History

Geography

Culture

Government

Economy

Success Factors

Conclusion

References

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever visited Japan? If not, you should go to see our report on Japan because there are a lot of useful information about Japan, include History, Geography, Culture, Government and Economy. ENJOY!!!!!

Major Historical Issues in Japan

4000 BC: Artifacts found in Japan.
538c AD: Buddhism imported to Japan from Korea.
                Method of framing imported to Japan from China.
900~1200: Samurai power.
1300~1573: Feudal warfare brought up the rise of powerful lords.
1543: Portuguese visited Japan and latter on European traders followed.
          Christianity is also imported to Japan in this period.
1614: Christianity was banned because of the involvement in politics.
          The policy of isolation started, Japan closed the door.
1853~1854: The isolation policy was solved due to the negotiation of trade treaty by US                                                               	        Commodore Matthew Perry.
1867~1912: Meiji Era.(1) 
Tokyo became the capital and a program of westernization began.
1894~1895: War with China; Taiwan gained.
1902: Formed alliance with British; joined Allies in World War I.
1904~1905: War with Russia; Russia ceded southern half of Sakhalin.
1910: Japan annexed Korea.
1931~1932, 1937: War with China.
1941: Japan attacked US Pearl Harbor.
1945: World War II ended with Japan surrender.
           From 1941~1945, Japan economic ruin because of World War II.
1946: Framing of Peace Constitution.
1958: Joined the United Nations, entering the international community.
1950s~1960s: Japan's GNP increased by 10% per year
1974: Prime Minister Tanaka resigned over Lockheed bribes scandal.
1985: Yen reevaluated.
1988: Scandal over government and opposition parties.
1989: Emperor Hirohito died.
1990: Public-works budget increased by 50% to encourage imports.
1992: Over 100 politicians involved in new financial scandal.(2)

Geography of Japan

Japan is located Eastern Coast of Asia, between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan. Japan is consists of four main islands. There are Hokkaido in the North, Honshu the largest and most popular island, located in the center of Japan, Shikoku and Kyushu are both located in the South, are separated from the main island of Honshu. The total land area in Japan is about 377,835 square kilometer or 145,870 square miles.(3)

Here is the map of Japan:

Culture

Japanese culture derives from the early contacts of the islands with the early civilizations of China and Korea.(4) The classical influences of ancient China are found in Japanese literature, art, music and religion. For hundreds of years, the most impo rtant religious force in Japan has been Shintoism and Buddhism. Shintoism is the Japanese religion. It began in early times when the people worshipped the spirits of nature. The Japanese peoples believed that animals, trees, rivers and waterfalls conta ined the spirit of Gods and they set up shrines to honor these spirits. For many Japanese Shintosim was simply a patriotic way of life and not a religion. Buddhism came to Japan from Korea and China as early as 552AD. Buddhism is the most important re ligion in Japan. Many Japanese have practiced both Buddhism and Shintosim. They did this in the belief that Buddhism was a religion and Shintosim is the way of the God. Today, in Japan besides the Buddhist sects, they have Zen, Jodo, Shin, and Nichire n. There are more than 100,000 Buddhist temples and shrines in Japan. There is a famous giant statue of Buddha in Japan called the "Daibutse."

The modern Japanese consists of three kinds of Moji(characters): the ideograph Chinese characters known as Kanji and the phonetic characters known as Hiragana and Katakana. Originally, Japanese had no Moji, but in the fifth century documents came t o be recorded using Chinese characters. The Japanese devised the way of reading those Chinese characters in a Japanese way and, based on Chinese Characters, created the phonetic characters. The basis for phonetic moji was established in the Heian period (794-1185). Today, Katakana is mainly used for foreign words, and Chinese characters and Hiragana for composing sentences.

The culture of Japan has a traditional sense in food, music and Festivals. Japanese meals usually are simple and rice is the most important part of every meal. Besides rice, the Japanese eat large quantities of fresh and salted fish. They often eat fish raw and Japanese take great interest in how their food looks. They serve meals on beautiful lacquered trays, with the food carefully arranged in many small, attractive bowls. Each bowl contains just one kind of food, so as to emphasize its color, t exture, and design. Traditional Japanese music may sound tuneless to our ears. the usual instruments are gongs, drums and the samisen, which is a form of bonjo. Today modern Japanese enjoy the same classical and popular music that is heard in western countries.

Finally, popular and traditional Japanese festivals celebrated every year in Japan is: The Bon-O-bon festival, the Tea Ceremony and New Year. The Bon-o-bon festival is Japan's traditional festival, that they worship their ancestors and they offer flo wers and foods on the Bon-Dana (graveyard) its from August 13-15 every year. The Tea Ceremony is based upon the simple act of boiling water, making tea, offering it to others, and drinking of it ourselves. Served with a respectful heart and received w ith gratitude, a bowl of tea satisfies both physical and spiritual thirsts. Japanese New Year is considered to be the most important annual events in Japan. Japanese people exchange new year card with each other, eat special dishes, visit a shrine and c hildren are given a gift of money called Otoshidama ( Lucky Money).

I founded and learned the most interesting thing in Japan was the Bunraku. Bunraku in Japan is concerned to be the best known traditional puppet theater, is performed by a team consisting of a narrator, a shamisen player, and puppets about 1.3 to 1. 5 meters tall, each one manipulated by three puppeteers. Bunraku can be traced back to the Muromachi period. Bunraku became popular in the late 17th century in Japan.

Japanese Government

The Japanese government has taken many forms since its inception as a sovereign nation. The Japanese government we see today largely arose from the ashes of WWII and the subsequent occupation of Japan by U.S. forces. On November 3, 1946 General Doug las McCarthur drafted a constitution for the Japanese people that was very much similar to our own. This constitution contained a bill of rights similar to that of the United States. It also contained great deal of language regarding the continuing peac e of the Japanese people as well as the role of the Emperor as a figurehead. It also had a provision that reformed the Japanese army into a much weaker version that its prewar predecessor. This new army was used in a purely self-defensive role; with U.S . army taking up most of the defensive slack left over. This document also separated the government into a executive, legislative and a judicial branch. Each branch had a series of check and balances like our own government.

The executive Branch of the government is referred to as the cabinet. Its head is known as the Prime Minister. The current Prime Minister of Japan is Ryutaro Hashimoto, an avid practitioner of Kendo and several other martial arts. The Prime Minister presides over and chooses the membership of the 14 Cabinet posts, which range from the Minister of State to the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry. He also submits bills and informs the Legislative branch of national as well as foreign affairs. The d uties of the cabinet are very much the same as the Executive Branch in the United States. The cabinet administers the law and conducts affairs of state; including forging treaties and foreign affairs. The cabinet also administers the civil service and p repares the budget. Finally, the Cabinet is in charge of granting amnesty as well as the commutation of punishment.

The Legislative Branch of government in Japan is known as the Diet. The Diet is divided into two parts; the House of Representatives, or the lower house, who serve for four years and the House of Councilors, or upper house, who serve for six years. These two houses work together in the passage of bills into law. First the bill is introduced in the House of Representatives and then is voted on by the House of Councilors. The House of Councilors could also take no action on a bill for 60 days, at w hich time the bill is thrown out. In the case of the budget the House of Representatives, who has sole power over the national finances, first makes a decision on it and if the House of Councilors does not take action within 30 days the budget will be pa ssed or thrown out depending on the lower houses' decision.

The final division of the Japanese government is the Judicial Branch which is called the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is the court of last resort and is the final arbiter of the constitutionality of any law, regulation, or actions taken by the Cab inet or Diet.. The members of the Supreme court are chosen by the Cabinet and is subject to a review by the House of Representatives prior to their appointment.

Japanese Economy

Japan is both the world's second largest economy and the second largest market. It is also the biggest export market for a lot of United States companies and their largest overseas profit center. Furthermore, other Asian countries are pouring in for Japanese's investments. According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Finance, it was found that Total Investment has increased 16% in fiscal 1995. That makes Japan in the 2nd straight year of increase in Total investment. The biggest beneficiary of the outflow was North America. This region took 45.2% of Total Japanese direct investment in fiscal 1995. Although Asia was the second runner up for the most popular target region of Japanese investment, it has the biggest increased in term of percen tage. For example, Vietnam increased more than 100% of total Japanese direct investment in fiscal 1995. Overall, overseas capital investment in Asia is growing very strong.

Economic fundamentals of the U.S. and Japan are both the leaders of the world in terms of GDP per Capita and wage per hour. However, Japan has much higher GNP and wage per hour than the United States. To compare the two countries, Japanese's GNP is a bout $34,000, whereas the U.S. has only $25,00o And Japanese's wage per hour is about $16., and the U.S. is only $12. So we can conclude that Japan is about 35% to 40% higher than the United States.

Furthermore into detail, we can see that Japan balance of payments of the first half of 1995 quite strong. For instance, the current balance is $61,000, trade balance is $71,000, export is $214,000, import is $142,000, long-term capital is -$44,000, and short-term capital is $38,000. Moreover, the overall balance is about $72,000. Thus, notice all of these figures are all in million of U.S. $, and the negative figures in long-term capital is showing the outflow of capital. That means an increase i n Assets or a decrease in liabilities.(5)

The news on Japanese economy in 1996 is looking pretty good. Although the Japanese economy, which fell into recession nearly five years ago, it has struggled to recover ever since, and is expected to improve slowly during 1996. The Economic Planning Agency (EPA) predicts growth of 2.5 percent during this year, up from 1.2% in 1995. Furthermore, the Japanese business leaders believe the economy is on the road to recovery. Forty-four percent of chief executives believe the economy is slowly picking up, while 42% believe there is cause for optimism. Private capital spending is expected to increase in fiscal 1995 (April 1 1995-march 31, 1996) for the first time in four years. Meanwhile, overseas capital investment, mostly by auto and electronics mak ers, grew 36.3%. Southeast Asia and China continued to be the main areas of investment.

Factors Contribute to Japan's Economic Success

Japan's rapid modernization and industrialization from the 1870s to 1945 is similar to its economic recovery after World War II, which is also the factors for the Japanese to success.

First of all, the government played an very important role in Japan's economy in both period. In the Meiji era, the centralized Government moved into the fiscal and military side of Japan. The Government first improved the railways and the Postal ser vices which in turn subside the shipping industry. Thus, this system helps the development of the rural industries since which the communication and exchange is more easier than before. On the other hand, the Meiji Government also set up the model indus tries like textile or glass industries in which encourage the industrialization process.

After the World War II, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) pushed the japan's economic to very limit by starting from the private business; the Government also put the national priority to the economic so as to help Japanese economy up.

MITI, Ministry for International Trade and Industry, is a government Association in Japan which sets up the target of production, future plans on economy and nearly bears all the economic problems in Japan.(7) Moreover, MITI set up scientific, management towns for the improvement of production, set up the educational programs and the management skills for the needs in the modern economy.

The Government in Japan in these two periods invested a lot of money and efforts in the fields of communication, skills and the education levels like universities. And so did the business organization always employed students from Japan's famous unive rsity; and also cherish the retired businessman in high level as a counselor in plans constructing and strategies or decision making.

Second of all, during 1920s, there was a dual economy in Japan in which large modern manufacturers and the small factories existed together. They existed in a way that the small business produced what the large business need; and the small one survive d by producing the products and delivering to the large business just in time (Just-in- Time System). Thus, the economy of Japan (both the domestic and overseas) is well protected. Just like the postwar period or even today's Japan economy in which thei r domestic market is well protected by the Government policy.(6)

Third, the success of Japan also due to some external "help". In the early period of Japan, the institution of Japan looked at the model of Government throughout the world and after then borrowed them and adapted them in the base of Japanese society; however, new version is always resulted. The Ultra-nationalism is an example. It's true that Japanese can be said as the race in which well open to the alien ideas.

Since Japan lack of natural resources, they solved their problems (Raw material, technology and Capital) partly by the external factors. In the period before the war, Japanese got the raw materials from its colonial empire; and the postwar period and afterward, they buy the raw materials from outside by using their profit from the trade and exports. The technology problems was solved by buying the advance field on industrial technology from the West or Europe. Moreover, their capital problem is solv ed partly from the Korean War, in which helping Japan's economy to grow up.

Furthermore, the homogeneous nature of Japanese also help in their success. Japanese people see individual as group and believe individual should sacrifice so ass to fulfill the concept of group. Thus, people can work for free in the scientific town in MITI, and their interpersonal relationship s a whole is build up for success. The Zaikai is also an example for this. They also believe the relationship between the economic and politic is closed and so business organization and political organizatio n are concentrated in Tokyo as an interact.

In conclusion, Japanese's' success in the part or in the present can be summarized into the internal factors (Government policy and the homogeneous nature) and the external factors (the aid from the rest of the world and the opportunities).

In conclusion, Japan's cultural is very interesting. People in Japan mainly speak Japanese and the location of Japan is on the area of volcano and so we may say that Japan is a DANGEROUS place to live as if compare to the other countries like Hong Kong. Government in Japan plays a very important role in both politic and economy.

References

1. Major event in Japanese History

http://www.io.com/~nishio/japan.html

2. Modern history of Japan and Asia

http://enju.aist-nara.ac.jp/jsai/english/modern_history.html

3. Location of Japan

http://www.ntt.co.jp:80/japan/index.html

4. Civilization of China and Korea

http://www.uis.edu/~www/crowley/j-cult.html

5. Economy Outline

http://jetro.go.jp/what/facts/us-handbook/1html

6. Societies and Culture in world history volume II:1500 to the present (Hard Copy)

7. Japanese civilization and culture

http://neal.ctstateu.edu/history/world-history/links29.html

2.Modern History of Japan and Asia

3.Location of Japan

4.Civilization of China and Korea

5.Economy Outline

6.Societies and Culture in World History Volume II:1500 to the Present.(Hard Copy)

7.Japanese Civilization and Culture

e-mail to chiman@hawaii.edu