O Japan is a country located on the Asian continent and also called the “Land of the Rising Sun”.
An island country, it has an area of 377 thousand square kilometers and is the third largest economy in the world.
General data
- Capital: Tokyo
- Population: 126 730 000 inhabitants
- Government Regime: parliamentary monarchy
- Monarch: Emperor Akhito
- Prime Minister: Shinz Abe
- Coin: yen
- Religion: Shinto, Buddhism
- Language: Japanese
flag of japan
THE japan flag displays a circle representing the Sun. Also called Hinomaru, the flag has been used since 1870.
The design has been used since the 12th century by the “samurai bushi". In a battle between the Taira and Minamoto clans, the samurai drew the circle of the Sun on fans, the so-called "gunsen".
The figure began to appear in battles such as Sekigahara's in 1600 and adorned on several panels.
geography
The Japanese territory is made up of 3,000 islands that, together, correspond to the areas of the Brazilian states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. The main islands are Honshu, Shikoku, Hokkaido, Kyushu.
The island is located between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan. is part of the Pacific Fire Circle, with great tectonic instability, intense volcanic activity, in addition to poor soil, with a low supply of minerals and fuels.
The relief is formed by mountains and plateaus, and most of the territory is mountainous. In the region called Chubu in central Honshu, there is a mountain range that is more than 3,000 meters high.
The highest is Mount Fugi, which is 3,700 meters high and is located between Yamanashi and Shizuoka provinces.
Due to the relief, Japan is marked by intense volcanic activity. There are now 80 active volcanoes in the country and most have the capacity to cause intense destruction.
Seismic activity is also intense due to the energy of the Earth's crust. The last large-scale earthquake was recorded in 2001, reaching 9 on the Richter scale. According to Japanese authorities, the number of dead and missing reached 19,000 people.
Hydrography
The longest and most important river in Japan is the Shinano, which is 367 kilometers long. Also of great importance are the Chubu, Tone and Ishikari rivers.
The topography directly influences the course, driving strong currents towards the sea. This feature resulted in geological formation, such as plains and deltas.
Climate
Japan is under the influence of the subarctic climate where the four seasons of the year are well defined.
Winter is influenced by seasonal winds and part of the territory, especially the mountainous region, is influenced by heavy snowfall. At that time, the average temperature is 5ºC.
Japanese autumn is marked by the occurrence of typhoons. At least 30 typhoons hit the archipelago at this time of year.
In summer, the rains are intense and average temperatures reach 30ºC. The relative humidity of the air is high during this period and there are constant rains and storms. The temperature fluctuates a lot in the Japanese spring, also marked by hot winds and low pressure.
Economy
Japan is among the largest economies in the world and, until the 1990s, was second only to the United States. Today, in third place, it was surpassed by the China.
The technology industry is its main source of income and the highlights are for production in the information technology, electronics, robotics and nanotechnology sectors.
At least 85% of Japan's industrial production is located in the Tokyo and Osaka regions, which together form the country's largest megalopolis.
Due to the limited territory, there is a small part of arable land. Rice production is the most important, but there is also investment in the cultivation of fruits and vegetables.
Read more about Japan Economy, G20 - Group of Twenty, G7- Group of Seven and G8 - Group of Eight
History
The settlement of the territory now occupied by Japan began in the III century; Ç. From the 6th century onwards, the region was unified and, only in the 16th century, did it come into contact with Europeans.
Through Portuguese and Spanish navigators, Japan began the process of commercial exchanges with the Western world. Between 1542 and 1543, Portuguese navigators docked at Tanegashima beach.
Japanese and Portuguese started the process of commercial exchanges. However, the imposition of Christianity made local rulers prohibit the entry of foreigners and the departure of Japanese.
In the 16th century, Japan still limited foreign trade to the Portuguese and the Dutch. This isolation, called "sakoku", aimed to preserve Japanese traditions and customs. Thus, it was prohibited the entry of foreigners on the island and the departure of Japanese.
This regime, under the command of the Tokugawa clan, was militarized. It began in 1603 and lasted until the arrival of the Americans in 1853. A year later, Japan signed the Treaty of Kanagawa, which resulted in the end of Tokugawa rule.
Via Meiji Revolution, the industrialization process began in 1868, when Emperor Mitsuhito rises to power.
This period was called era Meiji (1868-1912) and was marked by investments in means of transport, mainly railways, as well as ports and mines. Education aimed at qualifying the workforce was universalized.
The economy was dominated by family clans that infiltrated commerce, finance and industry of all sizes.
During this period, the industrialization process was hampered by the lack of raw material, energy and a limited internal market.
In an attempt to overcome these obstacles, the government decided to invest in militarism to conquer new territories and form colonies.
Among successive military campaigns, the first was the Sino-Japanese War, which took place between 1894 and 1895. At that time, Korea and Taiwan were occupied. When he defeated the Russia between 1904 and 1905, Japan conquered the Sakhalin Islands.
Manchuria was occupied in 1931, where Pu Yi, the last Chinese emperor, was sent. Confident of victories, Japan invaded China in 1937, a conflict that was part of World War II.
In 1941, the Japanese army invaded pearl harbor, in Hawaii, and caused the entry of the United States into World War II.
The Americans fought the Japanese on various islands in the Pacific such as Iwo Jiwa. In order to shorten the battles, atomic bombs about the cities of Hiroshima, on August 6, 1945, and Nagasaki, three days later.
Japan surrendered in September 1945 and was forced to accept the impositions of the United States, becoming its main ally.
The greatest transformation in social, economic and political terms in Japanese society occurred at the end of the Second World War.
The United States determined Japan's postwar change. In order to end the feudal regime and militarism, the Americans applied several measures:
- land reform;
- demilitarization of the island;
- its armed forces would be limited and used in self-defence;
- Japan became secular;
- the Emperor was no longer considered a god;
- the parliamentary monarchy became the governing regime.
It had an impact on Japanese society, economy and culture under the justification of modernizing it and burying its feudal and military past.
The US remained under Japanese control until 1952, when Japan regained sovereignty.
The Japanese industrial model is among the explanations for the country's rapid recovery. The adoption of the toyotism ensured that the country quickly rose to the rank of second richest nation in the world in the 1970s.
customs
Despite being a country extremely linked to technology, traditional Japanese culture still has its space.
Several modern cultural products arrived in the West like Manga. Characters such as "Hello Kitty", ikebana (flower arrangements) and origamis (paper folding) stand out.
On the other hand, martial arts such as karate and judo are popularized all over the world.
Japanese cuisine conquered the world in the 1990s when Japanese restaurants were opened in big cities.
In the set of elements that make up the Japanese culture, the tea ceremony is among the most important. Called "chanoyo", it arranges meetings and meetings. It was incorporated into Japanese culture in the 8th century from China.
Read more about related subjects:
- Shinto
- Buddhism
- Origami: definition, origin and meanings
Brazil and Japan
Brazil has the largest Japanese colony outside Japan. Currently, 1.5 million Japanese and descendants live in the country.
Immigration officially began in 1908 when the first ship coming from Japan docked in Santos/SP. The Japanese dedicated themselves to the cultivation of tomatoes, coffee, fruits and later moved to larger cities.
The Liberdade neighborhood in São Paulo is the most traditional Japanese neighborhood in the country. However, we also find Japanese in the interior of Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and Pará.
To celebrate these events, several cities such as Distrito Federal and Belo Horizonte annually organize festivals about Japan.
Curiosities about Japan
- Japan has a winter festival called Kokutai which brings together thousands of people to encourage the practice of sports.
- The adventurer Marco Polo would have been the first European to arrive in Japan after traveling to China in 1291.
- The Portuguese introduced firearms to the Japanese.
- There are words of Portuguese origin in the Japanese vocabulary, such as thank you – pronounced arigatô.
read more:
- Confucianism
- Asian countries
- APEC
