| Names of the four major islands | Names of the regions |
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| With a population of 125 million, Japan consists of four major islands--Hokkaido, Shikoku, Kyushu,Honshu (the largest and most populous)--and other 7,000 island. These islands lie in the east of Asian continent, extending from the latutude 4533' north to the latitude 2025' north. They are approximately 3,000km (1864miles) and covers an area of 377, 801square kilometers (145,869 square miles). About 70% of this area is classed as mountainous and largely volcanic, and only about 16% is arable. |
| Total population : 125.92 million.
(Female: 64.21 million. Male 61.71 million) Total land area : 377,801 square kilometers. (145,869 square miles) Capital : Tokyo Currency : Yen Head of State : Emperor Akihito Governmental form : Parliamentary Democracy
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| Names of the four major islands | Names of the regions |
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| Located in the temperate zone, Japan has a relatively warm climate with four distinct seasons with a rainy season(called Tsuyu in Japanese)between spring and summer. The avearge temperature in Tokyo, roughly in the middle of the Japanese archipelago , is about 15C .The Japanese climate is influenced by geographhical extent, winter and summer monsoons, ocean currects and rugged topography. |
Comparison of the Japanese Islands
with the U.S.A in terms of latitude and size.
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Foreign visitors' images of
Japan before and after the trip
(*multiple answers possible)
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(Source:JNTO)
| I have heard so many people say "Japanese
people are always eager to find out how foreign visitors view Japan!"
that I began to wonder if this phenomenon is uniquely Japanese. An author
of a book on Japan published in the late 1940s said that "Japan is
a country of shame." In other words, external appearance is very important
to Japanese people. In the old days, bringing disgrace on a family name,
especially among samurai warrior class, was like the worst crime you could
ever commit and people tried very hard to maintain their reputation. High
interests in (or great concern about) other people's opinion of this country
might be a reminiscence of those days. I wonder if surveys like above is commonly conducted in other countries. Coincidentally I came across an article by a British paper correspondent in Japan who told of a group of Japanese living in the U.S.A who published a book called "Japan made in the United States." The group criticizes coverage of Japan by the American media for being unbalanced. She said that her first reaction to the book when she first read about it was "How bizarre and amusing!" She went on to say that "It is difficult to imagine a group of British people setting about a similar project to review the coverage of Britain by, say, American or Japanese journalists." Maybe Japanese people are a bit more sensitive about how other people see them, but then as the correspondent said (and I agree) "the differences between people and places are what make the world a fascinating place." |
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| (Source:Ministry of Education) The typical Japanese diet has changed quite a lot in the last few decades. Now more and more people are starting to enjoy a western style diet, and this trend is shown clearly in the increase of the consumption of bread. As a matter of fact, there are a great number of people who prefer bread to rice with their meal. Sandwiches have become almost as Japanese as Onigiri (rice ball) here in Japan as well. One place I recommend you go when you have a chance to visit Japan is a bakery. Who knows, you might end up having your favorite bakery in a rice-eating country! |
(Source: Agency for Cultural Affaris) What religion do Japanese people believe, and what do they do as a believer of that religion? Japanese people do visit Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines to pray for whatever is on their mind, but this is more of a social practice than religious act as most of them don't even know what (who) they are praying to, let alone the teachings of that person (or god). However, as strange as it may seem, the total number of members of religious organizations, as seen in the survey result, is about twice the country's total population. |
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| (Source: Ministry of Education) As mentioned in "Everyday scenes", severity of competition for high school and college entrance exams are beyond imagination. College entrance exams are especially tough as it almost decides young people's future. Lots of people try to get into a college because it makes a huge difference in terms of future career. As shown in the chart above the percentage of female high school students who go on to colleges is considerably lower than that of male students. This is due to the fact that many female students opt for tandai (2 year college) instead of 4 year colleges. The reason for this I frankly don't know, but unfortunately it might have something to do with the widespread expectations that females should get married when they reach a certain age and start a family instead of pursuing a career. |
(Source: Ministry of Construction) It's been long since Japanese houses have been described as rabbit huts. Considering the size of land and population of this country, it is not difficult to imagine that Japanese people live in relatively small houses with a small yard (often no yard at all). The government has been saying that it will create a society where people can purchase a decent house with money worth about 5 times the annual income of an average company employee, but it has not come true. Compared to the late '80s, when economy was booming, land price has dropped significantly but still owning a house is very difficult. |
  (Source: Taisho University) |
One of the Japanese words that are hated
most by non-Japanese people is "Gaijin"(it refers to non-Japanese
natives). This word is so famous (notorious) that I have been asked about
the word by people who have even never been here before. The problem of
the word lies in the fact that it lumps together all the nationalities
besides Japanese and somewhat carries the implication that gaijin are "outsiders"
and not to be considered as a member of the society. The Japanese have
always drawn clear line between nihon jin (Japanese native) and gaijin.
This phenomenon of differentiating people is not, I believe, just confined
to Japan. And also considering the fact that the government in Edo period
adopted isolation policy for about 200 years (during which time virtually
no contact was made with other countries) and this country had never been
under control of any other countries before the end of WWII, it is not
so hard to understand why Japanese people feel the way they do about people
of other nationalities. However, as a country that has become an economic
superpower and now enjoys the prosperity that has been made possible by
doing business with the rest of the world, it can not afford to (and should
not) have this kind of semi-xenophobic sentiment. Fortunately, as the survey
suggests, younger generation of Japanese people have been internationalized
and more open to other nationalities. I truly hope that young people will
break the barrier that still exists in this society. |
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| (Source:National Police Agency) One of the things that Japan is known for is its low crime rates. In fact, it might even make it to the top on the list of things you like about this country. Even though things are changing and heinous crimes are on the rise, Japan still is one of the safest countries in the world. Shops having their merchandise outside on the streets, or a woman walking(cycling) down the street by herself very late at night is still a common site. |
(Source:JTB) I read an article the other day saying that a church in Australia stopped performing wedding ceremonies for Japanese couples to make room for local people. It may come as a surprise but many, many Japanese people (non Christians!!) get married in a church as they think it's fashionable to do so. Even those who have held their wedding ceremony at a Shinto shrine in Japan change into western style white wedding dress during the reception and take pictures. It's very difficult for me to understand why so many people think is cool to get married in western style. The more I think about it, the more strange it seems because while I was living in the U.S.A, I never saw any couples getting into Japanese kimono and having pictures taken. |
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