English II Honors
Thursday, January 2013
Japan

Japan is one of the world’s economic giants coming in 3rd place. Its total economic output is exceeded only by that of the United States. The Japanese manufacturers a wide variety of products, including auto mobiles, computers, steel, television sets and textiles. The countries factories have some of the most advanced equipment in the world. Japan has few natural resources. Japan imports many of raw materials needed for industry and export finishing manufacturing goods. Japan a small Asian country located near north and South Korea, Japan has evolved greatly over the time, from the country's prehistoric Jomon period, to its contemporary hybrid culture, which combines influences from Asia, Europe, and North America. Japan is considered a monarchy with a parliamentary government. The constitution with a parliamentary government. The constitution, which took effect in 1947, guarantees many rights to the people, including freedom of religion, speech, and the press. It awards the vote to all men and women age 20 and older. The constitution establishes three branches of government-the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch.
Japan is one of the world’s most populated nations. Approximately 90 percent of the people live on the coastal plains, which make up only 20 percent of the japans territory. These plains rank among thickly populated places in the world. Millions of people crowed the big cities along the coast, including Tokyo the capital and largest city of Japan, metro Politian region, which includes the cities of yokohama and Kawasaki, is the most populated urban areas in the world.

`Japan is over 70% mountainous terrains with approximately 18% of the land mass suitable for settlement. Japanese cities are typically sprawling and densely populated. Tokyo, a megalopolis and capital of Japan, is located on Honshu Island. Central Tokyo has a population of 12 million people, with the population of the Greater Tokyo Area estimated at over 35 million people.

The primary sector of industry together with the Japanese mining industry, but together they account for only 1.3% of gross national product. Only 15% of Japan’s land is suitable for the planting, tending, improving, or harvesting of crops and or plants. The most striking feature of Japanese agriculture is the shortage of farmland. 19,000 sq miles under cultivation constituted just 13.2% of the total land area in 1988. However, the land is intensively refined. Rice paddies occupy most of the countryside, whether on the alluvial plains, the terraced slopes, or wetlands and coastal bays. Lower slopes and are planted with wheat and barley in the autumn and with sweet potatoes, vegetables, and dry rice in the summer. Intercropping is common: such crops are alternated with beans and peas. . There is minimal mining in Japan due to few mining resources. The Japanese mining industry has been declining every sense thee 1980s. Domestic mines are declining shares of the country's requirements for some metals: zinc, copper, and gold. Almost all of the ores used in Japans processing industries are imported. Tokyo sky tree is a broadcasting, restaurant, and observation tower in Tokyo, Japan. It became the tallest structure in Japan in 2010 and reached its full height of 634.0 meters (2,080 ft) in March 2011, making it the tallest tower in the world, displacing the Canton Tower. The Tokyo sky tree is also can resist an earth quake, which also has a central shaft made of reinforce concrete.
Buddhism in Japan has been practiced since 552, Buddhism has had a major influence on the culture and development of Japan, and it still remains an important part of Japanese culture. About 90 million people in Japan claim to be Buddhist practitioners