JAPAN

Pearl Harbor

PEARL HARBOR

• During WWII, Japan allied itself with Germany and Italy. The island country wanted to build an empire in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. The United States were drawn into the WWII when Japan bombed the Pearl Harbor, Hawaii naval base. This happened in 1941, and many Japanese-Americans were sent to camps, for they were suspected of being spies for Japan.

HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI

• In retaliation, the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. This event had devastating results. The Japanese were appalled and unnerved by these destructive, terrifying weapons, and surrendered.

THE GOVERMENT OF MODERN DAY JAPAN

GOVERMENT

• Japan has been a constitutional monarchy since the end of WWII. The emperor has little power; his main role is to act as a symbol of Japan. Power instead rests with the elected legislature, the Diet, [ also called (1889–1947) Imperial Diet, Japanese Kokkai (“National Assembly”), or Teikoku Gikai (“Imperial Assembly”) ] and the prime minister.

TOKYO

LIFE IN TOKYO

• Tokyo is both Japan's national capital, and center of the country's banking and communication industries. The city is very crowded, busy, and noisy. Tokyo's real estate prices are among the highest in the world do to the little land area. People have found creative ways to adapt, such as building fairly tall and narrow buildings, placing shops and restaurants underground in subway

LIFE IN TOKYO cont.

• stations. The Japanese have found a way to save space using Capsule Hotels (カプセルホテル). Guests in these hotels--mostly traveling businesspeople--crawl into tiny sleeping chambers, rather than having rooms with beds. Many people work in Tokyo, but live outside the city, and many commute via trains. During peak travel times, commuters have to be crammed into the train cars. But Tokyo

LIFE IN TOKYO cont. (again)

• isn't all about work, and during leisure time one may visit one of the many parks, museums, and stores. There are even huge indoor beaches and ski resorts filled with artifical snow! To connect cities far away from one another, the Japanese have built a network of rail lines. Some of these rail lines carry very fas Shinkansen, or bullet trains.