Japan Report

Japan is located in the centre of Asia. The capital of Japan is Tokyo. Tokyo has a population of approximately 13.35 million. From 794 through 1898, the Emperor of Japan lived in Tokyo. That is one reason why Tokyo is the capital. Another reason why is, after the year 1868, the seat of government of Japan was located in Tokyo.

Japan’s population is greater than France’s population. Though, they have a very little country. It is about the size of New Zealand. In 2012, the population was about 127.6 million. The next year, the population decreased to 127.3 million. In 2014, the population went down. It was 127 million.

Japan’s currency is called a Japanese Yen. A Yen is about $0.012 N.Z dollars. A Japanese Yen has a special symbol that looks like this: ¥.

The national flower of Japan is the chrysanthemum. Though, most people believe it is the Sakura. It is also known as the Cherry Blossom. The chrysanthemum is a flower that has a lot of pedals that layer each other.

Mt. Fuji is the tallest mountain in Japan. It is thought to be one of the 3 sacred mountains. The other two are Mt. Tate and Mt. Haku. Mt. Fuji is considered a beautiful landscape. It is one of many attractions in Japan.

History of Japan:

Paleolithic people from the Asian mainland settled in Japan 35,000 years ago. About 10,00 years ago, a new culture was developed in Japan which was called Jomon. Japan was introduced to metalworking, rice cultivation and weaving by Yayoi people in 400 B.C. Scientists have estimated that the Yayoi people were travellers from Korea.

During the Asuka period, Buddhism came to Japan and so did Chinese writing. Japan never had a government to tell the people what to do. However, from 710-794, a government developed. In 1185, Samurai’s took over governmental power. Samurais were also called ‘shoguns’. One strong emperor strived to overthrow shogunal government in the year 1331. The results ended up in a civil war between northern and southern courts. The war finally came to a halt in 1392. 1868 was when a new constitutional monarchy developed and the head was the Meiji Emperor. This means that the shogun's governmental power was broken.

When the Meiji Emperor passed away, his son took over and became Emperor. During his reign, Japan conquered Korea and the northern part of China during the time of World War 1.

The Showa Emperor knew what was going to happen in World War 2. During World War 2, America dropped the world’s first ever atomic bomb on 2 cities,  Saki and Hiroshima which led to Japan’s surrender. Now, Japan has changed because America took over Japan.  Japan is now a  big and busy city.  There are large amounts of buildings and shops.

By Maranita