JAPAN

ADRIAN O. GARRIDO
8-SSC PASTEUR
 GEOGRAPHY
Japan is an island nation in East Asia surrounded by
the Pacific Ocean on one side and the Sea of Japan
(East Sea) on the other side. Japan shares maritime
(water) borders with China, North Korea, South
Korea, Philippines, Northern Mariana Islands, and
Russia.
Size Comparison: slightly smaller than California
World Region or Continent: Asia
General Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous
Seasons: Spring (March to May) The best time to visit Japan,
with mild weather and trees blossoming, Summer (June to
August), Autumn (September to November), Winter
(December to February).
Location: Japan consists of several thousands of islands, of
which Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku are the four
largest. Japan's closest neighbors are Korea, Russia and
China. The Sea of Japan separates the Asian continent from
the Japanese archipelago.

 ECONOMIC STATUS
Major Industries: among world's largest and technologically advanced producers
of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous
metals, ships, chemicals, textiles, processed foods.
Agricultural Products: rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit; pork, poultry, dairy
products, eggs; fish.
Natural Resources: negligible mineral resources, fish
Major Exports: transport equipment, motor vehicles, semiconductors, electrical
machinery, chemicals.
Major Imports: machinery and equipment, fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles,
raw materials(2001).
Currency: yen (JPY)().
 POPULATION
The current population of Japan is 126,044,904 as of
Saturday, July 1, 2017, based on the latest United Nations
estimates.
Japan ranks number 11 in the list of countries by
population.
Most populous city is Tokyo 8,336,599
Smallest city in Japan is Utashinai (3,494)
 Government
The government of Japan is a constitutional monarchy in which the power of
the Emperor is limited and is relegated primarily to ceremonial duties. As in many
other states, the Government is divided into three branches: the Executive branch,
legislative branch and judicial branch.
The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan,
adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state, containing forty-seven administrative divisions, with
the Emperor as its head of state. His role is ceremonial and he has no powers related to
Government. Instead, it is the Cabinet, composing of the Ministers of State and
the Prime Minister, that directs and controls the Government. The Cabinet is the source
of power of the Executive branch, and is formed by the Prime Minister, who is the head
of government. He or she is designated by the National Diet and appointed to office by
the Emperor. the Legislative branch and the Judicial branch
 LANGUAGE
Languages of Japan
Official languages Japanese (Tokyo dialect)
Main languages Japanese
Regional languages Ryukyuan (Okinawan et al.)
Minority languages Ainu, Bonin English, Nivkh, Orok, Russian
Main immigrant languages Korean, Portuguese, and Chinese
Main foreign languages English, Russian, German, French, Portuguese,
Spanish
Sign languages Japanese Sign Language
Amami Oshima Sign Language
Common keyboard
layouts
 WRITING SYSTEM
Kanji (; Japanese pronunciation: [kandi] listen), or kan'ji, are the adopted
logographic Chinese characters (hnz) that are used in the
modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana and katakana.
Hiragana (, ) is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese
writing system, along with katakana, kanji, and in some cases rmaji (Latin script). It is a
phonetic lettering system. The word hiragana literally means "ordinary" or
"simple" kana ("simple" originally as contrasted with kanji)
Katakana are sometimes used instead of hiragana as furigana to give the
pronunciation of a word written in Roman characters, or for a foreign word,
which is written as kanji for the meaning, but intended to be pronounced as the
original.