A country that is fourth-fifth covered with mountains and is located in East Asia, Japan is known for several things. Delicious food, fascinating culture, and a landscape that will leave you in awe, there’s a lot more to know about Japan. It should be known that Japan is an archipelago of 6852 islands. Among them, many are volcanic. Known for transformative technology and science, robotic development in Japan is quite famous all over the world.
Area: 377,835 square kilometers
Population: 126,048,450
Tokyo, by Erik Eastman on Unsplash
Capital: Tokyo
National Anthem: Kimigayo – His Imperial Majesty’s Reign
Government Type: It is a unitary state with the emperor as the head of the state and 47 administrative divisions. Emperor has a ceremonial role and has no power to run the government.
Official Language: Japanese
Other Languages: Ryukyuan language, Ainu Language, Orok, Evenki, Nivkh
Religions: Shintoism 69%, Buddhism 66.7%, Christianity 1.5%, other religion 6.2%
Ethnic Groups: Japanese 98.1%, Chinese 0.5%, Korean 0.4%, others 1%
Foliage in Japan, by Adam Derewecki on Pixabay
Climate: Excluding the region of Hokkaido and Okinawa, Japan has four distinct seasons. The northern side of Japan has warm summers and extremely cold winters with snow. The weather of Japan is hugely impacted by the currents in the surrounding sea and mountainous areas. Eastern Japan has hot and humid summers, and the winters have heavy snow that can be seen in the winters. Western Japan has extremely hot and humid summers with temperatures going up to 35 Degree Celsius, and the winters are moderate cold. Rains are abundant in almost all the areas of the country, and summers and autumn come along with torrential rains and typhoons. Summers begin in mid-June, and August is the hottest month of the year on the main island.
Currency: Japanese Yen
Expat Population: 2.93 Million
Taboos: Japan is a country with quite a unique culture. So, when visiting Japan, there are certain things that you should be mindful of. Japanese are quite serious with their chopsticks. They are impressed when they see foreigners using chopsticks with ease. But as a rule of thumb, never stick your chopsticks vertically into a bowl of rice. It is considered a funeral ritual. Additionally, Japanese consider outdoor shoes as unclean so take your shows off when you enter a house in Japan. From avoiding eating in public to breaking waiting lines, these are the few taboos that you should be mindful of. And lastly, never tip the Japanese as they take that as an insult.
Tokyo by Audrey Mari on Pexels
Cultural Behaviors: With their highly organized and orderly life, the Japanese take a lot of pride in following their customs and traditions. Japanese customs consider it inappropriate to eat directly from the common dish. It is also considered quite rude to pour your drink. Instead, you should pour a drink for everyone else, and someone will do it for you.
Japan is ranked at 19 in the Human Development Index. Japan is a country that is in the high human development category. This ranking is based upon good scores in different areas of development like life expectancy, education, average longevity, income, and Gender Development Index (GDI).