GENERAL INFORMATION

• Full name: Japan

• 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.

• Time: GMT + 9 (if it’s midnight here, it’s

8am in Japan: when you go to sleep, they

are going to work!).

• Flag:

(it is known as Hinomaru, 日の丸,

"sun disc")the white part stands for

peace and honesty, the red one for

hardiness, bravery, strength and

valour)

Yukio Hatoyama

Emperor Akihito and his wife

• 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.

• 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.

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

(Kyushu is in the extreme southwest

and Shikoku is to its east). Besides

these four islands, Japan includes

2,000 additional smaller islands.

HONSHU is the largest island and is

economically and culturally the most

important of the four major islands, the

Japanese core area which includes Tokyo and

Osaka-Kyoto. Honshu is the world's seventh

largest island.

Much of the archipelago is MOUNTAINOUS and

only a small percentage of land is available for

agriculture and development. Thus large areas

remain forested while TOWNS AND CITIES tend

to be densely populated.

The climate varies from one island to another.

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

than the Tokyo area. Rainfall is

intermittent with sunshine.

TYPHOONS are only likely to occur

in September or October but rarely

last more than a day.

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

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.

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

Japan farm in the 19th

century

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).

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

Eitai Bridge, Tokyo

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.

FOOD and DRINKS

Japanese sushi

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

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.

→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.

Japanese tea ceremony

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.

Osaka

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.

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

Japanese doll

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…

Monuments: the Imperial Palace, Shinto and Buddhist

temples, monasteries, shrines (=santuarios), geisha tea-

houses, medieval cities, forts and castles, samurai

residences…

White Heron Castle

Kodo drummers

Indigenous people and arts: Ainu people, Kodo

drummers.

Second World-War tourism: war memorials, Hiroshima

and Nagasaki (nuclear bombed cities).

War memorial, Hiroshima

Sakurajima (active volcano) from seaport Kagoshima, Japan

Tian Yuan Temple (ninja)

Osaka dome-stadium

Kasuga Shintoist shrine

Tokyo by night

Katsushika Hokusai

The Great Wave off Kanagawa(1829-32)

(神奈川沖浪裏神奈川沖浪裏神奈川沖浪裏神奈川沖浪裏 Kanagawa Oki Nami Ura

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 training, 1938

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.

KENDO, Japanese fencing (= esgrima), is

practiced in numerous clubs and college

halls. In December, the All-Japan

Championships are held in Tokyo.

Kendo

Kyudo

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.

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

Mount Yotei

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.

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

Cormorant fishing

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.

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.

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,

or representing ancient themes and ceremonies.

Aoi Festival

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…

Sakura and Mount Fuji

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”.

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

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)

Fukushima Daishii plant (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.

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)

Japan affected zone

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.

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.

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