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.
Hirohito
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Emperor Shōwa was the 124th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from December 25,1926, until his death on January 7,1989. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Akihito, upon his death, although better known outside Japan by his personal name Hirohito, in Japan, he is now referred to primarily by his posthumous name Emperor Shōwa. The word Shōwa is the name of the era that corresponded with the Emperors reign, the name Hirohito means abundant benevolence. He was the head of state under the Constitution of the Empire of Japan during Japans imperial expansion, militarization, born in Tokyos Aoyama Palace, Hirohito was the first son of Crown Prince Yoshihito and Crown Princess Sadako. He was the grandson of Emperor Meiji and Yanagihara Naruko and his childhood title was Prince Michi. At the age of 3, Hirohito and his brother Chichibu were returned to court when Kawamura died – first to the mansion in Numazu, Shizuoka. In 1908, he began studies at the Gakushūin. When his grandfather, Emperor Meiji, died on July 30,1912, Hirohitos father, Yoshihito, assumed the throne, in 1914, he was promoted to the ranks of lieutenant in the army and sub-lieutenant in the navy, then to captain and lieutenant in 1916. He was formally proclaimed Crown Prince and heir apparent on November 2,1916, Hirohito attended Gakushūin Peers School from 1908 to 1914 and then a special institute for the crown prince from 1914 to 1921. In 1920, Hirohito was promoted to the rank of Major in the army, in 1921, Hirohito took a six-month tour of Western Europe, including the United Kingdom, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Belgium. After his return to Japan, he became Regent of Japan on November 29,1921, in 1923, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the army and Commander in the navy, and to army Colonel and Navy Captain in 1925. The Washington Naval Treaty was signed on February 6,1922, Japan withdrew troops from the Siberian Intervention on August 28,1922. The Great Kantō earthquake devastated Tokyo on September 1,1923, on December 27,1923, Daisuke Namba attempted to assassinate Hirohito in the Toranomon Incident but his attempt failed. During interrogation, he claimed to be a communist and was executed, the General Election Law was passed on May 5,1925, giving all men above age 25 the right to vote. Prince Hirohito married his distant cousin Princess Nagako Kuni, the eldest daughter of Prince Kuniyoshi Kuni and they had two sons and five daughters. On December 25,1926, Hirohito assumed the throne upon his father, Yoshihitos, the Crown Prince was said to have received the succession. The Taishō eras end and the Shōwa eras beginning were proclaimed, the deceased Emperor was posthumously renamed Emperor Taishō within days. Following Japanese custom, the new Emperor was never referred to by his name, but rather was referred to simply as His Majesty the Emperor
3.
Emperor of Japan
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The Emperor of Japan is the head of the Imperial Family and is the ceremonial head of state of Japans system of constitutional monarchy. According to the 1947 constitution, he is the symbol of the State, in Japanese, the Emperor is called Tennō, which means heavenly sovereign. In English, the use of the term Mikado for the Emperor was once common, currently, the Emperor of Japan is the only remaining monarch in the world reigning under the title of Emperor. The Imperial House of Japan is the oldest continuing hereditary monarchy in the world, in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, it is said that Japan was founded in 660 BC by Emperor Jimmu. He acceded the Chrysanthemum Throne upon the death of his father, Emperor Shōwa, the role of the Emperor of Japan has historically alternated between a largely ceremonial symbolic role and that of an actual imperial ruler. Since the establishment of the first shogunate in 1192, the Emperors of Japan have rarely taken on a role as supreme battlefield commander, Japanese Emperors have nearly always been controlled by external political forces, to varying degrees. In fact, between 1192 and 1867, the shoguns, or their shikken regents in Kamakura, were the de facto rulers of Japan, although they were nominally appointed by the Emperor. After the Meiji Restoration in 1867, the Emperor was the embodiment of all power in the realm. His current status as a figurehead dates from the 1947 Constitution, since the mid-nineteenth century, the Imperial Palace has been called Kyūjō, later Kōkyo, and is located on the former site of Edo Castle in the heart of Tokyo. Earlier, Emperors resided in Kyoto for nearly eleven centuries, the Emperors Birthday is a national holiday. Unlike most constitutional monarchies, the Emperor is not the nominal Chief Executive, article 65 of the Constitution explicitly vests executive power in the Cabinet, of which the Prime Minister is the leader. The Emperor is also not the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, the Japan Self-Defense Forces Act of 1954 also explicitly vests this role with the Prime Minister. The Emperors powers are limited only to important ceremonial functions, article 4 of the Constitution stipulates that the Emperor shall perform only such acts in matters of state as are provided for in the Constitution and he shall not have powers related to government. It also stipulates that the advice and approval of the Cabinet shall be required for all acts of the Emperor in matters of state, article 4 also states that these duties can be delegated by the Emperor as provided for by law. Article 6 of the Constitution delegates the Emperor the following ceremonial roles, Appointment of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as designated by the Cabinet. Dissolution of the House of Representatives, proclamation of general election of members of the Diet. Attestation of the appointment and dismissal of Ministers of State and other officials as provided for by law, attestation of general and special amnesty, commutation of punishment, reprieve, and restoration of rights. Attestation of instruments of ratification and other documents as provided for by law
4.
Mainichi Shimbun
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The Mainichi Shimbun is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by The Mainichi Newspapers Co. Ltd. It also publishes paperbacks, books and other magazines, including a news magazine. The history of the Mainichi Shimbun began with the founding of two papers during the Meiji period, the Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun was founded first, in 1872. The Mainichi claims that it is the oldest existing Japanese daily newspaper with its 136-year history, the Osaka Mainichi Shimbun was founded four years later, in 1876. The two papers merged in 1911, but the two continued to print their newspapers independently until 1943, when both editions were placed under a Mainichi Shimbun masthead. In 1966, the Tokyo office was moved from Yurakucho to Takebashi, and in 1992, the Mainichi has 3,200 employees working in 364 offices in Japan and 26 bureaus overseas. The Mainichi is the only Japanese newspaper company to have won a Pulitzer Prize, on 15 January 2004, Mainichi Shimbun and MSN Japan announced they were to merge their websites. The partnership has been known as MSN-Mainichi Interactive, effective since 1 April 2004. On 18 September 2007, Mainichi announced the launch of their new website, mainichi. jp, the new website began operations on 1 October 2007, marking the end of MSN-Mainichi Interactive, being replaced by mainichi. jp. The English-language Mainichi Daily News also moved to the new website, the Mainichi Daily News column WaiWai, by Australian journalist Ryann Connell, featured often-sensationalist stories, principally translated from and based on articles appearing in Japanese tabloids. The column carried a disclaimer since September 19,2002, WaiWai stories are transcriptions of articles originally appeared in Japanese language publications. The Mainichi Daily News cannot be responsible for the content of the original articles. Views expressed in the WaiWai column are not necessarily held by the Mainichi Daily News or the Mainichi Newspapers Co. Nevertheless, WaiWai content was reported as fact in blogs and reputable foreign media sources, in April and May 2008, an aggressive anti-WaiWai campaign appeared on internet forums including 2channel. Criticism included contents are too vulgar and the stories could cause Japanese people to be misunderstood abroad, on June 20, a news site J-CAST reported on this issue. The Mainichi editorial board responded by deleting controversial WaiWai articles and limiting archive access, citing continuing criticism, Mainichis Digital Media Division shut down WaiWai on June 21. On June 25, Mainichi apologized to MDN readers, some advertisers responded to the campaign by pulling ads from Mainichis Japanese site. On June 28,2008, Mainichi announced punitive measures, Connell, who remained anonymous in the announcement, was suspended for three months
5.
Hokkaido
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Hokkaido, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is the second largest island of Japan, and the largest and northernmost prefecture. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel. The largest city on Hokkaido is its capital, Sapporo, which is also its only ordinance-designated city, about 43 km north of Hokkaido lies Sakhalin island, Russia, whereas to its east and north-east are the disputed Kuril Islands. Hokkaido was settled by the Ainu, Nivkh, and Orok before recorded history, the Nihon Shoki, finished in 720 AD, is often said to be the first mention of Hokkaido in recorded history. According to the text, Abe no Hirafu led a navy and army to northern areas from 658 to 660 and came into contact with the Mishihase. One of the places Hirafu went to was called Watarishima, which is believed to be present-day Hokkaido. During the Nara and Heian periods, people in Hokkaido conducted trade with Dewa Province, from the Middle Ages, the people in Hokkaido began to be called Ezo. Hokkaido, formerly known as Ezochi Ezochi or Ezogashima, the Ezo mainly relied upon hunting and fishing and obtained rice and iron through trade with the Japanese. During the Muromachi period, the Japanese created a settlement at the south of the Oshima Peninsula, as more people moved to the settlement to avoid battles, disputes arose between the Japanese and the Ainu. The disputes eventually developed into a war, takeda Nobuhiro killed the Ainu leader, Koshamain, and defeated the opposition in 1457. Nobuhiros descendants became the rulers of the Matsumae-han, which was granted trading rights with the Ainu in the Azuchi-Momoyama. The Matsumae familys economy relied upon trade with the Ainu and they held authority over the south of Ezochi until the end of the Edo period in 1868. The Matsumae clan rule over the Ainu must be understood in the context of the expansion of the Japanese feudal state, medieval military leaders in northern Honshū maintained only tenuous political and cultural ties to the imperial court and its proxies, the Kamakura Shogunate and Ashikaga Shogunate. Feudal strongmen sometimes located themselves within medieval institutional order, taking shogunal titles, in fact many of the feudal strongmen were descended from Emishi military leaders who had been assimilated into Japanese society. The Matsumae clan were of Yamato descent like other ethnic Japanese people, the Emishi were conquered and integrated into the Japanese state dating back as far as the 8th century, and as result began to lose their distinctive culture and ethnicity as they became minorities. By the time the Matsumae clan ruled over the Ainu most of the Emishi were ethnically mixed, there were numerous revolts by the Ainu against feudal rule. The last large-scale resistance was Shakushains Revolt in 1669–1672, in 1789, a smaller movement, the Menashi-Kunashir Rebellion, was also crushed. After that rebellion the terms Japanese and Ainu referred to clearly distinguished groups, in 1799–1821 and 1855–1858 the Edo Shogunate took direct control over Hokkaido in response to a perceived threat from Russia
6.
Plain
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In geography, a plain is a flat, sweeping landmass that generally does not change much in elevation. Plains occur as lowlands along the bottoms of valleys or on the doorsteps of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands. In a valley, a plain is enclosed on two sides but in other cases a plain may be delineated by a complete or partial ring of hills, where a geological region contains more than one plain, they may be connected by a pass. Coastal plains would mostly rise from sea level until they run into elevated features such as mountains or plateaus, plains are one of the major landforms on earth, where they are present on all continents, and would cover more than one-third of the world’s land area. Plains may have formed from flowing lava, deposited by water, ice, wind, or formed by erosion by these agents from hills. Plains would generally be under the grassland, steppe, savannah or tundra biomes, in a few instances, deserts and rainforests can also be plains. Structural plains are relatively undisturbed horizontal surfaces of the Earth and they are structurally depressed areas of the world that make up some of the most extensive natural lowlands on the Earths surface. Erosional plains have been leveled by various agents of such as running water, rivers, wind and glacier which wear out the rugged surface. Plain resulting from the action of these agents of denudation are called peneplains while plains formed from wind action are called pediplains, depositional plains formed by the deposition of materials brought by various agents of transportation such as rivers, wind, waves, and glaciers. Their fertility and economic relevance depend greatly on the types of sediments that are laid down, flood plain, adjacent to a stream, river, lake or wetland that experiences occasional or periodic flooding. Scroll plain, a plain through which a river meanders with a low gradient. Lacustrine plain, a plain that originally formed in a lacustrine environment, lava plain, formed by sheets of flowing lava. Glacial plains, formed by the movement of glaciers under the force of gravity, Sandur, sandar consist mainly of stratified gravel and sand. Till plain, a plain of glacial till that forms when a sheet of ice becomes detached from the body of a glacier. Till plains are composed of unsorted material of all sizes, abyssal plain, a flat or very gently sloping area of the deep ocean basin. Planitia, the Latin word for plain, is used in the naming of plains on extraterrestrial objects, such as Hellas Planitia on Mars or Sedna Planitia on Venus
7.
Aomori Prefecture
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Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region. The capital is the city of Aomori, until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Aomori prefecture was known as the northern part of Mutsu Province. During the Edo period the Hirosaki clan began building a seaport at the current city of Aomori, there were green woods near the city which were used as landmarks for the ships that came into port. These green woods called aoi-mori is where Aomori got its name, the prefecture came into existence in 1871. The town of Aomori was established in 1889, the town was incorporated as a city in 1898 with a population of 28,000. On May 3,1910 a fire out in the Yasukata district. Fanned by strong winds, the fire devastated the whole city. The conflagration claimed 26 lives and injured a further 160 residents and it destroyed 5,246 houses and burnt 19 storage sheds and 157 warehouses. At 10,30 p. m. on July 28,1945 a squadron of American B29 bombers bombed over 90% of the city, radio Aomori made its first broadcast in 1951. Four years later, the first fish auctions were held,1958 saw the completion of the Municipal Fish Market as well as the opening of the Citizens Hospital. In the same year, the Tsugaru Line established a connection with Minmaya Village at the tip of the peninsula. Various outlying towns and villages were incorporated into the city and with the absorption of Nonai Village in 1962. Almost exactly three years later, on March 13, railroad service was inaugurated on the Tsugaru Kaikyo Line and that same day saw the end of the Seikan Ferry service. During their 80 years of service, the ferries of the Seikan line sailed between Aomori and Hakodate some 720,000 times, carrying 160 million passengers. In April 1993, Aomori Public College opened, in August 1994, Aomori City made an Education, Culture and Friendship Exchange Pact with Kecskemét in Hungary. One year later a treaty was signed with Pyongtaek in South Korea. In April 1995, Aomori Airport began offering regular international air service to Seoul, South Korea, and Khabarovsk, Russia. In June 2007, four North Korean defectors reached Aomori Prefecture, after having been at sea for six days, in March 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck Japan on the east coast
8.
Akita Prefecture
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Akita Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of northern Honshu, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Akita, the area of Akita has been created from the ancient provinces of Dewa and Mutsu. Akita was a region of hunter-gatherers and principally nomadic tribes, the first historical record of what is now Akita Prefecture dates to 658, when the Abe no Hirafu conquered the native Ezo tribes at what are now the cities of Akita and Noshiro. Hirafu, then governor of Koshi Province, established a fort on the Mogami River, in 733, a new military settlement—later renamed Akita Castle—was built in modern-day Akita city at Takashimizu, and more permanent roads and structures were developed. The region was used as a base of operations for the Japanese empire as it drove the native Ezo people from northern Honshū. During the Tokugawa shogunate it was appropriated to the Satake clan, throughout this period, it was classified as part of Dewa Province. In 1871, during the Meiji Restoration, Dewa Province was reshaped, the famous Heian period waka poet, Ono no Komachi, is said to have been born in Yuzawa City, Ogachi Town, located in the southeast of the prefecture. Akita Prefecture is rectangular in shape, roughly 181 km from north to south and 111 km from west to east, the Ōu Mountains mark the eastern border of the prefecture, and the higher Dewa Mountains run parallel through the center of the prefecture. Like much of northern Japan, the prefecture has cold winters, the Oga Peninsula is a prominent feature of the coastline. This has led many people to migrate to Tokyo and other large cities. Akita Prefecture is where declines in population are most severe in Japan and it also has the lowest number of children as a percentage of the population, at 11. 2%. As of 2010, it has a population of just over 1 million people, Akita is famous for rice farming and its sake breweries. It is well known for having the highest consumption of sake in Japan, the women of the region, referred to as Akita bijin, have also gained widespread renown for their white skin, rounded faces and high voices, all of which are considered highly desirable. Ono no Komachi is an example of an Akita bijin. Kiritanpo Nabe Gakko Rice – Akita komachi Sake Near Lake Tazawa and these are popular with tourists from all over Japan. In addition, its numerous seasonal festivals offer a glimpse of rural or traditional Japan, some famous examples are the Akita Kantō, the Omagari Fireworks, Namahage Festival, and the Yokote Kamakura Festivals. Kakunodate is a charming old town, known as the little Kyoto. The Aoyagi house is the residence of Odano Naotake, the man who illustrated Japans first modern guide to the human anatomy
9.
Tochigi Prefecture
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Tochigi Prefecture is a prefecture located in the Kantō region on the island of Honshu, Japan. The capital is the city of Utsunomiya, Nikkō, whose ancient Shintō shrines and Buddhist temples UNESCO has recognized by naming them a World Heritage Site, is in this prefecture. Other famous parts of Tochigi include a region called Nasu known for onsen and local sake, the Imperial Family has a villa in Nasu. Nasu-Shiobara is a major Shinkansen station, situated among the inland prefectures of the northern part of the Kantō region, Tochigi is contiguous with Ibaraki, Gunma, Saitama, and Fukushima Prefectures. The climate of Tochigi may be classified as a temperate zone with broad variations in temperature. Winters are arid with dry winds, while summers are humid with frequent thunderstorms, the population of Tochigi as of November 2010 is approximately 2,005,096. Located in the center of the prefecture is the largest open plain in the Kantō region, shirane, Nantai and Nasudake mountain are in the northern part of the area. Kinugawa, Nakagawa, and Watarase River originate in this region, Tochigi is the 20th largest prefecture in Japan with a total area of 6,408 square km. As of 1 April 2012, 21% of the land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely Nikkō National Park, Oze National Park. Before the Meiji Restoration, Tochigi was known as Shimotsuke Province, in the early 15th century, Ashikaga Gakko, Japans oldest school of higher education, was re-established, holding over 3,000 students by the 16th century. Saint Francis Xavier introduced Ashikaga to the world as the best university in Japan, in the early 17th century, Japan was unified by the shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu. After his death, Tōshō-gū shrine was built in Nikko on what the thought of as holy ground to protect. The establishment of the Nikkō Tōshō-gū in 1617 brought Nikkō to national attention, the Tokugawa shogunate developed the Nikkō Kaidō and required lavish processions to worship Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa line of shoguns. In the late 19th century, the Tokugawa Shogunate fell and the new government established the prefectures, the prefectural capital was established in the city of Tochigi after the unification of Utsunomiya Prefecture and Tochigi Prefecture in 1873. By 1884, however, the capital was transferred to Utsunomiya, in March 2011, following the Fukushima I nuclear accidents, levels of radioactivity in Utsunomiya were 33 times higher than normal. The chief city of Utsunomiya is famous for its many gyoza specialist shops, also located in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture has one of the largest shopping malls in the North Kantō region, Bell Mall. Industrial manufacturing accounts for 36. 6% of the total output. Vehicle parts and accessories are the products, followed by vehicles, radios and televisions, pharmaceuticals
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