Geopolitical Framework

        Despite the small size of Japan and the frequent typhoons and earthquakes, Japan was able to become one of the powerful nations in the world today. Japan is in the position it is today because of geography, plate tectonics, wind patterns, climate.

       Japan was formed by Eurasian and Pacific tectonic plates colliding, lifted, warped the Earth’s crust and caused undersea mountains to be pushed above the surface of the sea. This is why Japan is very mountainous. Also, because Japan sits on the ring of fire, earthquakes frequently occur.

        Japan resides on the 35^th Parallel of the Earth. The weather is usually mild and humid with drastic changes from north to south, and across the central mountain ranges from east to the west.  Japan has four distinct seasons and feature three periods of heavy precipitation. Each period of precipitation occurs during winter, early summer, and fall because of the changes in the wind coming from the north, the south. Because of Japan’s mild climate and abundance of precipitation and volcanic ground, the soil of Japan is very fertile.

http://www.geography-papers.com/the-geopolitics-that-shaped-japan-essay.html

http://www.scribd.com/doc/34048739/Geopolitics-of-Japan

http://0.tqn.com/d/geography/1/0/l/3/ja-150.gif

Population and Settlement

Japan's population is at around 127,650,000, making it the tenth most populated country in the world. The reason for such a high population is because of the high growth rates in the 19th and early 20th century. Japan's population have decreased in recent years because of of fail birth rate and little immigration even though they have the highest life expectations. 


The housing in Japan all depends on climate, land formation, and natural events. Building are raised above the ground because when there is a earthquake, the buildings will bounce. Most people live in apartments or housing corporation because buying a house is nearly impossible. Houses are a lot cheaper in countryside, so many people live there and would commute about 4 hours to the city for work. 

http://www.everyculture.com/East-Southeast-Asia/Japanese-Settlements.html

Cultural Coherence and Diversity

Japanese culture is rich and diverse, dating back to 10,000 BC when the Jomon people first settled in Japan. 

LANGUAGE

Japanese is the official and primary language of Japan. It is also used by most Japanese immigrant communities around the globe.  It is said that the Japanese language derived from the Chinese language. Japanese is written with a combination of three scripts: hiragana, derived from the Chinese cursive script, katakana, derived as a shorthand from Chinese characters, and kanji, introduced from China. The Latin alphabet, rōmaji, is also often used in modern Japanese, especially for company names and logos, advertising, and when inputting Japanese into a computer. The Hindu-Arabic numerals are generally used for numbers, but traditional Sino-Japanese numerals are also common.

CLOTHING

Traditional Japanese clothing distinguishes Japan from all other countries around the world. The famous worldwide clothing of Japan is the kimono. Kimonos are the traditional garments of Japan. Men mainly wear darker or more muted colors, while women tend to wear bright or pastel colors. Younger women often wear kimonos with complicated abstract or floral patterns.Most Japanese men only wear the kimono at home or in a much laid back environment, however it is acceptable for a man to wear the kimono when he is entertaining guests in his home.Happi is another type of traditional clothing. A happi is a straight sleeved coat that is typically imprinted with the family crest, and was a common coat for firefighters to wear.
    

CUISINE
The typical  food in Japan consist of a bowl of rice, miso soup, vegetables, and fish or meat. Noodles can also be a substitute for rice in a meal. Japan is also famous for their seafood such as fish, octopus, squid, eel, and shellfish. You will see those kinds of seafood from sushi to tempura. 

DIVERSITY
Japan is a very diverse country. About 1.6% of legal residents are from foreign nations. The majority of foreigners are either from China or Korea. 


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Japan#Japanese_language
http://www.japan-zone.com/culture/food.shtml
http://img.alibaba.com/photo/51950516/Japanese_Kimono.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_issues_in_Japan

Economic and Social Development

The economics of Japan is the 3rd largest in the world by nominal GDP and 2nd largest in developing countries. Japan's economical growth is base off two economic tendencies. 1st the government planning and with the guidance of a free market, powerful monetary, and fiscal policy. A five-year plan was adopted by Japan in 1988 in maintain a annual GNP growth at 3.8% per year, maintain low unemployment, contain inflation, and improve work condition, and working hours. Japan helps many developing countries financially and international agencies have increase in recent years. In essence, Japan is helping to create viable trading partners; and since Japan is a trading state, this strategy will enhance Japan's economic development over the long term.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Japan

http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-and-Oceania/Japan-ECONOMIC-DEVELOPMENT.html

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/files/japan_shrinks.gif

Envriomental Geography

Rapid industrialization has caused severe affliction in Japan's environmental geography. Air pollution is a serious environmental problem in Japan, especially in the cities such as Tokyo and Osaka. The power plants emissions have caused the air pollution to result in acid rain throughout the whole country.

Water pollution is another concern in Japan. Increase in acid levels affected lakes, rivers, and the waters surrounding Japan. There is still widespread pollution of lakes and rivers from household sources. The main cause for this pollution is because of untreated sewage and phosphate-rich detergents.

The Ring of Fire is an area where a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur in the Pacific Ocean. About ten percent of all active volcanoes are located in Japan because Japan lies in the unstable zone. About 1500 earthquakes are recorded yearly and Japan are also affected by tsunamis. In 2011, an earthquake hit a city in Japan causing a Tsunami and destroying most of the city.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Ring_of_Fire
http://www.indexmundi.com/japan/environment_current_issues.html
http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-and-Oceania/Japan-ENVIRONMENT.html