detail from: KRK Art dizajn

JAPAN - LAND OF THE RISING SUN

Dr sci. SIMO JELAČA

Basic information about Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia, consisting of 6,800 major and minor islands, including Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku, and Okinawa, covering an area of ​​377,887 km2 (square kilometers). A total of about 127 million inhabitants live in that territory, of which 90% live in urban areas. Only in the cities of Tokyo, Kanagawa, Osaka, Aichi and Saitama live 36.5% of the population, i.e. about 46,355,000 inhabitants, and 10.7% of the Japanese population (13.6 million) lives in Tokyo itself.

The territory of Japan consists of 87.95% land and 12.07% water. The coastal strip is 29,754 km long. Japan is predominantly a mountainous country, about three quarters. Mountain heights reach over 3000 m. Some mountains are of volcanic origin, Fuji (Fuji, 3776m). The territory of Japan is included in the earthquake zone.

Japan has about 34.7 million (27.3%) residents over the age of 65, who represent the country's main health problem. As the population growth is decreasing every year, it is expected that the old population will be 40% in 2060. Japan has now already reached 95,000 inhabitants over the age of one hundred. Almost 90% of that number are women.Generations aged 15 to 64 have 60.7%, that is, about 77 million, and the number of children born is only 1.45 per family, and in Tokyo even only 1.24. By the way, the Japanese are a long-lived people, the life expectancy of women is 91.5 years on average, and 85 years for men. Mortality in Japan is 30% from cancer, 29% from cardiovascular diseases and about 12% from other diseases.

Of the total number of Japanese population, 98.5% are ethnic Yamato, and of the remaining 1.5% are Koreans 0.5%, Chinese 0.4% and about 50,000 indigenous peoples. The majority of Japanese people speak Japanese (97%) as an everyday language, 49% of Japanese words are similar to Chinese, and 9% are similar to English.

The government of Japan is constitutionally monarchical, headed by the Emperor. The current monarch is His Majesty Akihito. Imperial state duties are mostly ceremonial in nature. The political leader of the country is the Prime Minister. Now it's Shinzo Abe. The Japanese Parliament has 465 parliamentary seats and 242 seats in the House of Cancellous. The Supreme Court has 15 members. The civil code of Japan works according to the European style.

Historically, the old name of Japan was Yamato, a name taken from Korea, and the nickname is "The land of the rising sun". Only a small number of countries in the world have a history similar to Japan's. Japan has gone through stages of migration, Asian expansion, subjugation and rebirth. Today, Japan is the voice of pacifism on the international stage.

The major cities of Japan are: Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Kobe and Kyoto.

Tokyo is a city where innovation meets tradition. Traditional landmarks have been restored and artistic landmarks have lasted for centuries. Tokyo is the administrative center of Japan, as well as its cultural, financial, commercial and educational center, also focused on the urban development complex. The city abounds with numerous parks, botanical gardens, numerous temples and is known as an extremely friendly and kind host to all guests, an extremely busy city and very clean.

Yokohama is a coastal port city, surrounded by a mountain. The Japanese call it Honmoku. The climate in Yokohama is mild, summers are hot and humid, rainy in September, with typhoons. Yokohama covers an area of ​​about 433 km2, with about 3,777,500 inhabitants. With the development of the Kawasaki industry, Yokohama became an industrial city. Now there is Japanese shipbuilding in Yokohama. The earthquake on the first of September 1923 in Yokohama claimed 140,000 human lives.

Osaka is a city of 222.3 km2, hosts the second largest aquarium in the world, with 29,000 m3 of water, and is the third largest city in Japan. It is very popular for its underground railway, which is considered the most beautiful in the world. Osaka is a city in Japan famous for its street food, especially its pancakes. Osaka, in Japan, is one of the cities with the best healthcare education system. It is naturally a very beautiful city, and the people there are very friendly.

Sapporo is a very popular city in Japan, as a ski center. The 1972 Winter Olympics were held in Sapporo. In Sapporo, artistic figures are made from ice every winter. There is also a very beautiful botanical garden in the city, which is a true paradise on earth in the spring, when the cherries are in full bloom. Sapporo has about two million inhabitants.

Kobe, the administrative center of the Hyogo area, where the climate is moderate, with average temperatures of about 170 C. The city of Kobe is accessible by land, sea and air, and is squeezed between the mountains and the sea. In the area around Kobe, cattle breeding was developed as an economic branch. The city is also famous for its cuisine, and has a famous art museum and a hot spring. The city of Kobe is one of the most attractive cities in Japan.

Nagoya is the center of the Aichi region, one of the strongest financial cities in Japan. It is surrounded by mountains and the sea, has a river and fertile plains in the area. Rice is grown in the vicinity of Nagoya. The city is also famous for the Atauta Jinga Fortress, as well as the Toyota and Tokugawa Museums. The city of Nagoya is also one of the leading industrial cities of Japan, where the automotive industry is concentrated, as well as the industry of ceramics, aerospace, electronics, machine tools and other techniques.

Kyoto is mainly a city of Japanese consumers, the national city of silk and fine fabrics, and it is also known as a city where foreign dishes are mostly offered. Kyoto was once the administrative center of Japan, during five thousand gpdin, and now it belongs to the more popular cities of festivals, Buddhism, and is considered the birthplace of Japanese culture. It has a moderate climate and is pleasant to live in.

Mount Fuji (Fuji) is located on the island of Honshu. It is of classic volcanic origin, 3,776 m high. The last volcanic eruption on Fuji was in 1707, and they occur on average every five thousand years. Fuji is considered the most beautiful mountain in the world. Fuji is semi-privately owned, and is known as Japan's famous ski resort. By the way, Fuji is known as a tourist attraction in Japan, where international weddings are also held. Fuji is considered to mean immortality in Japan.

Japanese Industry The most developed industrial branch in Japan is the automobile industry. Then, followed by electronics, aerospace, machine industry and others. Japan has 16 car factories, and the most famous are: Toyota (Toyota), Nissan (Nissan), Mazda (Mazda), Lexus (Lexus), Honda (Honda), Suzuki (Suzuki) and Mitsubishi (Mitsubishi). The largest manufacturer is Toyota, located in Aichi.

Japan is one of the world's largest importers and exporters. It is even the second country in the world in terms of foreign exchange of industrial goods, which amounts to approximately 1.4 trillion dollars. Japan disposes of 8.6% of the total world GDP, as much as 12 trillion dollars. Japan is the second country in the world in terms of the total number of cars produced, and Japanese agriculture is among the ten most modern in the world. In terms of income, Japan is among the leading G7 countries. Industrial growth in Japan was 10% in the 1960s, 5% in the 1970s, and 4% in the 1980s. Total annual Japanese exports amount to 728 billion dollars, and imports as much as 1.077 billion dollars. The largest export income is generated by the export of cars, while imports are mostly spent on food imports.

Agricultural crops grown in Japan include rice, wheat, corn, soybeans, barley, oats, sugar beets, potatoes, fruits and vegetables. The season for growing agricultural crops in Japan is from April to November. Japan grows wheat on 157,000 hectares (yield 3.6 tons per hectare), rice grows on 1,853,000 hectares (yield 5.4 tons per hectare).

The average Japanese worker earns 6,200,000 yen per year ($3570 per month). The living expenses of a family of four are about 4,600 per month, which means that if two people in the family work and earn 7,140 dollars per month, they each have 2,540 dollars left over and can save up to 132,000 dollars per year. This shows that the standard of living in Japan is very good.

University education

In Japan, the research and education system is at a very high level. The universities are the main research centers and are located in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Kyushu, Nagoya, and Hokkaido. The most important research center is Tokyo Institute of Technology, followed by Osaka University, Kyoto University, Kyushu University, Hokkaido University, Nagoya University, Tsukushi University and International University.

The number of students in Japan is around 76,000 annually, of which 52.6% complete their studies regularly. Japan has about 25,386 Ph.D. There are 25 Nobel Prize winners by nationality in the world, of which only two are from Japan, and all the rest immigrated to other countries, mostly to America. One more, as a Hiroshima survivor, has received the Nobel prize in 2024, for warning countries not to use nuclear weapons. By the way, there are always Japanese students at all world universities, which means that they are always informed about what is being studied and where in the world. The author also experienced that a Japanese student, while he was working on his doctorate, published his main results in Osaka, before the research on the dissertation had even been completed.

Sights of Japan

In the world, Japan is considered to have an extremely rich history, as well as a very high level of culture and traditional values, with a mixture of old and new. Japan is an extraordinarily beautiful country, especially in the spring when the cherry blossoms are blooming. Japan has nice trams and fast trains. In Japan, it is customary not to talk while traveling on trains. In Japan, people mostly travel by super-fast trains. Japan has extraordinarily beautiful and unique architecture. All Japanese are "bilingual" (bilingual, speak at least two languages, one foreign). The Japanese recommend that foreigners behave as closely as possible to Japanese behavior during their visits to Japan. Tipping is not accepted anywhere in Japan. It is considered uncultured, because everyone is paid for what they do. The Japanese are, by the way, very hardworking people. In Japan, there are some restaurants where foreigners are not allowed to enter. Sports are popular in Japan; baseball, sumo wrestling, European football, tennis and golf. Of the scientific disciplines, research in the fields of medicine, aerospace, nuclear energy, electronics and robotics is more intensive. In Japanese houses, you must take off your shoes when entering, and there are also restaurants where this is the custom.

In the domain of religion, the Japanese serve Shintoism and Buddhism, and very little Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism. The natural Japanese religion is Shintoism.

Of the daily foods in Japan, red and poultry meat, oil and fat are the most common. Japanese dishes can be described as warm and pleasant, but with a little more salt. There are a lot of fish, so it is considered that the Japanese are a longer-lived people due to their diet of fish, whose food and water have more iodine. Japanese people in their households eat fish at least two to three times a week. Sushi is especially popular.

The Japanese are a very hard-working people, honest and sincere in relationships, well-educated and very cultured. They are well-intentioned in relationships and never have hidden bad intentions. How fortunate that the other peoples of the world have a similar education and behavior as the Japanese. Each of us wants to visit Japan at least once in our life. 

 

Mountain Fuji, Japans most famous landmark

 

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