Japan
1. 660 BC: traditional founding by Emperor Jimmu
2. Japan is an archipelago stretching a total of 3,500 kilometers from northeast to southwest. Tokyo, located nearly in the middle of the archipelago, lies at 140 degrees east in longitude and 36 degrees north latitude. The latitude of Tokyo is about the same as that of North Carolina in the US, that of Tsingtao in China, and that of the south of Italy.
3. Tokyo
4. Osaka, Nagoya
5. 127 million (2004)
6. Shinto followers: 105 million, Shinto is an indigenous religion based on the worship of nature and ancestors. It has no founder, no dogma, no scripture and its most important concept is purity.
Buddhist: 95 million, Buddhism teaches how to escape the agonies of life and to reach nirvana, or enlightenment.
Christians: 1.76 million
What is interesting is that that total number of people who belong to the three religions is about 201.8 million, which is more than the entire population. This means that most Japanese belong to both Shinto and Buddhist religions.
7. The total land area of Japan is approximately 378,000 square kilometers, which is about one twenty-fifth of that of the US or China. It is much smaller than state of California and about the same size as Italy.
8. Japanese
9. Yen (JPY)
10. $1= 102.7yen (Jan 28, 2005)
11. The average monthly salary of Japanese workers (including bonuses and overtime pay): 387,000 yen (2002)
12. The government of Japan is composed of three independent branches: legislative, administrative and judicial. The Diet is the highest organ of stat power and its sole law-making body. The Diet consists of two houses: the House of Representatives (the Lower House) and the House of Councilors (the Upper House). The Cabinet, the administrative branch, consists of the Prime Minister and other ministers of state. The judiciary branch of the government is made up of the Supreme Court, which is the highest judiciary organ, high courts, district courts, family courts, and summary courts.
13. Major political parties in Japan are the Liberal Democratic Party, the Democratic Party of Japan, the Komeito, the Liberal Party, the Social Democratic Party, and the Japan Communist Party. Since 1993, a coalition government headed by the LDP has been in power.
14. (Business)
Automobile industry: It accounts for about 15% of all exports from Japan.,
(Paticular to Japan)
Shinkansen “Bullet train”: It is one of the things that many foreign visitors want to do in Japan.
Hot spring
Tatami
Geisha
Ceramics and Porcelain
Chopsticks
(Arts)
Kabuki
Tea Ceremony
Wood Block Painting, Japanese Painting, Suibokuga
Flower Arrangement, Bonsai, Japanese Garden
Supdp
Japanese swords
Haiku, Tanka,
(Entertainment)
Animated Cartoons: such as “Pokemon”, “Astro Boy” by Tezuka Osamu, and “Mononoke Hime” by Hayao Miyasaki
Karaoke
Pachinko: There are 16,500 pachinko parlors in Japan and their total annual income is over 30 trillion yen.
Syougi: It is most popular traditional indoor games in Japan.
Origam, Ayatori, Kendama, Marbles, Otedama, Janken, Karuta, Hyakunin-Isshu, Hanetsuki, Kite-Flying, Koma,
(Sports)
Sumo, Judo, Kendo, Karate, Kyudo
15. Bullying in schools: Since the beginning of the 80’s, the number of bulling cases in schools, especially in junior high schools, has increased. In some cases, students who were bullied by classmates killed themselves and left notes t o explain the reasons why they did. People used to think that bulling was a social problem particular to Japan, where young people live under the severe pressure of examinations. Since 1995, the Ministry of Education has been dispatching clinical psychologists and psychiatrists to schools in order to solve this problem.
Homeless: There is the number of homeless people in the big cities; A government survey says that there are over 25,000 people in Japan living on the streets. Most of them are in Osaka and Tokyo, but they’re rapidly moving to the suburbs. The Ministry of Welfare, together with local governments, is planning to open special care centers in Osaka, Tokyo and Nagoya to give them assistance so that they can eventually support themselves.
16. (DO)
How to eat noodles: Noodle such as soba and ramen are food whose taste is enhanced by slurping them with gusto while people eat. Even though this sound is unbearable not only to Western people but also to people from Korea and Taiwan, who eat the same type of noodles, it is ok to do in Japan.
Take off shoes inside the house: Inside the house, it is usual to wear slippers.
Seiza: The seiza position is proper for woman, and while people only change form seiza position and stretch out their legs in the company of close friends.
Gestures:
Move your hand up and down: come here
Touching the tips of your index finger and thumb to form a circle: money
Rising the index finger and middle finger: two
Pointing to your nose: when referring to yourself
Sticking up your little finger: girlfriend
Bending your index finger into a hook: a petty thief
Winking: when facing someone of opposite sex you are attracted to
How to write the date: When the date is May 4, 2003, an abbreviated way would be 2003/5/4
Ex) 4/5/2003 England
5/4/2003 US
4.Ⅴ.2003 Russia
(DON’T)
Agura: Women do not sit cross-legged.
Traffic Lights: Pedestrians do not cross the street when the light is red.
Hot spring: Entering hot spring wearing swimming suits is not allowed.
17. A polite greeting used on formal occasions is to bow. The handshake is a standard form of greeting in business world.
18. Some mentalities to understand Japanese culture:
Wabi and Sabi: Both wabi and sabi are the highest aesthetic values of traditional Japanese arts. Wabi expresses a state of calm, quiet subtlety which avoids being gaudy or showy. Sabi expresses elegance that reflects simplicity and loneliness.
Honne and Tatemae: Honne are our honest thoughts and feelings and tatemae is what we are supposed to say in any given situation. Since Japan has limited geographic space and isolated, it was necessary to do farm work as a group, and people often avoid mentioning their honest feelings in order to keep harmony in their communities and society as a whole. However, this attitude sometime causes misunderstandings between Japanese and foreigners, who may find these attitudes dishonest.
Group-Oriented Society: Japanese group consciousness is related to its culture of rice cultivation. It was necessary for farmers to work together and help each other in groups in order to cultivate rice. In addition, Confucian ethics introduced from China and emphasized by the feudal government strengthened the idea of the group-oriented society.
Shame: Japanese culture is classified a “shame culture”, whereas Western cultures are “guilt culture.” While guilt is more of an internal moral principle, a sense of shame is ruled by external moral standards. People often use the expression “losing face”, when they disgrace themselves in public.
Giri and Ninjo: Giri means social duty, and ninjyo means spontaneous human feelings. Practicing giri, people often help and support a person from who they have received a debt of gratuity, even if it may be disadvantageous to them. Both giri and ninjyo have been important rules considered necessary to maintain smooth relationship in Japan. However, people often face situations where they must sacrifice one to pursue the other.
19. White chrysanthemum shouldn’t be given to inpatients since the flower means death in Japan.
As wedding party, money that is given to a groom and a bride shouldn’t be even numbers since even means that the couple will break up.
20. AfDB, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EBRD, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), Paris Club, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMISET, UNMOVIC, UNRWA, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
21. Pink is symbol color of pornography. (Not many countries are as lenient about pornography as Japan.)
22. (Jan.1) New Year: Most Japanese rest during the first three days of the New Year and many companies and schools are closed for a week or more during this season.
(Jan.15) Coming-of-Age Day: This is to honors young people who have reached the age of 20 as new members of society. From the age of 20 onwards, people get the right to vote, drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes.
(Feb.3 or 4) Setsubun: This literally means “the day between two seasons.” Bean throwing called Mamemaki is done at home on the night of this day. People scatter roasted soybeans inside and outside their houses shouting, “Fortune in devils out.” Then they eat the same number of beans as their age and wish for good health. Bean is mame in Japanese that means good health.
(Feb.22) National Foundation Day: According to old Japanese mythology, the Emperor Jimmu, the first emperor of Japan, ascended to the throne and founded the imperial line on this day.
(Mar.3) Doll’s Festival: Families with girls celebrate this day to wish for their growth and happiness.
(Around Mar.21 and the Monday nearest to it) Spring Equinox Day: It is when the sun reaches the vernal equinox, and it’s the day when day and night are of equal length.
(Apr.29) Greenery Day: This was the birthday of the Showa Emperor, Hirohito, and he was famous for his interest in trees and plans, so the government decided to celebrate this day as a day for protecting the environment.
(Apr.29 to Mar.5) Golden Week: Including Saturdays and Sundays many Japanese have more than a week of holidays at this time.
(May.3) Constitution Memorial Day: This is the day on which the Constitution’s fundamental spirit; the sovereignty of the people, respect for fundamental human rights, and pacifism, are all reaffirmed.
(May.5) Children’s Day: Families with boys display miniature samurai armor, helmets and dolls representing famous feudal generals and other heroes because they’d like their sons to grow as strong as warriors. Also, they hoist koinobori, carp-shaped streamers that symbolize strength and success in life because Chinese legends say carp become dragons when they swim up whitewater rapids.
(Jul.7) The Star Festival: People write their wishes on strips of colored paper, hang them on the branches of leafy bamboo stems and put them outside at night.
(Jul.13 to 16) Bon: this is an annual Buddhist event. People believe that during the period the sprits of their ancestors return, so they go to clean family graves before then.
(Sep.15) Respect-for-the-Aged Day: This day is to honor and show respect to the aged. Also, this is the day for the Japanese, with the highest life-expectancy rate in the world, to think about social welfare issues that concern senior citizens.
(Sep.23) Autumnal Equinox Day: This is the day when night and day are almost equally long.
(Oct.10) Health-Sports Day: It was designated in 1966 to commemorate the opening day of the Tokyo Olympic held in 1964. According to meteorological data, this day is usually sunny every year, so it’s when many people choose to held athletic events.
(Nov.3) Culture Day: It was originally the Meiji Emperor’s birthday, and also on this day that the Japanese Constitution was proclaimed. To commemorate both events, this day was established as a national holuda. This dedicated to “the love of freedom, peace and the promotion of culture.”
(Nov.15) Shichi Go San: This literally means seven, five and three. When children reach these ages, they are taken by their parents or grandparents to a Shinto shrine in the neighborhood to celebrate their growth.
(Nov.23) Labor Thanksgiving Day: This was established to stress the importance of labor in people’s minds.
(Dec.23) Emperor’s Birthday: This is a birthday of Emperor Akihito, the present Emperor.
23. Chugen is a gift as a summer greeting around mid-July to superiors or customers as a token of special thanks for their daily help.
Seibo is a year-end gift given around mid-December, with the dame origins as chugen.
24. Japan Information: http://sunsite.tus.ac.jp/asia/japan/
Japanese Today: http://www.japantoday.com/
World Fact Book Japan: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ja.html
Yahoo Japan: http://www.yahoo.co.jp/
25. Japanese national flag means the sun circle. The design of the flag is very simple with a red circle symbolizing the rising sun on a white background.
26. Vote age: 20-year-old