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| <center><b><font size=30>JAPAN IS COMMUNIST AND GAY</font></b></center> | |||
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| '''Japan''' is a country in eastern ], made up of an island chain between the ] and the ], east of the ]n peninsula. Known as the ''Land of the Rising Sun'', it is a global economic powerhouse, with a rich history and a distinct culture. | |||
| <center> A artical is not worth the time to write. </center> | |||
| <table border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" align="right" width="270px"> | |||
| <caption><font size="+1">'''Nippon 日本国'''</font></caption> | |||
| <tr><td style="background:#efefef;" align="center" colspan=2> | |||
| <table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"> | |||
| <tr><td align="center" width="130px">]</td> | |||
| <td align="center" width="130px" rowspan="2" height="130px">]</td></tr> | |||
| <tr><td align="center" width="130px">(])</td> | |||
| </table></td></tr> | |||
| <tr><td align="center" colspan=2 style="border-bottom:3px solid gray;"><font size="-1">''National ]: None''</font></td></tr> | |||
| <tr><td>Official ] </td><td>]</td></tr> | |||
| <tr><td>] </td><td>]</td></tr> | |||
| <tr><td>] </td><td>]</td></tr> | |||
| <tr><td>]</td><td>]</td></tr> | |||
| <tr><td>]<br> - Total <br> - % water</td><td>] <br> 377,835 ] <br> 0.8%</td></tr> | |||
| <tr><td>] | |||
| <br> - Total (]) | |||
| <br> - ] </td><td>] | |||
| <br> 126,771,662 | |||
| <br> 335/km2 </td></tr> | |||
| <tr><td>] </td><td>]</td></tr> | |||
| <tr><td>] </td><td>] +9</td></tr> | |||
| <tr><td>] </td><td>]</td></tr> | |||
| <tr><td>]</td><td>.JP</td></tr> | |||
| <tr><td>]</td><td>81</td></tr> | |||
| </table> | |||
| == History == | |||
| ''Main article: ]'' | |||
| Traditional Japanese legend maintains that Japan was founded in the ] by the ancestral ]. During the ] and ], the ] and ] were introduced, beginning a long period of ] cultural influence. The ] were the nominal ], but actual power was usually held by powerful court nobles, regents, or '']s'' (military governors). | |||
| During the ], traders from ], the ], ], and ] arrived, as did ] missionaries. During the early part of the ], Japan's shogunate suspected that they were actually forerunners of a military conquest by European powers and ultimately barred all relations with the outside world except for severely restricted contacts with Dutch and Chinese merchants at ] (]). This isolation lasted for 200 years, until Commodore ] forced the opening of Japan to the West with the ] in ]. | |||
| Within several years, renewed contact with the West profoundly altered Japanese society. The shogunate was forced to resign, and the emperor was restored to power. The ] of ] initiated many reforms. The ] was abolished, and numerous Western institutions were adopted, including a Western legal system and government, along with other economic, social and military reforms that transformed Japan into a world power. Japan's new ambitions led to wars with China (]) and ] (]) in which Japan acquired ], ] and other territories. | |||
| The early ] saw Japan come under increasing influence of an expansionist military, leading to the invasion of ], a second ] (]) and ultimately with the attack on ] in ] to ]. Japan was finally defeated in ] by the ]s dropped on ] and Nagasaki and surrendered to the ] and her Allies on ], ]. | |||
| Post-war devastated Japan, now confined to its present size, remained under US tutelage until ], when it embarked on a remarkable economic recovery that returned prosperity to the islands. | |||
| == Politics == | |||
| ''Main article: ]'' | |||
| Japan is a ] with a bicameral ], the ''Kokkai'' or ]. The ] is responsible to the Diet, consisting of a ] composed of a ] and ministers of state, all of whom must be civilians. The prime minister must be a member of the Diet and is designated by his colleagues. The prime minister has the power to appoint and remove ministers, a majority of whom must be Diet members. Sovereignty, previously embodied in the emperor, is vested by the ] in the Japanese people, and the ] is defined as the symbol of the state. | |||
| The ] consists of a House of Representatives (''Shugi-in'') of 480 seats, elected by popular vote every four years, and a House of Councillors (''Sangi-in'') of 247 seats, whose popularly elected members serve six-year terms. There is universal adult suffrage with a secret ballot for all elective offices. | |||
| == Prefectures == | |||
| ''Main article: ]'' | |||
| <div style="float:right">]</div> | |||
| Japan is subdivided into 47 ]s: | |||
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| </td><td valign="top"> | |||
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| </td></tr></table> | |||
| == Geography == | |||
| ''Main article: ]'' | |||
| <div style="float:right">]</div> | |||
| Japan, a country of islands, extends along the eastern or ] coast of ]. The main islands, running from north to south, are ], ] (or the mainland), ], ], and ], which is over 600 km to the southwest of Kyushu. About 3,000 smaller islands are included in the ]. About 73% of the country is mountainous, with a chain running through each of the main islands. Japan's highest mountain is the famous ] (''Fujiyama'') at 3,776 m . Since so little flat area exists, many hills and mountainsides are cultivated all the way to the summits. As Japan is situated in a ] zone along the Pacific deeps, frequent low intensity earth tremors and occasional volcanic activity are felt throughout the islands. Destructive ]s occur several times a century, often resulting in ]s. Hot springs are numerous and have been developed as resorts. | |||
| Because the islands run almost directly north-south, the ] varies considerably. ], on the northern island, has warm summers and long, cold winters with heavy snowfall. ], ], ], ], and ], in central and western parts of the largest island of Honshu, experience relatively mild winters with little or no snowfall and hot, humid summers. ], on the island of Kyushu, has a climate with mild winters and short summers. Okinawa is subtropical. | |||
| == Economy == | |||
| ''Main article: ]'' | |||
| Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of ]) have helped Japan advance with extraordinary rapidity to the rank of second most technologically powerful economy in the world after the ] and third largest economy in the world after the US and ]. One notable characteristic of the economy is the working together of manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors in closely-knit groups called ]. A second basic feature has been the guarantee of lifetime employment for a substantial portion of the urban labour force. Both features are now eroding. | |||
| Industry, the most important sector of the economy, is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. The much smaller ] sector is highly subsidised and protected, with crop yields among the highest in the world. Usually self-sufficient in ], Japan must import about 50% of its requirements of other ] and fodder crops. Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch. For three decades overall real economic growth had been spectacular: a 10% average in the ], a 5% average in the ], and a 4% average in the ]. Growth slowed markedly in the ] largely because of the aftereffects of overinvestment during the late 1980s and contractionary domestic policies intended to wring speculative excesses from the stock and real estate markets. Government efforts to revive economic growth have met with little success and were further hampered in ]-] by the slowing of the US | |||
| and ]n economies. | |||
| The crowding of habitable land area and the aging of the population are two major long-run problems. ] constitutes a key long-term economic strength, with Japan possessing 410,000 of the world's 720,000 "working robots". | |||
| == Demographics == | |||
| ''Main article: ]'' | |||
| Japanese society is ethnically and linguistically very uniform with 99% of the population speaking ]. The other 1% consists of an immigrant population of primarily ]ns and ], as well as the tiny indigenous minority of the ] on ]. | |||
| ] and ] are Japan's two principal ]s. Shintoism is founded on myths and legends emanating from the early animistic worship of natural phenomena. Since it was unconcerned with problems of afterlife which dominated Buddhist thought, and since Buddhism easily accommodated itself to local faiths, the two religions comfortably coexisted, and Shinto shrines and Buddhist monasteries often became administratively linked. Today many Japanese (up to 84%) are adherents of both faiths. ] in its many forms is a relatively small minority religion in Japan. | |||
| == Culture == | |||
| ''Main article: ]'' | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| == Miscellaneous topics == | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| == External Links == | |||
| * - Official site of the Imperial family (in Japanese) | |||
| * - Official prime ministerial and cabinet site | |||
| * - Official site of the House of Councillors | |||
| * - Official site of the House of Representatives | |||
| * - Official site of the Japanese Supreme Court | |||
| <hr align="center" noshade size="4" width="100%"> | |||
| <center>] | ]</center> | |||
Revision as of 15:47, 10 December 2002