Japan

(most information provided from TravelTST.ca)

Japan, otherwise known as the Land of the Rising Sun, consists of four main islands with thousands of tiny islands all around them. First, there is Hokkaido up in the north; Kyushu down in the south; Honshu, the main island; and Shikoku which is situated between Kyushu and Honshu. From north to south, Japan is about 3,000 km long with about 378,000 square km of land. That's about half of the size of British Columbia. With that, 84% of the land is mountains leaving only 16% habitable and fertile.

The country spans many different climates from cold up north in Hokkaido to tropical climates down in Okinawa. Japan is within the Pacific's Ring of Fire meaning that they usually experience many earthquakes a year, however, for the most part they tend to be tremors.

The government is divided into three different branches. First, the Legislative which the National Diet holds. There are two parts to the National Diet: first, the House of Representatives; secondly, the House of Councilers, which the people get to elect. The next of the branches of government is the Executive branch which consists of the Cabnit. Finally, the last branch is the Judical, which is made up of the courts. Also, the emperor of Japan is from a long line of unbroken rule from back in the middle ages. Pictured here is the prime minister, Koizumi.

Japanese culture on a whole believes more in the team, rather then the individual, and that harmony and cooperation is the most important thing. In America we hold onto the strong belief in being an individual and thinking of oneself before others, but, in Japan they believe that the individual is important, but their role is more important in how they contribute to the group effort. Relationships are more important then the business, and, to keep the harmony, overlooking little faults and lies is better for them as a whole. Confrontation and direct questions are heavily frowned upon and often create discomfort.

Status is a very important aspect of their society and there is always a hierarchy, rank, position, etc that must be followed. This helps distinguish the appropriate behaviors for all situations. Also, women within the Japanese culture are traditionally at home raising children and have a firm control on all household affairs. For the most part, you will not see women in higher power positions in Japan, however, their society is slowly changing towards more equal opportunity.

For more information on the Japanese culture be sure to check out TravelTST.ca where, again, most of this information was found (thanks!).