1.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
2.
Elaeocarpus sylvestris
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Elaeocarpus sylvestris, the woodland elaeocarpus, is a tree species in the genus Elaeocarpus. The woodland elaeocarpus is found in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the evergreen shiny leaves are oblanceolate. The greeny-white flowers are grouped in racemes and are followed by black fruit in autumn. The fruits of the woodland elaeocarpus are edible, the oil from the seeds may be processed into soap or lubricants. The bark may be used as a source for dye, the wood does not resist water, so it is not considered good timber, but it is used for growing shiitake mushrooms. It is also planted along streets and in parks, the larvae of the moth Leucoblepsis excisa feed on the leaves of E. sylvestris. In urban forests of Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, the Formosan squirrel is a pest to the tree because of its gnawing habit. Woodland elaeocarpus in susceptible to Elaeocarpus yellows, a disease discovered in 1999 and a type of Phytoplasma disease, oxytetracycline has been used to fight the pathogen. This species contains the gallotannin 1,2,3,4, 6-penta-O-galloyl-beta-D-glucose, the horutonoki is the tree symbol of Japanese city Urasoe, Okinawa. Wild Dampalsu trees in Cheonjiyeon Waterfall are South Korean Natural Monument no.163
3.
Beppu
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Beppu is a city in Ōita Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan, at the west end of Beppu Bay. In November 2013 the city had a population of 122,085, the total area is 125.13 km2. Beppu is famous for its hot springs, Beppu is situated between the sea and the mountains. The city was founded on April 1,1924, and is famous for its onsen and it has eight major geothermal hot spots, sometimes referred to as the eight hells of Beppu. Six of these are located in the Kannawa district, and two in the more remote Shibaseki district, Beppu is also divided into eight major hot spring areas known as Beppu Hattō. Beppu is part of the course of the annual Beppu-Ōita Marathon, the competition has been held every year since 1952 and is classed as an IAAF Silver Label road race. Shidaka Lake is located 600 metres above sea level, otobaru Waterfall is a local natural attraction, located in the mountain area of Beppu city,20 minutes walk from Wonder Rakutenchi, a traditional amusement park. Takasakiyama Monkey Park is located 10 minutes from the centre of Beppu by bus, the park is home to more than 1500 Japanese macaques. Kijima Kogen is a resort includes an 18-hole golf course. It is located on a plateau en route to Yufuin, Beppu has not only usual hot springs but some sand and foot baths as well. One famous spot is Beppu Kaihin Sunayu, Ashiyu and it is 15 minutes by bus from Beppu station, on Route 10. Beppu Park is located in the center of the city, a 15-minute walk from Beppu Station, Beppu Fireworks Festival, held in late July, is one of the biggest fireworks displays in Oita. Five thousand fireworks are set off from boats floating on Beppu Bay, Beppu Contemporary Art Festival Mixed Bathing World is an art festival held every three years in Beppu. Beppu University, a university first chartered in 1954, also has a campus in Oita City. Beppu Mizobe Gakuen College, established in 1986, is a junior college located in the north of Beppu. Beppu is home to the Oita Heat Devils basketball team, the teams season was cancelled in 2011 due to the earthquake that struck Japan on March 11. The city of Beppu has sister city relationships with the following locations
4.
Seto Inland Sea
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The Seto Inland Sea, also known as Setouchi or often shortened to Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū, three of the four main islands of Japan. The region that includes the Seto Inland Sea and the areas of Honshū, Shikoku. It serves as a waterway, connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan and it connects to Osaka Bay and provides a sea transport link to industrial centers in the Kansai region, including Osaka and Kobe. Before the construction of the Sanyō Main Line, it was the transportation link between Kansai and Kyūshū. The Setouchi region is known for its climate, with a stable year-round temperature. The sea is also famous for its periodic red tides caused by dense groupings of certain phytoplankton that result in the death of large numbers of fish, the International Hydrographic Organizations definition of the limits of the Seto Inland Sea is as follows, On the West. The Southeastern limit of the Japan Sea, a line running from Takura Saki in Honsyû to Oishi Hana in the island of Awazi, through this island to Sio Saki and on to Oiso Saki in Sikoku. A line joining Sada Misaki in Sikoku and Seki Saki in Kyûsyû, the Seto Inland Sea is 450 km long from east to west. The width from south to north varies from 15 to 55 km, in most places, the water is relatively shallow. The average depth is 37.3 m, the greatest depth is 105 m, the Naruto Strait connects the eastern part of the Seto Inland Sea to the Kii Channel, which in turn connects to the Pacific Ocean. The western part of the Seto Inland Sea connects to the Sea of Japan through the Kanmon Straits, each part of the Seto Inland Sea has a separate name in Japanese. There are also many straits located between the islands, as well as a number of smaller ones that pass between islands or connect the Seto Inland Sea to other seas or the Pacific. Almost 3,000 islands are located in the Seto Inland Sea, many of the smaller islands are uninhabited. Over 500 marine species are known to live in the Seto Inland Sea, examples are the ayu, an amphidromous fish, the horseshoe crab, the finless porpoise, and the great white shark, which has occasionally attacked people in the Seto Inland Sea. In the past whales entered the sea to feed or breed, however due to whaling and pollution, they have disappeared from the Seto Inland Sea. It is believed that in the last ice age the sea level was lower than today, after the ice age, sea water poured into a basin between the Chūgoku mountains and Shikoku mountains and formed the Seto Inland Sea as we know it today. From ancient times, the Seto Inland Sea served as a transport line between its coastal areas, including what is today the Kansai region and Kyūshū. It was also a transport line between Japan and other countries, including Korea and China
5.
Toshiba
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Toshiba Corporation, commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Toshiba was founded in 1938 as Tokyo Shibaura Electric K. K. through the merger of Shibaura Seisaku-sho, the company name was officially changed to Toshiba Corporation in 1978. Toshiba is organized into four groupings, the Digital Products Group, the Electronic Devices Group, the Home Appliances Group and the Social Infrastructure Group. It is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, where it is a constituent of the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indices, the Osaka Securities Exchange, Toshiba is the seventh largest semiconductor manufacturer in the world. Toshiba was founded in 1939 by the merger of Shibaura Seisakusho, Shibaura Seisakusho had been founded as Tanaka Seisakusho by Tanaka Hisashige in July 1875 as Japans first manufacturer of telegraph equipment. In 1904, it was renamed Shibaura Seisakusho, Tokyo Denki was founded as Hakunetsusha in 1890 and had been Japans first producer of incandescent electric lamps. It later diversified into the manufacture of consumer products and in 1899 had been renamed Tokyo Denki. The merger of Shibaura and Tokyo Denki created a new company called Tokyo Shibaura Denki and it was soon nicknamed Toshiba, but it was not until 1978 that the company was officially renamed Toshiba Corporation. The group expanded rapidly, driven by a combination of growth and by acquisitions, buying heavy engineering. In 1977, Toshiba acquired the Brazilian company Semp, subsequently forming Semp Toshiba through the combination of the two companies South American operations, the Toshiba-Kongsberg scandal involved a subsidiary of Toshiba and the Norwegian company Kongsberg Vaapenfabrikk. Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania said What Toshiba and Kongsberg did was ransom the security of the United States for $517 million, the contract ended in 2008, ending seven years of OEM production with Orion. In December 2004, Toshiba quietly announced it would discontinue manufacturing traditional in-house cathode ray tube televisions, in 2006, Toshiba terminated production of in-house plasma TVs. To ensure its competitiveness in the flat-panel digital television and display market. Before World War II, Toshiba was a member of the Mitsui Group zaibatsu, today Toshiba is a member of the Mitsui keiretsu, and still has preferential arrangements with Mitsui Bank and the other members of the keiretsu. Membership in a keiretsu has traditionally meant loyalty, both corporate and private, to members of the keiretsu or allied keiretsu. This loyalty can extend as far as the beer the employees consume, in July 2005, BNFL confirmed it planned to sell Westinghouse Electric Company, then estimated to be worth $1.8 billion. In late 2007, Toshiba took over from Discover Card as the sponsor of the top-most screen of One Times Square in New York City and it displays the iconic 60-second New Years countdown on its screen, as well as messages, greetings, and advertisements for the company. In January 2009, Toshiba acquired the HDD business of Fujitsu, Toshiba announced on 16 May 2011, that it had agreed to acquire all of the shares of the Swiss-based advanced-power-meter maker Landis+Gyr for $2.3 billion
6.
Canon Inc.
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It is headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan. Canon has a listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the TOPIX index. It has a listing on the New York Stock Exchange. At the beginning of 2015, Canon was the tenth largest public company in Japan when measured by market capitalization, the company was originally named Seikikōgaku kenkyūsho. In 1934 it produced the Kwanon, a prototype for Japan’s first-ever 35 mm camera with a plane based shutter. In 1947 the company name was changed to Canon Camera Co. Inc. shortened to Canon Inc. in 1969, the name Canon comes from Buddhist bodhisattva Guan Yin, previously transliterated as Kuanyin, Kwannon, or Kwanon in English. The origins of Canon date back to the founding of Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory in Japan in 1937 by Takeshi Mitarai, Goro Yoshida, Saburo Uchida and Takeo Maeda. During its early years the company did not have any facilities to produce its own optical glass, between 1933 and 1936 ‘The Kwanon’, a copy of the Leica design, Japan’s first 35 mm focal plane-shutter camera, was developed in prototype form. In 1940 Canon developed Japans first indirect X-ray camera, Canon introduced a field zoom lens for television broadcasting in 1958 and in 1959 introduced the Reflex Zoom 8, the world’s first movie camera with a zoom lens, and the Canonflex. In 1961 Canon introduced the Rangefinder camera, Canon 7, in 1965 Canon introduced the Canon Pellix, a single lens reflex camera with a semi-transparent stationary mirror which enabled the taking of pictures through the mirror. In 1971 Canon introduced the F-1, a high-end SLR camera, in 1976 Canon launched the AE-1, the world’s first camera with an embedded micro-computer. In 1982 Wildlife as Canon Sees It print ads first appeared in National Geographic magazine, Canon introduced the world’s first Inkjet printer using bubble jet technology in 1985. Canon introduced Canon Electro-Optical System in 1987, named after the goddess of the dawn, EOS650 autofocus SLR camera is introduced. Also in 1987 the Canon Foundation was established, in 1988 Canon introduced Kyosei philosophy. The EOS1 Flagship Professional SLR line was launched in 1989, in the same year the EOS RT, the worlds first AF SLR with a fixed, semi-transparent pellicle mirror, was unveiled. In 1992 Canon launched the EOS5, the camera with eye-controlled AF. In 1995 Canon introduced the first commercially available SLR lens with image stabilization. EOS-1N RS, the worlds fastest AF SLR camera with a shooting speed of 10 frame/s at the time
7.
Integrated circuit
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An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece of semiconductor material, normally silicon. The ICs mass production capability, reliability and building-block approach to circuit design ensured the rapid adoption of standardized ICs in place of using discrete transistors. ICs are now used in all electronic equipment and have revolutionized the world of electronics. Computers, mobile phones, and other home appliances are now inextricable parts of the structure of modern societies, made possible by the small size. These advances, roughly following Moores law, allow a computer chip of 2016 to have millions of times the capacity, ICs have two main advantages over discrete circuits, cost and performance. Cost is low because the chips, with all their components, are printed as a unit by photolithography rather than being constructed one transistor at a time, furthermore, packaged ICs use much less material than discrete circuits. Performance is high because the ICs components switch quickly and consume little power because of their small size, the main disadvantage of ICs is the high cost to design them and fabricate the required photomasks. This high initial cost means ICs are only practical when high production volumes are anticipated, Circuits meeting this definition can be constructed using many different technologies, including thin-film transistor, thick film technology, or hybrid integrated circuit. However, in general usage integrated circuit has come to refer to the single-piece circuit construction originally known as a integrated circuit. Jacobi disclosed small and cheap hearing aids as typical industrial applications of his patent, an immediate commercial use of his patent has not been reported. The idea of the circuit was conceived by Geoffrey Dummer. Dummer presented the idea to the public at the Symposium on Progress in Quality Electronic Components in Washington and he gave many symposia publicly to propagate his ideas, and unsuccessfully attempted to build such a circuit in 1956. A precursor idea to the IC was to create small ceramic squares, Components could then be integrated and wired into a bidimensional or tridimensional compact grid. This idea, which seemed very promising in 1957, was proposed to the US Army by Jack Kilby, however, as the project was gaining momentum, Kilby came up with a new, revolutionary design, the IC. In his patent application of 6 February 1959, Kilby described his new device as a body of semiconductor material … wherein all the components of the circuit are completely integrated. The first customer for the new invention was the US Air Force, Kilby won the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics for his part in the invention of the integrated circuit. His work was named an IEEE Milestone in 2009, half a year after Kilby, Robert Noyce at Fairchild Semiconductor developed his own idea of an integrated circuit that solved many practical problems Kilbys had not. Noyces design was made of silicon, whereas Kilbys chip was made of germanium, Noyce credited Kurt Lehovec of Sprague Electric for the principle of p–n junction isolation, a key concept behind the IC
8.
Digital camera
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A digital camera or digicam is a camera that produces digital images that can be stored in a computer, displayed on a screen and printed. Most cameras sold today are digital, and digital cameras are incorporated into many devices ranging from PDAs, Digital and movie cameras share an optical system, typically using a lens with a variable diaphragm to focus light onto an image pickup device. The diaphragm and shutter admit the correct amount of light to the imager, just as with film, however, unlike film cameras, digital cameras can display images on a screen immediately after being recorded, and store and delete images from memory. Many digital cameras can also record moving videos with sound, some digital cameras can crop and stitch pictures and perform other elementary image editing. The history of the camera began with Eugene F. Lally of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. His 1961 idea was to take pictures of the planets and stars while travelling through space to give information about the astronauts position, unfortunately, as with Texas Instruments employee Willis Adcocks filmless camera in 1972, the technology had yet to catch up with the concept. Steven Sasson as an engineer at Eastman Kodak invented and built the first electronic camera using a charge-coupled device image sensor in 1975, earlier ones used a camera tube, later ones digitized the signal. Early uses were military and scientific, followed by medical. In the mid to late 1990s digital cameras became common among consumers, by the mid-2000s digital cameras had largely replaced film cameras, and higher-end cell phones had an integrated digital camera. By the beginning of the 2010s, almost all smartphones had a digital camera. The two major types of image sensor are CCD and CMOS. A CCD sensor has one amplifier for all the pixels, while each pixel in a CMOS active-pixel sensor has its own amplifier, compared to CCDs, CMOS sensors use less power. Cameras with a small sensor use a back-side-illuminated CMOS sensor, overall final image quality is more dependent on the image processing capability of the camera, than on sensor type. The resolution of a camera is often limited by the image sensor that turns light into that discrete signals. The brighter the image at a point on the sensor. Depending on the structure of the sensor, a color filter array may be used. The number of pixels in the sensor determines the cameras pixel count, in a typical sensor, the pixel count is the product of the number of rows and the number of columns. For example, a 1,000 by 1,000 pixel sensor would have 1,000,000 pixels, final quality of an image depends on all optical transformations in the chain of producing the image
9.
Shopping mall
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A shopping arcade is a specific form serving the same purpose. Many early shopping arcades such as the Burlington Arcade in London, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, however, many smaller arcades have been demolished, replaced with large centers or malls, often accessible by vehicle. Technical innovations such as lighting and escalators were introduced from the late 19th century. From the late 20th century, entertainment venues such as movie theaters, as a single built structure, early shopping centers were often architecturally significant constructions, enabling wealthier patrons to buy goods in spaces protected from the weather. In places around the world, the shopping centre is used, especially in Europe, Australia. Mall is a term used predominantly in North America, outside of North America, shopping precinct and shopping arcade are also used. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, malls are commonly referred to as shopping centres, the majority of British shopping centres are located in city centres, usually found in old and historic shopping districts and surrounded by subsidiary open air shopping streets. Large examples include West Quay in Southampton, Manchester Arndale, Bullring Birmingham, Liverpool One, Trinity Leeds, Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow and these centres were built in the 1980s and 1990s, but planning regulations prohibit the construction of any more. Out-of-town shopping developments in the UK are now focused on retail parks, planning policy prioritizes the development of existing town centres, although with patchy success. Bullring, Birmingham is the busiest shopping centre in the UK welcoming over 36.5 million shoppers in its opening year, there are a reported 222 malls in Europe. In 2014, these malls had combined sales of $12.47 billion and this represented a 10% bump in revenues from the prior year. One of the earliest examples of public shopping areas comes from ancient Rome, One of the earliest public shopping centers is Trajans Market in Rome located in Trajans Forum. Trajans Market was probably built around 100-110 CE by Apollodorus of Damascus, the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul was built in the 15th century and is still one of the largest covered shopping centers in the world, with more than 58 streets and 4,000 shops. Numerous other covered shopping arcades, such as the 19th-century Al-Hamidiyah Souq in Damascus, Syria, isfahans Grand Bazaar, which is largely covered, dates from the 10th century. The 10-kilometer-long, covered Tehrans Grand Bazaar also has a lengthy history, the oldest continuously occupied shopping mall in the world is likely to be the Chester Rows. Dating back at least to the 13th century, these covered walkways housed shops, with storage, different rows specialized in different goods, such as Bakers Row or Fleshmongers Row. The Marché des Enfants Rouges in Paris opened in 1628 and still runs today, the Oxford Covered Market in Oxford, England opened in 1774 and still runs today. The Passage du Caire was opened in Paris in 1798, the Burlington Arcade in London was opened in 1819
10.
Portugal
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Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, to the west and south it is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and to the east and north by Spain. The Portugal–Spain border is 1,214 kilometres long and considered the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union, the republic also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments. The territory of modern Portugal has been settled, invaded. The Pre-Celts, Celts, Carthaginians and the Romans were followed by the invasions of the Visigothic, in 711 the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by the Moors, making Portugal part of Muslim Al Andalus. Portugal was born as result of the Christian Reconquista, and in 1139, Afonso Henriques was proclaimed King of Portugal, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal established the first global empire, becoming one of the worlds major economic, political and military powers. Portugal monopolized the trade during this time, and the Portuguese Empire expanded with military campaigns led in Asia. After the 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy, the democratic but unstable Portuguese First Republic was established, democracy was restored after the Portuguese Colonial War and the Carnation Revolution in 1974. Shortly after, independence was granted to almost all its overseas territories, Portugal has left a profound cultural and architectural influence across the globe and a legacy of over 250 million Portuguese speakers today. Portugal is a country with a high-income advanced economy and a high living standard. It is the 5th most peaceful country in the world, maintaining a unitary semi-presidential republican form of government and it has the 18th highest Social Progress in the world, putting it ahead of other Western European countries like France, Spain and Italy. Portugal is a pioneer when it comes to drug decriminalization, as the nation decriminalized the possession of all drugs for use in 2001. The early history of Portugal is shared with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula located in South Western Europe, the name of Portugal derives from the joined Romano-Celtic name Portus Cale. Other influences include some 5th-century vestiges of Alan settlements, which were found in Alenquer, Coimbra, the region of present-day Portugal was inhabited by Neanderthals and then by Homo sapiens, who roamed the border-less region of the northern Iberian peninsula. These were subsistence societies that, although they did not establish prosperous settlements, neolithic Portugal experimented with domestication of herding animals, the raising of some cereal crops and fluvial or marine fishing. Chief among these tribes were the Calaicians or Gallaeci of Northern Portugal, the Lusitanians of central Portugal, the Celtici of Alentejo, a few small, semi-permanent, commercial coastal settlements were also founded in the Algarve region by Phoenicians-Carthaginians. Romans first invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 219 BC, during the last days of Julius Caesar, almost the entire peninsula had been annexed to the Roman Republic. The Carthaginians, Romes adversary in the Punic Wars, were expelled from their coastal colonies and it suffered a severe setback in 150 BC, when a rebellion began in the north
Aveiro, Portugal (1978)
Wuhan, China (1979)
Austin, Texas, United States (1990)
San Cristóbal, Venezuela
Vitória, Brazil
