1. Japan The Island of Japan is located in Asia off the east coast.

2. Capital Tokyo This is a beautiful picture of one of the bridges in Tokyo lit up at night!

3. -The population of Japan is roughly 127,000,000 -The citizens of Japan are called Japanese.

4. “October 8 th – Worldwide protest against Japan’s dolphin slaughter” Since the slaughter of dolphins, whales, and porpoises seem to be an extreme problem in Japan, a protest in front of the Japanese Embassy will be taking place on October 8, 2005. The EIA has brought together cities who are against this vicious act to help protest with them. These cities include; London, Paris, Washington DC, New York, and Brussels. I totally understand their reason for the protest. Over 20,000 of these innocent creatures are slaughtered every year in Japan. They are used for meat or captive display. The point of this protest opposing dolphin slaughter in to attempt to allow the Japanese Government to realize that these hunts should not be tolerated. Article Click here for the link!

5. Hounen Matsuri Hounen Matsuri is a festival celebrated every year on March 15 th in the town of Komaki. Citizens of Japan drink all day, dance, and play music. Hounen actually means ‘rich harvest’. Therefore, this festival is to remember to be thankful for the meals they are able to eat and also to celebrate fertility. To learn more about this event, click on the link at the bottom of this page! Link on Hounen Matsuri!

6. Works Cited Bass, Claire. 2005 “October 8 th – Worldwide protest against Japan’s dolphin slaughter.” http://www.eia-international.org/cgi/news/news.cgi?a=261&t=template.htm http://www.eia-international.org/cgi/news/news.cgi?a=261&t=template.htm Clip Art Pictures. Microsoft Word. Unknown Author. http://farstrider.net/Japan/Festivals/HounenMatsuri/index.htmhttp://farstrider.net/Japan/Festivals/HounenMatsuri/index.htm