Total
area:
377,835 sq km - this ranks Japan 61st in the world in terms
of total area.
Border
countries:
Japan is an island with no land border countries. The nearest
countries to Japan are North Korea, South Korea, China and
Russia.
Population:
127,214,499 (July 2003 est.). This makes Japan the 9th most
populated country in the world.
Religion:
The two most popular religions in Japan are Shinto and Buddhism.
Shinto
is the original religion of Japanese people and teaches
a great respect for nature. Shinto honors the sacred spirits
of earth and heaven called Kami. There is no founder of
Shinto, nor are there sacred scriptures.
Buddhism
(which originated in India) was brought to Japan in the
6th Century. Buddhism focuses on reincarnation and the belief
that all actions have an impact on future lives.
Language:
Japanese
Capital :
Tokyo (population: 12,289,519)
States
& Territories
Japan is made up of a thousand islands, most of which are
incredibly small. The vast majority of the population live
on one of the 4 largest islands: Hokkaido, Honshu (where
most people live), Shikoku, and Kyushu. (For more information
on Geography, click here) Insert Link.
Japan
is divided into 47 prefectures
Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima,
Gifu, Gumma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa,
Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto,
Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata,
Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shimane,
Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama,
Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi
Flag
The Japanese flag is white with a large red disk in the
center. Japan is known as the “Land of the Rising
Sun” and the red disk on the flag represents the sun
without rays.
Industry
& Agriculture
Japan is one of the world's largest and most technologically
advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment,
machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals;
textiles, and processed foods
The
major agricultural products include:
Rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit; pork, poultry, dairy
products, eggs; fish
What can you find in your house or local store that was
made or grown in Japan?
Currency
of Japan
Yen (JPY)
One Canadian dollar is worth about 81 yen. One American
dollar is worth about 109 yen.
If you were to convert the money in your piggy bank or savings
account into yen, how much would you have? How much would
it cost to buy your favorite treat? How about your favorite
toy or a new CD?
We live
in a time of great change and an increasing need for a celebration
of diversity. It is our goal to
create a greater understanding of the wonderful diversity
in our world in a fun and family-centered manner. So take
a peek and then invite your family to travel the world with
you. Perhaps you want to have a "travel night" once
a month where you immerse yourselves in a country and cook
traditional foods, listen to traditional music, celebrate
with a festival and talk about the issues facing the people
of the chosen culture. Or perhaps you want to learn about
the culture more slowly, helping each other learn a few new
words, a few new facts and a few new recipes throughout the
entire month. Adapt our ideas so it works for your family
and have fun learning about Japan!
