1. Japan By: Brenden Brzozowski

2. Transportation Train stations are very popular in suburban areas Almost no one drives cars in suburban areas Mostly, moms ride bicycles because it’s impossible to find a parking place There are 1,210,251 km of roadways

3. Government The civil law system is based on German model System reflects Anglo-American influence and Japanese tradition Judicial review of Legislative acts in the Supreme Courts Chief of state is Emperor AKIHITO Head of government is Prime Minister Yoshihiko; Deputy Prime Minister Katsuya OKADA

4. Background In 1603 the Tokugawa shogunate ushered in a long period of relative political stability and isolation from foreign influence Japan opened its ports after signing the Treaty of Kanagawa with the U.S. in 1854 During the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries, Japan became a regional power that was able to defeat the forces of both China and Russia

5. Background In 1931-1932 Japan occupied Manchuria, and in 1937 it launched a full-scale invasion of China Japan attacked US forces in 1941, triggering America’s entry into World War II In March 2011, Japan’s strongest-ever earthquake, and an accompanying tsunami, devastated the northeast part of Honshu island

6. Military You have to be 18 years old to join the army In the Maritime Self-Defense Force mandatory retirement is age 54 There are about 22,390,431 males, and about 21,540,322 females that are able to be in the military

7. Geography Located in Eastern Asia, east of the Korean Peninsula Japan’s geographic coordinates are 36 00 N, 138 00 E The climate varies from tropical in the south to cool temperatures in the north

8. People The only language spoken is Japanese The religions are Shintoism( 83.9%), Buddhism( 71.4%), Christianity( 2%), and other(7.8%) The population of Japan is 127,368,088 people

9. Economy One notable characteristic of the post-war economy was the close interlocking structures of manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors Another notable characteristic of the post-war was the guarantee of lifetime employment for a substantial portion of the urban labor force Both features are now eroding under the dual pressures of global competition and domestic demographic change

10. Communications High levels of modern technology and excellent service of any kind for phones Broadcast media is a mixture of public and commercial, broadcast TV, and radio stations There are 99.182 million internet users in Japan