The Foreigner - Japan FAQts



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Japan FAQts

by Eelco Hoenselaar

The country:
Japan is an island empire in the Pacific Ocean, east to China and Korea. It has a surface area of 374,744 square kilometers (144,689 square miles), and a population of around 127 million. Most of Japan is mountainous and unsuitable for urbanization, this results in pockets with high population density, rather than being evenly spread. The highest point of Japan is Mount Fuji, or Fuji-san in Japanese, an active volcano, with 3,776 meters (12,388 feet).

The name:
Japan is known among the Japanese as Nihon or Nippon. The name comes from Chinese, and means "Origin of the sun", or "Land of the rising sun" since to the Chinese Japan was where the sun came up. In the old times China was considered the centre of the world (the name China, literally means "The central country"). The traditional name for Japan was Yamato, meaning "Place of mountains", but written as "Great harmony". The Chinese word Ribenguo / Jihpenkuo was Europeanized to Jipang (much like the name Kongfuzi / K'ungfutzu was transformed into Confucius). The name "Japan" is thought to come from the word "Jipang", which Marco Polo brought from China in the 13th century. After discovery by the Portuguese in 1542, Japan was known in Europe as "The Japans", denoting the group of islands.

The capital:
Japan's capital city is Tokyo, meaning "eastern capital". It was given this name during the Meiji restoration which started in 1868. It was previously known as Edo or Yedo. Edo has been the capital of Japan since the beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1600. Before this Kyoto, which means "capital city", was the capital, and before that Nara. These cities too had different names originally. Kyoto was known as Heian and Nara as Heijo, sometimes followed by "kyo" when they were the capitals: Heian-kyo and Heijo-kyo, meaning "the capital Heian" and "the capital Heijo".

The main islands:
Japan consists of four large islands and many small ones. The four major islands are known as Hokkaido as the most northern, Honshu the main island, Shikoku the smallest of the four, and Kyushu the southern most island of the four. The most famous of the smaller islands is Okinawa in the Ryukyu island group, and is the southern most part of Japan.

The Emperor:
		The current Emperor is His Imperial Highness Emperor Akihito. He is married to Empress Michiko. Emperor Akihito is the son of the Showa Emperor, the name by which Emperor Hirohito is posthumously known. The Japanese emperor rules until his death, after which the rule passes on to his son or daughter. Emperor Akihito started his rule in 1989 at which time a new era started: Heisei. The Japanese Imperial family is the longest unbroken ruling bloodline in the world, dating back over 1400 years. They are said to be direct descendents from the sun goddess Amaterasu Omikami, who, according to legend, created Japan with her brother Susano no Mikoto. The Emperor serves a ceremonial role only, and is not involved in the national decision making process.

The government:

Japan is governed by a democratically chosen Diet. The current Prime Minister of the National Diet of Japan is president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Koizumi Junichiro.
Japan is further divided in 47 administrative districts known as prefectures, or todofuken to the Japanese. There are one "to": Tokyo-to; one "do": Hokkaido; two "fu": Kyoto-fu and Osaka-fu; and 43 "ken". Though the names may be different, all administrative units are the same.

The flag:
The Japanese flag is called the "Hi no Maru", meaning "the circle which is the sun". The red circle symbolizes the rising sun after the name of the country.

The flag with the sun off-centre and rays eminating from it, is the Japanese Naval ensign. It is not, as commonly believed, the old national flag, nor is it the "war" flag.

Times and dates:
Japan's time zone is Greenwich Mean Time plus 9 hours, and has no daylight savings time. The Japanese use their own calendar system, together with the Gregorian Calendar. The Japanese calendar starts counting from year 1 at the start of rule of a new Emperor, but its year's ends and beginnings coincide with the Gregorian Calendar. Each year is divided in the 12 Gregorian months, but aren't given any names. They are simply counted as Month 1 through Month 12. Weekdays are given the names of the basic natural elements, as defined by the Chinese: Moon, Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, Earth, and Sun.

The language:
The national language is Japanese. The writing system is derived from Chinese. The Chinese characters were supplemented with simplified versions known as hiragana, originally used as a writing system for women. Later different versions, known as katakana, were introduced. All three writing systems are still used in Japanese.

The currency:
The Japanese currency is the Yen (JPY / ¥). One yen roughly equals one dollar cent or one euro cent in value. The 1 yen coin is the only coin in the world that can float on water. In the year 2000 the 2000 yen banknote was introduced, however it is quite rare since it has not been printed since 2000 and most electronic dispensers cannot process it.

The climate:
Due to the shape of Japan, which is stretched from north to south, there is a great difference between the climate in the north and in the south. Hokkaido has a temperate cool climate, with moderate summers and cold winters. Okinawa has a subtropic climate with hot and humid summers, and moderate winters. From the beginning of June to the middle of July is Japan's rainy season or "tsuyu". September and October are known as the typhoon season.

Natural phenomena:
Japan rests on a geologically active area. The islands were in fact created from two tectonic plates pushing against each other and emerging from the water. These tectonic plates are the cause of the seismic and geologic activities.
There are 108 active volcanoes in Japan. The best known of these are Mount Fuji close to Shizuoka, and Mount Aso in Kyushu.
Earthquakes are an everyday occurance, though most of them are hardly noticable vibrations. The most recent heavy earthquake was the Great Hanshin Earthquake which occured in Kobe on January 17th, 1995. The earthquake had a magnitude of 6.9 on the Richter scale, and claimed more than 5,500 lives. Japan also has the dubious honour of being able to lay claim to the worst earthquake in world history. On September 1st, 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake laid waste Tokyo. The earthquake, with a magnitude of 8.3, and subsequent fires claimed 142,800 lives.
Earthquakes in the Pacific Ocean can cause enormous tidal waves. These tidal waves are called "tsunami", a Japanese term now also adopted in Western languages. One of the biggest tsunami in recorded history hit Sanriku, Iwate-ken on June 15th, 1896, reaching a height of 38.2 meters (125 feet), and claiming 22,066 lives.
Every year Asia is plagued by a large number of typhoons, and Japan is no exception. Typhoons ("taifu") are violent storms that develop over the southern Pacific Ocean. The word "typhoon" comes from the Chinese "taifeng". Typhoons occur in greater numbers during September and October.
It's not all bad though, the geologic activities also produce a large number of natural hot springs which the Japanese have eagerly transformed into public bathhouses. These bathhouses, known as "onsen", can be found all over Japan.

Electrical systems:
The Japanese power net is the same as found in the United States, using 100 Volt at 50/60Hz. The plug has the same shape as the American plugs, so electrical equipment can be hooked up without any problem.
For European and Australian residents a power converter is required. Please note that an adapter plug will not convert the power between 220 Volts and 100 Volts. Using these plugs without a power converter could seriously damage your equipment. When using a two-way power converter make sure you have it set correctly. The wrong setting could result in 484 Volts being pumped into a machine designed for 100 Volts, frying the electronics inside in the process.
The video system is also similar to the American NTSC system. For European and Australian residents it is wise to check if your video equipment at home is capable of playing and recording NTSC before buying video tapes in Japan, as these countries use the PAL system. When buying videorecorders in Japan please be aware that most cannot record or play PAL videos.
DVDs are region 2, the same as used in Europe. Region 2 DVDs will not play on Region 1 or 4 players as used in the United States and Australia. A region free player may be the solution if you wish to import DVDs from Japan. DVD players are usually capable of playing both PAL and NTSC discs, however you may want to make sure that your television can also process the signal.

DVD Regions

The religions:
Japan's main religions are Buddhism and Shintoism. Japanese Buddhism, practiced by 85% of the population, is closer to the original form of Buddhism than the versions of Buddhism found elsewhere in the world. Since Japan has been isolated from the world for so long, changes in Buddhism in China and India have not influenced the Japanese Buddhism as they have in other countries. Buddhism is, for the Japanese, mostly related to death and honouring ones ancestors. Buddhist temples, or "o-tera" can generally be recognized by their red colour.
Shintoism, practiced by 80% of the population, is the traditional Japanese religion, and the official religion of the Imperial family. Shintoism attribute gods to inanimate objects and animals. Every mountain, rock, and tree is considered to have a resident "kami" or god. Shintoism is considered to be pure, and disassociates itself from impurities such as death and menstruation. Shintoism concerns itself mostly with childbirth and marriage. Shinto shrines can be recognized by the "torii" gate at the entrance, the use of untreated wood for its construction, and the presence of a waterbasin at the entrance.
New religions are religions that have surfaced since the reinstitution of freedom of religion during the Meiji restauration. Around 25% of the population are a member of these new religions, with the largest being the Soka Gakkai with 17%.
Christianity is practiced by only 0.7% of the population, but is very popular for marriages. The white dress and the symbolism of the rings appeal quite strongly to the Japanese.
The more observant of you may have noticed that this amounts to 190.7% of the Japanese population practicing religions. Though there are religions in Japan that ask exclusivity of their members, most religions do not. The Japanese experience religion very different from other countries. They can see the Christian god just as easily as a Buddha as they can see a Buddha as being a Shinto Kami. Religions seemlessly merge into one another, making it difficult sometimes to distinguish which religion is actually being practiced. It is said of Japanese that they are born as Shintoists, marry as Christians, and die as Buddhists. As religions seemlessly flow into each other, so do temple and shrine designs. For instance, the Kyoto Ginkakuji temple is made of untreated wood, and the Miyajima Itsukushima Jinja shrine is painted bright red, completely contradicting the building traditions.