Japan and the Koreas

COOL CATS
Japan
 Location

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 Japan is lies on the east coast of Asia and has four
main islands: Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and
Kyushu.
 History
 The first signs of occupation on the Japanese
Archipelago appeared with a Paleolithic
culture around 30,000 BC.
 The Yayoi Period around 500 BC, saw the
introduction of many new practices like
wet-rice farming, a new style of pottery,
and Metallurgy brought immigrants from
China and Korea.
 Japan's feudal era was characterized by the
emergence of a ruling class of warriors, the
samurai.
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 Facts
 There are over 127,078,679 people living in
Japan.
 Since Japan closed its borders 98.5% are
ethnic Japanese and the remaining 1.5%
are Koreans.
 Japanese is the official language of Japan.

 Capital of Japan is Tokyo.

 There currency is Yen.

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 Government & Politics
 Japan has a constitutional monarchy with a
parliamentary government.
 Executive branch- the Prime Minister head of
government.
 Legislative branch- bicameral Diet (House of
Representatives and House of Councilors)
 Judicial branch- Civil law system based on the
model of Roman law.
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 Religion
 Most (84 percent) observe both Shinto and
Buddhist, and 16% other religion, including
0.7% Christian.
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 Military
 Japan maintains close economic and military
relations with its key ally the United States.
 Japan's military is restricted by the Article 9 of
the Japanese Constitution, which
renounces Japan’s rights to declare war or
use military force as a means of settling
international disputes.
 The forces have been recently used in
peacekeeping operations and the
deployment of Japanese troops to Iraq
marked the first overseas use of its military
since World War II.
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 Health
 In Japan, healthcare services are provided by
national and local governments.
 Since 1973, all elderly persons have been
covered by government-sponsored
insurance.
 Patients are free to select physicians or
facilities of their choice.
 Sports
 Sumo wrestling is considered Japan’s national
sport and it’s a popular spectator sport.
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 Martial arts such as judo, karate, and modern

kendo are practiced all over Japan.
 They also play baseball, soccer, and golf.

 They hosted the FIFA 2002 along with South

Korea.
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