A Brief Introduction to Japan
Shimaguni (Island Country)
75% of Japan is covered with mountains, and the highest and most known is Fuji-san, better known as Mt. Fuji, which is also one of the 20 active volcanos on the island. Most of Japan’s population is concentrated along the seacoast – specifically the Kanto Plains – where Tokyo is located (Watanabe et al, 2021)
Japan is a country approximately 145,936.64 square miles long and located off the east coast of Asia, located along with the Ring of Fire (Cabinet Public Relations Office, 2020; Watanabe, Masamoto, Masai, Latz, Toyoda, Hijino, Hurst, Notehelfer, Sakamoto, & Jansen, 2021). The Japanese Archipelago or island chain consists of 47 prefectures, or subdivisions divided into eight different regions that consist of four main islands – Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and Hokkaido – and thousands of smaller surrounding islands (WorldAtlas, 2021). The capital of Japan is Tokyo and hosts just under 14 million people, which is approximately 10% of the country's total population (Cabinet Public Relations Office, 2020).
The People of Japan
Population of Japan: 125,929,817
(Cabinet Public Relations Office, 2020)
Influences of Japan
Chief of State: Emperor Naruhito
Prime Minister: SUGA Yoshihide
The (National) Diet:
House of Representatives
House of Concillors
(Cabinet Public Relations Office, 2020)
Languages:
Japanese
Kanji & Kana
Religions:
Shintoism
Buddhism
Christianity
(Cabinet Public Relations Office, 2020)
Know Before You Go!
-
(Japanese National Tourism Office, n.d.)
-
U.S. Travel Advisory:
-
Increase caution due to outbreak of COVID-19
-
consult website: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html
-
-
Passport/visa requirements
-
Know location of nearest U.S. Embassy
-
Vaccinations (see WHO recommendations)
-
Currency: YEN (¥)
-
Voltage plug type:
-
§100 V/50Hz (Type A & B)similar to U.S.
-
-
Language – Japanese
-
Time difference: UTC+9
-
14 hours ahead of Washington, DC
-
-
Potable water? Yes
-
International driving permit required to operative vehicle
-
Road Driving side: Left
-
Cultural greeting: Bowing
-
Telephone Code: 81
-
Local Emergency Phone Numbers:
-
Ambulance & Fire : 119
-
Police: 110
-
References
Cabinet Public Relations Office. (2020). About Japan. The Government of Japan. https://www.japan.go.jp/japan/.
Japanese National Tourism Office. (n.d.). Official Tourism Guide for Japan Travel. Retrieved from https://www.japan.travel/en/us/.
​
Watanabe, A., Masamoto, K., Masai, Y., Latz, G., Toyoda, T., Hijino, S., Hurst, G. C., Notehelfer, F. G., Sakamoto, T., & Jansen, M. B. (2021). Japan. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Japan
​
WorldAtlas. (2021). Maps of Japan. WorldAtlas. https://www.worldatlas.com/maps/japan.
