Japan: An Overview and some amazing Facts
Japanese people commonly called their country as Nippon which means “the land of rising sun”. As a matter of fact the ancient Japanese knew about China and Korea but they did not know of any land to their east. So they believed that they were the first land awakened by the rising sun. So they termed their land as “Nippon”, a Japanese word for the land of rising sun. The word ‘Nippon’ is used for many official purposes such as on Japanese money, postage stamps, and for many international sporting events. The Europeans learned about Japan from the Chinese who actually mispronounced the name as ‘Zipango’ and that word becomes popularly known as Japan.
Japan is composed of over 3,000 smaller islands; many of them are very small to even live. Among them there are four main big islands namely Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku and Kyushu. Honshu is the largest and most populated island among them and Shikoku and Kyushu is smaller and least populated as compared to Honshu.
Tokyo is the capital city of the country with over 30 million residents. As compared to the area Japan is even smaller than California but it has a population of about 120 million people. The country is over crowded compared to California. It is one of the most densely populated countries in the world and also the 10th most populous country in the world. The population of Japan is equal to that of UK, France and Denmark combined. The land prices are very high and therefore most of the Japanese people can not afford to buy individual houses. Most people in Japan used to live in ‘danchi’. ‘Danchi’ is a small apartment consisted of one large room. They divide this room into very small sleeping and living rooms and even kitchen and bathroom.
The climate of Japan varies from island to island because of the shape of the country. The northernmost part of Hokkaido is at the same latitude as Montreal so it has colder climate while the southernmost tip of Kyushu is almost parallel to the Florida and hence it experiences a warmer weather. Most of the islands are mountainous and near about 10% of the world’s volcanic activities happens in Japan. Even the Japan’s highest peak, Mount Fuji is a volcanic mountain. Earthquakes are also very common in the country. In fact, it has about three minor earthquakes every day of the year. There is a history of major earthquakes also, for example the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923 that destructed the country. It has demolished the cities of Tokyo and Yokohama and more than one hundred and twenty thousand lives were lost at that time. Basically it is due to the location of the country. Japan is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire and at the juncture of three tectonic plates which gives Japan frequent earthquakes and occasional volcanic activities.
The history of Japan begins when the first migration of people happened from the Asian mainland during the period when the sea separates the present day Japan from China and the Korean Peninsula. The land was only partially formed that time and when the sea rose and the land bridges washed away, the first inhabitants’ starts to settle in the islands. The country has the oldest surviving monarchy in the world.
It is really very amazing to see how it has rise up after the end of World War II when it found itself almost destroyed. Japan has emerged as the world’s second largest economy after the United States. It is also a member of the United Nations, G8, G4, OECD and APEC. The country is the world’s fourth largest exporter and sixth largest importer. It comes under the category of the developed nations with high living standards. Japan is world leaders in technology, machinery, and robotics.
Japan has many amazing facts in itself:
• Japanese has a custom to remove shoes before entering a house or building. This is because the floors are usually covered with straw mats which are also called ‘tatamis’. Japanese take off their shoes before entering in order to maintain the cleanliness of the ‘tatamis’.
• To show your emotions openly in public is considered rude in Japan. Therefore, it is quite common to see a straight face with no emotions among most of the people in Japan.
• No doubt that showing respect is considered good manners in Japan, but they also show respect to the materials possession. For example, your coat or shoes will be set aside carefully and even brushed by the time you take it.
• Slurping while eating, especially when having soup is considered good. It is their tradition. In case, you do not slurp the host will think that you did not like the food served and he will take it as an offense.
• Be careful, how you hold your chopsticks. Never hold it upright in to the bowl of rice or other food items, because according to the old Japanese customs they offer food like this to the dead.
• Do you know Japan has one of the highest life expectancy countries in the world? They live on an average 4 years longer than US citizens, 2.5 years longer than the Germans or Belgians, and 1.5 years longer than French or Italian people.
• Japan have entertainment-based society with large numbers of restaurants, cafés, bars, clubs, karaoke, massage parlors and other relaxation centers than anywhere else on earth. It also has the world’s largest sex industry.
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