Japan Geography:

Location: Japan as a geographical entity comprises several thousands of islands. Out of them Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku are the four major isles. The Sea of Japan separates Japan isles from its neighbors like Korea, Russia and China. Area wise Japan is equivalent to that of Germany or California of the US. Topography: More than 50% of the country is mountainous and covered by forests. Japan is politically structured into 8 regions and 47 prefectures. Japan has a population of 125,000,000 of which approximately two million are foreign residents. Climate: The weather in most of the major cities is temperate and subtropic. There are four seasons in Japan. The winter is placid, but the summer is hot and humid. Rain occurs in early summer, and typhoons often hit various parts of the country during late summer.

Education:
The literacy rate in Japan is very close to 100 percent and 95 percent of the Japanese population has a high school education. Compulsory education includes elementary school and junior high school, although senior high school education is almost universal. Around 51 per cent of men and 49 per cent of women currentl continue their studies at university At universities the percentage of male students is higher than that of female students,

Political system: The Japanese Constitution of 1947 is based on the three principles of sovereignty of the people, pacifism, and respect for basic human rights The Constitution defines the emperor as the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people, but stipulates that the emperor has no powers related to government, acting only in certain matters of state. Legislative authority rests with the National Diet, 'the highest organ of state power' and 'the sole law-making organ of the state', which comprises two chambers - the 480-member House of Representatives (or lower house) and the 242-member House of Councillors (or upper house). Members of the Diet are elected by the Japanese people; The executive branch of government comprises the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister, The Cabinet consists of Ministers appointed by the Prime Minister, a majority of whom are required also to be members of the Diet. The Prime Minister is elected by the Diet. Legal syatem Judicial power 'is vested in the Supreme Court and in such inferior courts as are established by law'. Other courts include 8 high courts in the eight principal geographical districts of the country; 50 district courts in the principal administrative units; 50 family courts; and 438 summary courts located throughout the country. Judges are appointed by the Cabinet. Religion: Japan's two major religions are Shinto (the indigenous religion of Japan) and Buddhism, which have co-existed for centuries. Some 84 per cent of the Japanese people consider themselves Buddhist, Shintoist or both.

While religion no longer plays a major role in everyday life, the average Japanese will participate in religious rituals celebrating births, weddings and funerals, visit a shrine or temple at New Year and participate in local festivals

Aesthetics: Visual Arts: The rich Japanese fine arts tradition is preserved in many different forms of cultural expression, ranging from Buddhist sculpture to the unique architecture.World War II in 1939, a trend encouraged by the introduction of western fine arts programmes in numerous Japanese universities. Literature: Early Japanese literature was heavily influenced by Chinese literature, but a distinctly indigenous style and quality subsequently emerged. From the mid 19th century the impact of western culture became predominant. Sports: If one looks back into history the earliest sports in Japan were archery and hunting. Sumo fight shows the tradition and religious beliefs of Japan. Some of the ancient sumo fights were purely religious in nature. Sumo the national sport of Japan originated nearly 200 thousand years ago and initially was associated with religion and rituals. This Japanese sport has become world famous and attract a huge crowd. Modern sports in Japan started in 1870s when the sports in schools became an activity. The first addition in school and universities were the baseball, track and field events, rowing, baseball and tennis. diet and nutrition: Japan's food is popular in the world for no use of spices. The endeavor in the Japanese food is fish, seaweed, vegetables, rice and soybeans. Food in Japan involves a careful presentation that is the layout, the selection of the plate and the food itself. Stress is given to the harmony of all the three.

Mainly the meal comprises of combination of flavors, textures, and the food that creates the Japanese style Vegetables are served with vinegar, pickled, and deepfried. Root vegetables are common. Japanese like to eat rice and one will find it most common on tables on the other hand bread and noodles are also important. Japanese also love to eat food from different countries. As regards the drinks and beverages of Japan Green Tea has a great significance for the Japanese culture. Clothing: The traditional dress of Japan is the kimono. Kimonos, which are generally made of silk, have large sleeves and reach from the shoulders all the way down to the heels Those who dress according to their status or position impress the Japanese. Dress to impress. Men should wear dark conservative attire. Business suits are most suitable. Casual dress is never appropriate in a business setting. Shoes should be easy to remove, as you will do so often. Slip-ons are the best choice. Womens dress should be conservative. Little emphasis should be placed on accessories. They should be minimal. Women should not wear pants in a business situation. Japanese men tend to find it offensive. Women should only wear low-heeled shoes to avoid towering over men. Housing; Traditional Japanese homes are made of wood and supported by wooden pillars, but todays homes usually have western style homes with wooden flooring.

Language: The official language of Japan is Japanese (Nihongo), a Japonic language spoken by 128 million people in Japan, as well as by numerous diaspora communities around the world. The Japanese language is written with a combination of Chinese characters (kanji) and the Japanese syllabic scripts