When Japan is mentioned, the first picture painted in ones mind is the look of the ancient temples, a mountainous terrain covered in mist, bullet trains among other famous features. These are among the unique aspects that are synonymous with the Asian nation that today is one of the leading economies in the world. Like other countries however, Japan has its history and the general information that one has to take a detailed look at in order to understand the nation well. Japan is an island nation that lies in the eastern side of Asia continent in the Pacific Ocean. It neighbors countries like China, North Korea, South Korea, and Russia which are to the east of Japan, while on the south it borders Taiwan. Japan stretches from Sea of Okhotsk in the north towards south up to the East China Sea forming a chain cluster of islands those total up to 6,852 islands that together are known as the Japanese Archipelago. Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku are the four largest islands in the mountainous nation of Japan accounting for around twenty seven percent of the whole land area. In total, Japan sits on 377,915 square kilometers with land forming 364,485 sq km and water occupying the rest 13,430 sq km. Comparing the area occupied by the whole of Japan to an equivalent in the U.S, it is said to be slightly smaller in size than the state of California. This island nation has a relatively long coast line that stretches for 29,751 km. Legendary stories trace the creation of the nation of Japan to a traditional god they referred to as then sun goddess. The rulers of the nation were said to be descendants of the sun goddess. The first recorded history of Japan indicates that habitation of the islands occurred around 30,000 BC. The other part of the known origin of the Japanese people indicates that around the years of 14,000 BC the inhabitants adopted a semi-sedentary lifestyle where they primarily lived as hunters and gatherers. In later years, they are said to have slowly moved away from hunting wild fruits and wild animals to practicing rudimentary agriculture. The written history of Japan indicates a people that were organized into kingdoms that were later influenced by the interactions with people from China and Korea leading to the introduction of Buddhism. This religion was instilled and forced to the Japanese people by the rulers who came into power leading to the full adoption of the Japanese Buddhism that remained until the entry of the Western culture in 1542 when the Portuguese set foot in the coast of Japan. The interaction with the Portuguese led to the introduction of Christianity which influenced the Japanese people into resisting trade with other foreigners apart from the Portuguese for a very long time. Japan has been in several war fares that have in one way contributed to destruction in the nation’s economy. After the Second World War Japan began to experience a rapid economic growth until the major recession of mid 1990’s but has since recovered to one of the leading economies today (Sanson, 1963). The modern day Japan is a populous nation that is well known for its technological advancements as seen in its motor industry as well as the adoption of high speed trains popularly known as bullet trains with Tokyo as its Capital. Japan population is majorly constituted of Japanese people who speak Japanese language which is also the national language spoken by about 99% of the whole population. Japanese language is said to be greatly influenced by languages like Turkish as well as Mongolian. In comparison to other languages in the world, Japanese has very few sounds with several words being pronounced the same but with differing meanings. This in essence poses a great challenge to the Japanese when it comes to speaking other languages leading to heavy accent influence in pronunciations. In writing, the Japanese text can either be written in Western style with text running in horizontal rows top to bottom or alternatively be written in the traditional style where the text runs in vertical columns running from right to left. The characters consist of Chinese characters combined with Latin alphabet and Arabic numerals. Other local languages are also spoken and are classified under Japonic languages and include Ryukyuan, Ainu, and Moribund. Today however, public schools have been required to teach Japanese and as well as English in order to fit in the international community. Japan has a rugged terrain that is mostly mountainous with the highest point (Fujiyama) rising 3,766 meters above sea level. Unlike other famous mountains found around the world which are tough and hostile, most of the mountain areas in Japan are friendly and one can easily climb without a potter. The weather varies in the north and south, with the south enjoying tropical weather while the weather changes as you tend to the north to cool temperate. The temperate climate in the north is marked with periods of long cold winters characterized by heavy snowfalls, and relatively cools summers. The mountainous terrain coupled with the tropical weather gives the familiar view of Japan as a country with mountains covered in mist. These mountains are said to have formed millions of years ago as a result of volcanic activities. Intensive and largely destructive earthquakes are common in Japan every century and often result in large tsunamis that kill hundred thousands of people. The greatest quake was reported in 1923 Tokyo that resulted in 140,000 people loosing their lives and many more injured and displaced. After the massive environmental pollution that occurred during the period of economic recovery after the Second World War, the government responded by instilling heavy policies that in 1970’s. Japan today one of the best laws in waste management, air pollution, natural environment conservation, chemical waste management, and clean water management. These have led to Japan today being placed among the world leaders in developing technological innovations that have least or no degrading effects on the environment. An example is the hybrid electric Toyota vehicles that consume low fuels thereby reducing the carbon emissions. This is in with Japan being a signee of the Kyoto protocol that stipulates that the member states are to cut on the greenhouse gas emissions (Steffens, 2006). Japanese economy has been said to have expanded long ago following the adoption of the British North American style of capitalism. Japan adopted its official currency the Japanese Yen in 1871. At some point Japan was the leading nation in Asia as the most developed. Between the years of 1960 and 1980, Japan experienced a period of great economic growth, a period which came to be termed as “Japanese Miracle” which ran up to 1990’s. During the mid 1990’s Japan’s economy was hit by a major recession brought about by the asset price bubble and bogus policies that affected the stock market and the real estate. In the early years of the 21st century, Japan has experienced major rises in the economic growth with the GDP surpassing that of the U.S and other European nations. As at 2010 Japan was ranked the third largest economy behind the United States and China as measured by the GDP and the power to purchase. This is despite the fact that Japan has no major natural resources apart from the fish industry. Japan has no natural energy resource, which a driving force of major economies, thereby depending on exports to cater for the energy needs. This phenomenon has led to Japan being ranked the biggest importer of coal, liquefied gas, and amongst the biggest oil importers. The fish industry and the agricultural sector at large are therefore well maintained and are allocated big amount of funds (Sanson, 1963). Apart from the service sector, which the biggest driver of the Japanese economy, Japan is home to some of the largest industries. This has seen Japan become to large technological advancements in the areas of motor vehicles, electronics as well as bio-chemical products. In the motor industry, Japan is home to Toyota, the leading vehicle industry today. Other motor vehicle industries from Japan include Suzuki, Honda among others. Their technological research has enabled them come up with the high speed trains which are now widely used as transportation means. Japan has a space agency that conducts space research and has made major contributions which have been adopted over the world in major aviation developments. They also manufacture space rockets that are in line with their future plans of establishing a moon base, as well as sending their first space craft to Venus. Demographically Japan has reached an estimated population of 127.3 million people. Tokyo which is the country’s capital city is home to an estimated over 13 million people and therefore categorized as the worlds’ most populous city. This population is made up largely of indigenous Japanese people who speak primarily Japanese language. Other populations are majorly foreign workers and include Koreans, Chinese, Filipinos and Brazilians all of who reside in Japan. The life expectancy is set at 81.25 years, a high figure as compared to the rest of the world. The population has been fond to be made up of an aging population, which has been attributed to the massive births that occurred after the war followed by a decrease in births in late 20th century. The population is therefore predicted to fall in future to figures as low as 64 million in 2100 which has probed for incentives to be sought to replace the aging workforce. Japanese government is that of constitutional monarchy with an Emperor seat which is hereditary but who hold very limited ruling power. The emperor is a ceremonial figure with the main role being to act as the symbol of state and the unity amongst the Japanese people. The Prime Minister comes second in command but actually holds the biggest powers in the government except in diplomatic ties where the emperor is the main representative. Japan has a bicameral parliament with a House of Representatives that holds 480 seats and House of Councilors with 242 seats. Only adults of over 20 years of age are allowed to vote in the secret ballot general elections. The Prime minister is appointed by the Emperor from members of the Diet, which is the legislative organ. The Prime minister assumes the head of state position thereby serving the responsibility of appointing his ministers who serve with him in the cabinet (Steffens, 2006). A majority of the Japanese population practice either Buddhism or Shintoism religions with others practicing both. Other statistics argue that a relatively big number of the Japanese have confessed to practicing Taoism and Confucianism both of which are of China origin. Christianity is only practiced by two percent of the total population. Religion forms a major part of the Japanese people’s lives. They therefore hold beliefs and customs to honor their religion like rituals e.g. Shinto rituals, praying before an important occasion, and wedding in church. The Japanese education system has been in existence since 1872 when it was introduced following the Mejji Restoration. During this time there were established primary schools, secondary schools as well as higher learning institutions. After 1947 laws were put in place requiring that education in elementary and middle school becomes compulsory. Statistics show that in Japan nearly all the children complete their senior high school education and about 75.9 proceed to higher learning institutions e.g. colleges and Universities. The two higher education institutions that are considered the best in the country are University of Tokyo and Kyoto University. Health care in Japan is offered at national and local government’s level. These pay for each individual’s health care through a nationally acceptable insurance system that is accessible by everyone. The insurance cover also extends to the aging population in a government sponsored insurance program. The medical facility that one gets medical help from is open to the individual’s choice. Japanese culture traces its history from many years ago leading to a rich cultural history. The cultural practices evolved from those practiced by the indigenous people to the contemporary ones after influence from other people from North America and Europe. The traditional culture was marked with activities such as crafting, performances e.g. dances, and other traditions such as games and architectural work. Early inhabitants of Japan made ceramics an art that has been carried on up to date. Japanese music is one that combines a rich blend of instruments and styles borrowed from cultural influences of the neighboring nations. Later influences from the western cultures led to a classical music blend of American and European music. Today the evolution in Japanese music culture has seen emergence of pop musicians such as J-pop. Japanese people are also fond of Karaoke and often attend karaoke singing contests. Japan also boasts of famous cuisine such as the famous Japanese rice. Sushi which Japanese dish made of rice with several other ingredients is very famous both in Japan and outside Japan. Sports make a very big part of the Japanese culture with the most famous sport in Japan being sumo. Sumo which is a form of wrestling has today been seen as national sport in Japan owing to its wide practice among other sports like Japanese martial arts. Basketball has in the recent years become rooted in Japan with the sport being considered as attractive the most spectators in the country. Japan has risen from dark times of wars and damaged economy to becoming a force to reckon with which has led to the nation being included among the G8 countries. The nation has contributed majorly in tipping the balance of power for the great nations which for a long time had been held by the western countries, leading to a confirmation that the east is taking over in terms of development. The nation also boasts of a rich history which up to today extends its deep roots and is celebrated.

References
Sanson, G. (1963). A History of Japan. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University.

Steffens, P. (2006). Information about Japan. 3(16),