices of raw seafood dipped in soy sauce).
• RAME, SOBA and UDON (varieties of noodles, which can
Japanese sushi be served hot or cold, in soups or dry).
National drinks (legal drinking age: 20):
• GREEN TEA is extremely popular. The quality
of the tea varies greatly from houjicha (a
common brown-colored tea) to matcha (a
bitter green tea used in tea ceremonies).
• SAKE (rice wine served hot or cold).
• SHOCHU (strong vodka-like spirit usually
mixed with soft drinks to make cocktails).
• Popular brands of BEER are Asahi, Kirin,
Sapporo and Suntory. Japanese tea ceremony
→There are no licensing hours. Drinking is
subject to long-standing rituals of politeness.
The host will pour a drink for the visitor, and
will insist on the visitor's glass being full. It is
bad manners for a visitor to pour one for him
or herself.

5. TOURISM
What you can see in Japan: the Japanese society is a blend of TRADITION and
MODERNITY. As a tourist you can enjoy these two aspects travelling across the
country.
Main cities: Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara and Osaka-Kobe, Sendai, Sapporo,
Nagano (it hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics), Nagoya, Hiroshima,
Nagasaki.
Modern tourism: skyscrapers and plazas, stadiums, aquariums,
festivals, cuisine.
Osaka
Natural parks and landscapes: mountains
(Japan’s highest mountain is Mount Fuji),
lakes, volcan crates, active volcanoes,
swamps (=pantano), jungle and rare wildlife,
islands, beaches, coral reefs, whirlpools
(remolinos), gardens, whales and dolphins
watching, sand-dunes, hot-sand saunas,
caves, forests… Japanese garden
History tourism: museums, craft cities and galleries (pottery,
ceramics, porcelain, textile, lacquer, silk, dolls, pearls), fishing
villages, ports (important for foreign trade) and markets, merchant
quarters, foreign style houses, ancient burial mounds…
Japanese doll
Monuments: the Imperial Palace, Shinto and Buddhist
temples, monasteries, shrines (=santuarios), geisha tea-
houses, medieval cities, forts and castles, samurai
residences…
White Heron Castle
Indigenous people and arts: Ainu people, Kodo
drummers.
Kodo drummers
Second World-War tourism: war memorials, Hiroshima
and Nagasaki (nuclear bombed cities).
War memorial, Hiroshima

6. Sakurajima (active volcano) from seaport Kagoshima, Japan
Tian Yuan Temple (ninja)

7. Osaka dome-stadium
Kasuga Shintoist shrine
Tokyo by night

8. Katsushika Hokusai
The Great Wave off Kanagawa(1829-32)
神奈川沖浪裏
(神奈川沖浪裏 Kanagawa Oki Nami Ura

9. SPORTS and HOBBIES
Martial arts
Japanese ceremonial WRESTLING (= lucha
libre), SUMO AND JUDO are Japan’s national
sports. There are six sumo tournaments a
year, each of which lasts for 15 days. Three of
them are held in Tokyo, and the others take
place in Fukuoka, Nagoya and Osaka.
Sumo
KARATE, the art of self-defense, is taught at schools
in Japan and has become a very popular sport since
it was introduced into the country in 1922.
Karate training, 1938
KENDO, Japanese fencing (= esgrima), is
practiced in numerous clubs and college
halls. In December, the All-Japan
Championships are held in Tokyo.
Kendo
KYUDO, Japanese archery (= tiro con arco), is one of the
oldest martial arts. It is closely associated with Zen
Buddhism. Unlike many martial arts, it is pursued by
almost as many female students as males.
Kyudo
YABUSAME, or archery on horseback (= tiro con arco a
caballo), which was originally performed by courtiers or
imperial guards in the seventh century, is today a Shinto
rite for ensuring peace and good harvests. It is staged by
horse riders in colorful costumes who gallop down a
narrow 250m course shooting at small wooden targets
set up at 80m intervals.
Yabusame

10. There are over 50 major SKI resorts, especially in
the Japanese Alps and on the northern island of
Hokkaido. One of the great attractions is the
prevalence of hot springs in the skiing areas.
Some resorts even offer facilities for night-skiing.
And others offer grass skiing out of season
between late April and late November.
Mount Yotei
Both DIVING and SNORKELING (= surface diving)
are popular around the Kerama Islands near
Okinawa, which is one of the world’s clearest sea
areas. Between January and March, it is also an area
for WHALE WATCHING.
Coral reef snorkeling
All kinds of FISHING are practiced, and there are
many keen anglers in Japan. Freshwater fish include
trout, funa (silver carp) and ayu (sweetfish). Given
the shape of the country, fishing locations are never
far away. Travelers might like to try UKAI or
CORMORANT FISHING, a type of fishing where
cormorants are used to catch fish.
Cormorant fishing
CYCLING is popular in April and May during the
cherry blossom season and also in October and
November when autumnal colors adorn Japan.
Cyclists must keep to the left and should be careful
at all times because of heavy traffic, especially on
the national highways. There are numerous
interesting paths routed through Tokyo.
FOOTBALL: Japan co-hosted the 2002 World Cup with
Korea (Rep). Football has taken off in a big way in
Japan in recent years with the introduction of the
Japanese soccer J-League and the participation of the
Japanese national team in the World Cup of 1998 and
2002.
GOLF: Courses in and around Tokyo are
considered by some to be among the most
challenging in the world. However,
membership or an invitation is sometimes
required. Some courses have the additional
attraction of hot spring baths and MAJHONG
rooms.

11. CULTURAL ASPECTS
Japanese drama, theatre and festivals: among the
traditional entertainments on offer is BUNRAKU, a unique
form of puppet theater. This can be seen in major towns,
as can NOH drama and KABUKI, traditional Japanese
drama forms, with participants attired in medieval
costumes. The most fascinating and colourful of Japan’s
religious festivals take place in Kyoto, the old imperial
capital: in those festivals you can see street parades or
processions with people dressed in traditional costumes,
Aoi Festival
or representing ancient themes and ceremonies.
GEISHAS: they are women trained in a number of
skills such as traditional Japanese dance, singing,
playing instruments like shamisen (three stringed
instrument), flower arrangement, wearing kimono,
Japanese tea ceremony, calligraphy, conversation or
alcohol serving manners to entertain people.
MANGAS: Manga is a Japanese word that means "comics" or
"cartoons". It's been part of Japanese culture during centuries to
tell stories using several images displayed in sequence. But the
genre mostly developed after World War II. Perhaps one of the
most popular manga of all time (and the one that started all) is
Mighty Atom (Astro Boy in the US) created by Osamu Tezuka
around the 50s. One of the fascinating aspects of manga
cartoons in this period of time is the apparition of series for girls
and adults readers. You probably know Naruto, One Piece or
Bleach…
CHERRY TREES (=cerezos): Japanese SAKURA, or "cherry
blossoms" come into bloom once a year during March/April
for only two weeks! There are quite a few places in Japan that
are famous only for their cherry trees. People also organize
viewing parties that are called “HANAMI”.
Sakura and Mount Fuji
PAINTINGS: Japanese paintings are quite particular. Some
subjects most dealt with are shiki-e (landscapes during the four
seasons), meisho-e (views of famous places), monogatari-e
(scenes from the life at the imperial court in Kyoto), rakuchu-
rakugai-zu (views from Kyoto), kabuki-e (images from the kabuki
theater), bijinga (images of beautiful women).
A typical Japanese
painting

12. RECENT EVENTS
On 11th March, the biggest EARTHQUAKE on record
to hit Japan (8.9 of magnitude) caused widespread
destruction across the country. A 10 meter high
TSUNAMI followed up that further devastated the
region of Sendai (in the North of Honshu, the main
island).
Tsunami in Japan (2011)
In addition to the natural disaster, a nuclear emergency
emerged. Tens of thousands of people were evacuated
from the vicinity of the Fukushima Daiishi nuclear power
plant after two explosions. Technicians battled to
prevent a reactor meltdown (=derretimiento), trying to
cool it with sea water. But a number of explosions have
led to a release of radiation on a number of occasions.
Fukushima Daishii plant (2011)
Tokyo was not badly damaged by the earthquake or
the tsunami, but some people are leaving because
they are scared by the effects of radiation (some
radiation has been found in the water and in some
food). Everybody remembers the Chernobyl
(Ukraine) accident of 1986, where a nuclear plant
had exploded and released an important amount of
radiation that had contaminated the soil, and has
been having consequences for years.
Chernobyl (1986)
Of course, the Fukushima accident is different because it
is not due to human error but to a natural disaster.
However, there will probably be consequences in the
affected zone, as important amounts of radiation have
been released both in the soil and in the sea.
Japan affected zone
While the medias are mostly focusing on the nuclear
alert, Japan is trying to comfort the affected
populations and to start assessing the economic costs
required to rebuild the damaged zone.

13. Work adapted from the different websites:
BBC on Japan: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1258586.stm
Images: google images
Japanese flag:
• http://www.flags-flags-flags.org.uk/japanese-flag.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Japan
Japanese geography: http://geography.about.com/lr/japan/412254/1/
Japanese painting: http://www.artelino.com/articles/japanese-painting.asp
Tourist guide on Japan: http://www.iexplore.com/dmap/Japan/The+Essentials
Information gathered and original idea by MARIE DUMAS