JAPAN

LOCATION

• Japan is an island country in East Asia. It is bordered the Sea of Japan to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east, and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south.

HIGH INCOME COUNTRY

• The economy of Japan is a highly developed free-market economy. It is the third-largest in the world by nominal GDP and the fourth-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). and is the world's second largest developed economy. Japan is a member of the G7.

PHYSICAL LANDSCAPE

• The terrain is mostly rugged and mountainous with 66% forest. The population is clustered in urban areas on the coast, plains and valleys. Japan is located in the northwestern Ring of Fire on multiple tectonic plates. East of the Japanese archipelago are three oceanic trenches.

CLIMATE

• The climate in Japan is mostly temperate with four distinct seasons, except for the Hokkaido area and the Okinawa region. Tokyo, along with most areas on the main island Honshu, has a humid subtropical climate characterised by warm and wet summers and mild winters.

RESOURCES

• Japan's mineral reserves are small, and the quality of those mined is often poor. Coal, iron ore, zinc, lead, copper, sulfur, gold, and silver are among the most abundant minerals (in relative terms), with lesser quantities of tungsten, chromite, and manganese.

HISTORY

• Japan has been shaped by both its isolation as an island nation and its proximity to the massive Asian continent (particularly Korea and China). During times of openness, the country has absorbed ideas and cultures from abroad; in times of retreat, it has incubated its own way of doing things. Together, these trends created the fascinating Japan we know today – as has its times of power struggle, aggression, defeat and resurrection.

THE FLAG

• The Japanese flag is made up of a red circle, symbolizing the sun, against a white background. It is known as the hinomaru in Japanese, meaning "circle of the sun." Because Japan lies at the far West of the Pacific Ocean, the sun rises spectacularly over the sea to the East.

POPULATION

• 126,476,461 people The current population of Japan is 126,521,169 as of Monday, May 18, 2020, based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data. Japan 2020 population is estimated at 126,476,461 people at mid year according to UN data. Japan population is equivalent to 1.62% of the total world population.

FEATURE OF CULTURE

• Early Japanese culture was heavily influenced by China. During the Edo era, Japan exercised a strict isolationist policy, closing its doors to all relationships with the outside world. This cultivated a distinct Japanese culture. After the fall of that era in 1868, Japan reversed this practice, adopting cultural practices from all over the world and mixing them with what was established during the Edo era. Over the years, Western culture has influenced all aspects of Japanese culture including art, lifestyle and food.

RELIGION

JAPANESE FOOD

SUSHI

• Sushi is a Japanese dish of prepared vinegared rice, usually with some sugar and salt, accompanying a variety of ingredients, such as seafood, vegetables, and occasionally tropical fruits.
• Ingredients generally used: seafood and vegetables Main ingredients: vinegared rice Alternative names: すし, 寿司, 鮨 Place of origin: Japan Serving temperature: cold Associated national cuisine: Japanese cuisine

TEMPURA

• Tempura (天ぷら or 天麩羅, tenpura is a typical Japanese dish usually consisting of seafood, meat, and vegetables that have been battered and deep fried. The dish was introduced by the Portuguese residing in Nagasaki through the fritter-cooking techniques in the 16th century.

RAMEN

• Ramen is a Japanese dish with a translation of "pulled noodles". It consists of Chinese wheat noodles served in a meat or fish-based broth, often flavored with soy sauce or miso, and uses toppings such as sliced pork, nori, menma, and scallions.

CLOTHING

MALE CLOTHING

• Happi is the japanese traditional dress which is worn by male performers, particularly in dances, which is actually a straight sleeved jacket. Happi is normally having an open front and it is fastened with ties. In the modern patterns, Happi are worn over clothes and tied at the waist with a belt.

FEMALE CLOTHING

• Women typically wear kimono when they attend traditional arts, such as a tea ceremonies or ikebana classes. Girls and young single women wear furisode: a colorful style of kimono with long sleeves that are tied with a brightly colored obi.

PLACES TO VISIT

KYOTO

• Kyoto,once the capital of Japan, is a city on the island of Honshu. It's famous for its numerous classical Buddhist temples, as well as gardens, imperial palaces, Shinto shrines and traditional wooden houses. It’s also known for formal traditions such as kaiseki dining, consisting of multiple courses of precise dishes, and geisha,

TOKYO

• If Kyoto is the heart of traditional Japan, Tokyo is its ultramodern counterpart. It’s here you’ll find the skyscrapers, noisy arcades, busy pedestrian crossings, crazy youth fashions, and many many incredibly delicious restaurants. If all you do in Tokyo is eat, you’ll have an amazing time—even as vegetarians we ate so well.

TAHAYAMA

• Takayama is an utterly gorgeous small town on the edge of the Japan Alps and one of the best less-visited places to go in Japan. I loved wandering the historic centre full of traditional wooden houses, colourful shrines, neatly shaped trees, and bright red bridges over the river.

AND LOADS MORE

OVERALL

Japan is the eleventh most populous country in the world, as well as one of the most densely populated and urbanized. About three-fourths of the country's terrain is mountainous, concentrating its population of 126.2 million on narrow coastal plains. The largest urban area is the Greater Tokyo Area, which is also the most populous metropolitan area in the world and home to more than 37 million people.