1.
Japanese Government Railways
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The Japanese Government Railways was the national railway system directly operated by the central government of Japan until 1949. It is a predecessor of Japanese National Railways and the Japan Railways Group, the English name Japanese Government Railways was what the Ministry of Railways of Japan used to call its own Ministry Lines and sometimes the ministry itself as a railway operator. Other English names for the government railways include Imperial Japanese Government Railways and Imperial Government Railways and this article however covers the railways operated by the central government of Japan from 1872 to 1949 notwithstanding the official English name of the system of each era. By the end of World War II in 1945, the Japanese Government Railways operated on the main Japanese islands of Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū, Shikoku, the railways in Taiwan and Korea were operated by the local Governor-General Offices and were not part of JGR. While the JGR was the major operator of intercity railways after the railway nationalization in 1906-07. The gauge of the railway was 1,067 mm with minor exceptions of 762 mm gauge lines, the first railway in Japan was operated by the imperial government in 1872. Early shareholders of the railway were members of the nobility, holding the major portion of capital, the governmental system was largely expanded by the promulgation of the Railway Nationalization Act in 1906. In 1920, the Ministry of Railways was established, in 1949, JGR was reorganized to become a state-owned public corporation named the Japanese National Railways. e. The table below shows the operators of the JGR. Translated names of ministries may not be official, names of the operating department generally mean department of railways or like. Since opening in 1872, the railway set fares for passengers in three classes, the transportation of freight was charged based on weight and class of goods. In 1872, passengers could choose from Upper, Middle and Lower classes, freight was shipped using one of five rates based on 100 kin of product. A1923 review of the shipping tariffs further explained that goods are divided into three shipping classes, koguchi atsukai, kashikini atsukai and tokushu atsukai and it was also possible to ship them via futsubin and kyukobin. It may, therefore, be said that the freight rates of the State-owned railways in Japan are of absolute uniformity. As Japan is a nation, it was noted that ocean-going vessels are a major source of competition for the freight business of the railway. The government mandated the use of automatic couplers on all cars on the system in July 1925, the system was transitioning from vacuum brakes to air brakes at this time, with most freight cars equipped with air brakes by April 1927. One of the roles of the Japanese Government Railways was to foreign tourists to Japan. In 1930, the government created the Board of Tourist Industry as a section of the Japanese Government Railways, the Board printed and distributed picture posters and English guidebooks overseas and encouraged development of resort hotels at home
2.
Japan Railways Group
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Most of the liability of the JNR was assumed by the JNR Settlement Corporation. The JR Group lies at the heart of Japans railway network, operating a large proportion of intercity rail service, maps almost always denoted JR and private railways differently, as does JR itself. The group consists of seven operating companies and two companies that do not provide rail service. The operating companies are organized into six passenger operators and a freight operator. Unlike some other groups of companies, the JR Group is made up of independent companies, the six passenger railways of the JR Group are separated by region. Nearly all their services are within the geographic area. However, some long-distance operations extend beyond the boundaries, Japan Freight Railway Company operates all freight service on the network previously owned by JNR. In addition, the group includes two non-operating companies and these are the Railway Technical Research Institute and Railway Information Systems Co. Ltd. To cover various non-railway business areas, each operator in the JR Group has its own group of subsidiary companies with names like JR East Group. JR maintains a railway network as well as common ticketing rules that it inherited from JNR. Passengers may travel across several JR companies without changing trains and without purchasing separate tickets, however, trains running across the boundaries of JR companies have been reduced. JR maintains the same ticketing rules based on the JNR rules and has a reservation system known as MARS. Some types of tickets, such as Japan Rail Pass and Seishun 18 Ticket, are issued as valid for all JR lines, in 1987, the government of Japan took steps to divide and privatize JNR. While division of operations began in April of that year, privatization was not immediate, initially, privatization of some of the companies began in the early 1990s. By 2006, all of the shares of JR East, JR Central and JR West had been offered to the market, the demise of the government-owned system came after charges of serious management inefficiencies, profit losses, and fraud. By the early 1980s, passenger and freight business had declined, what remained of the debt-ridden Japanese National Railways after its 1987 breakup was named the Japanese National Railways Settlement Corporation. Its purpose was to dispose of assets and debts not absorbed by the companies and to execute other activities relating to the breakup. The new companies introduced competition, cut their staffing, and made reform efforts, demand for rail transport improved, although it still accounted for only 28% of passenger transportation and only 5% of cargo transportation in 1990
3.
Track gauge
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In rail transport, track gauge is the spacing of the rails on a railway track and is measured between the inner faces of the load-bearing rails. All vehicles on a network must have running gear that is compatible with the track gauge, as the dominant parameter determining interoperability, it is still frequently used as a descriptor of a route or network. There is a distinction between the gauge and actual gauge at some locality, due to divergence of track components from the nominal. Railway engineers use a device, like a caliper, to measure the actual gauge, the nominal track gauge is the distance between the inner faces of the rails. In current practice, it is specified at a distance below the rail head as the inner faces of the rail head are not necessarily vertical. In some cases in the earliest days of railways, the company saw itself as an infrastructure provider only. Colloquially the wagons might be referred to as four-foot gauge wagons, say and this nominal value does not equate to the flange spacing, as some freedom is allowed for. An infrastructure manager might specify new or replacement track components at a variation from the nominal gauge for pragmatic reasons. Track is defined in old Imperial units or in universally accepted metric units or SI units, Imperial units were established in United Kingdom by The Weights and Measures Act of 1824. In addition, there are constraints, such as the load-carrying capacity of axles. Narrow gauge railways usually cost less to build because they are lighter in construction, using smaller cars and locomotives, as well as smaller bridges, smaller tunnels. Narrow gauge is often used in mountainous terrain, where the savings in civil engineering work can be substantial. Broader gauge railways are generally expensive to build and require wider curves. There is no single perfect gauge, because different environments and economic considerations come into play, a narrow gauge is superior if ones main considerations are economy and tight curvature. For direct, unimpeded routes with high traffic, a broad gauge may be preferable, the Standard, Russian, and 46 gauges are designed to strike a reasonable balance between these factors. In addition to the general trade-off, another important factor is standardization, once a standard has been chosen, and equipment, infrastructure, and training calibrated to that standard, conversion becomes difficult and expensive. This also makes it easier to adopt an existing standard than to invent a new one and this is true of many technologies, including railroad gauges. The reduced cost, greater efficiency, and greater economic opportunity offered by the use of a common standard explains why a number of gauges predominate worldwide
4.
3 ft 6 in gauge railways
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Railways with a track gauge of 3 ft 6 in/1,067 mm were first constructed as horse-drawn wagonways. From the mid-nineteenth century, the 3 ft 6 in gauge became widespread in the British Empire, there are approximately 112,000 kilometres of 1,067 mm gauge track in the world. 1795 One of the first railways to use 3 ft 6 in gauge was the Little Eaton Gangway in England, other 3 ft 6 in gauge wagonways in England and Wales were also built in the early nineteenth century. 1862 In 1862 the Norwegian engineer Carl Abraham Pihl constructed the first 3 ft 6 in gauge railway in Norway,1865 In 1865 the Queensland Railways were constructed. Its 3 ft 6 in gauge was promoted by the Irish engineer Abraham Fitzgibbon,1868 In 1868 Charles Fox asks civil engineer Edmund Wragge to survey a 3 ft 6 in railway in Costa Rica. 1871 In 1871 the Canadian Toronto, Grey and Bruce Railway,1872 In January 1872 Robert Fairlie advocated the use of 3 ft 6 in gauge in his book Railways Or No Railways, Narrow Gauge, Economy with Efficiency v. Broad Gauge, Costliness with Extravagance. 1872 also saw the opening of the first 3 ft 6 in gauge railway in Japan,1873 On 1 January 1873, the first 3 ft 6 in gauge railway was opened in New Zealand, constructed by the British firm John Brogden and Sons. Earlier built 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in and broad gauge railways were converted to the narrower gauge. Also in 1873 the Cape Colony adopted the 3 ft 6 in gauge, after conducting several studies in southern Europe, the Molteno Government selected the gauge as being the most economically suited for traversing steep mountain ranges. Beginning in 1873, under supervision of Railway engineer of the Colony William Brounger, the Cape Government Railways rapidly expanded and the gauge became the standard for southern Africa. 1876 Natal also converted its short 10 kilometres long Durban network from 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in broad gauge prior to commencing with construction of a network across the colony in 1876. Other new railways in Southern Africa, notably Mozambique, Bechuanaland, after 1876 In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century numerous 3 ft 6 in gauge tram systems were built in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. In Sweden, the gauge was nicknamed Blekinge gauge, as most of the railways in the province of Blekinge had this gauge. An alternate name for this gauge, Cape gauge, is named after the Cape Colony in what is now South Africa, the term Cape Gauge is used in other languages, such as the Dutch kaapspoor, German Kapspur, Norwegian kappspor and French voie cape. After metrication in the 1960s, the gauge was referred to in official South African Railways publications as 1065 mm instead of 1067 mm, the gauge is sometimes referred to as CAP gauge, after C. A. The gauge name Colonial Gauge was used in New Zealand, in Australia the imperial term 3 foot 6 inch is used. In some Australian publications the term medium gauge is also used, in Japan 1,067 mm gauge is referred to as kyōki, which directly translates as narrow gauge. It is defined in metric units, Cape Government Railways Heritage railway List of track gauges Norwegian gauge controversy South African Trains – A Pictorial Encyclopaedia Why Did Japan Choose the 36 Narrow Gauge
5.
Tokyo
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Tokyo, officially Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan and one of its 47 prefectures. The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous area in the world. It is the seat of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese government, Tokyo is in the Kantō region on the southeastern side of the main island Honshu and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands. Formerly known as Edo, it has been the de facto seat of government since 1603 when Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu made the city his headquarters. It officially became the capital after Emperor Meiji moved his seat to the city from the old capital of Kyoto in 1868, Tokyo Metropolis was formed in 1943 from the merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture and the city of Tokyo. The Tokyo metropolitan government administers the 23 Special Wards of Tokyo, the metropolitan government also administers 39 municipalities in the western part of the prefecture and the two outlying island chains. The population of the wards is over 9 million people. The prefecture is part of the worlds most populous metropolitan area with upwards of 37.8 million people, the city hosts 51 of the Fortune Global 500 companies, the highest number of any city in the world. Tokyo ranked third in the International Financial Centres Development IndexEdit, the city is also home to various television networks such as Fuji TV, Tokyo MX, TV Tokyo, TV Asahi, Nippon Television, NHK and the Tokyo Broadcasting System. Tokyo ranked first in the Global Economic Power Index and fourth in the Global Cities Index. The city is considered a world city – as listed by the GaWCs 2008 inventory – and in 2014. In 2015, Tokyo was named the Most Liveable City in the world by the magazine Monocle, the Michelin Guide has awarded Tokyo by far the most Michelin stars of any city in the world. Tokyo ranked first in the world in the Safe Cities Index, the 2016 edition of QS Best Student Cities ranked Tokyo as the 3rd-best city in the world to be a university student. Tokyo hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics, the 1979 G-7 summit, the 1986 G-7 summit, and the 1993 G-7 summit, and will host the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tokyo was originally known as Edo, which means estuary. During the early Meiji period, the city was also called Tōkei, some surviving official English documents use the spelling Tokei. However, this pronunciation is now obsolete, the name Tokyo was first suggested in 1813 in the book Kondō Hisaku, written by Satō Nobuhiro. When Ōkubo Toshimichi proposed the renaming to the government during the Meiji Restoration, according to Oda Kanshi, Tokyo was originally a small fishing village named Edo, in what was formerly part of the old Musashi Province. Edo was first fortified by the Edo clan, in the twelfth century
6.
Narrow-gauge railway
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A narrow-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge narrower than the 1,435 mm of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow-gauge railways are between 600 mm and 1,067 mm, narrow-gauge railways also have specialized use in mines and other environments where a very small structure gauge makes a very small loading gauge necessary. Narrow-gauge railways also have general applications. Many narrow-gauge street tramways are used, particularly in Europe, where 1,000 mm metre gauge tramways are common, the earliest recorded railway is shown in the De re metallica of 1556, which shows a mine in Bohemia with a railway of about 2 ft gauge. During the 16th century, railways were mainly restricted to hand-pushed narrow-gauge lines in mines throughout Europe, during the 17th century, mine railways were extended to provide transportation above ground. These lines were industrial, connecting mines with nearby transportation points and these railways were usually built to the same narrow gauge as the mine railways from which they developed. The worlds first steam locomotive on rails, built in 1802 by Richard Trevithick for the Coalbrookdale Company, during the 1820s and 1830s, a number of industrial narrow-gauge railways in the United Kingdom used steam locomotives. In 1842, the first narrow-gauge steam locomotive outside the UK was built for the 1,100 mm gauge Antwerp-Ghent Railway in Belgium, historically, many narrow-gauge railways were built as part of specific industrial enterprises and were primarily industrial railways rather than general carriers. Some common uses for these industrial narrow-gauge railways were mining, logging, construction, tunnelling, quarrying, extensive narrow-gauge networks were constructed in many parts of the world for these purposes. For example, mountain logging operations in the 19th century often used narrow-gauge railways to transport logs from mill sites to market, significant sugarcane railways still operate in Cuba, Fiji, Java, the Philippines, and Queensland. Narrow-gauge railway equipment remains in use for the construction of tunnels. Extensive narrow-gauge railway systems served the front-line trenches of both sides in World War I and they were a short-lived military application, and after the end of the war, the surplus equipment from these created a small boom in narrow gauge railway building in Europe. Narrow-gauge railways usually cost less to build because they are lighter in construction, using smaller cars and locomotives, as well as smaller bridges, smaller tunnels. Narrow gauge is often used in mountainous terrain, where the savings in civil engineering work can be substantial. It is also used in populated areas where the potential demand is too low for broader gauge railways to be economically viable. This is the case in some of Australia and most of Southern Africa, the use of such railways has almost vanished due to the capabilities of modern trucks. In many countries, narrow gauge railways were built as feeder or branch lines to feed traffic to more important standard gauge lines, the choice was often not between a narrow-gauge railway and a standard gauge one, but between a narrow-gauge railway and none at all. Some bulk commodities, such as coal, ore, and gravel, can be transshipped, but this still incurs time penalties
7.
Okinawa Prefecture
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The larger are mostly high islands and the smaller ones are mostly coral islands. The largest of the islands is Okinawa, the climate of the islands ranges from humid subtropical climate in the north to tropical rainforest climate in the south. Precipitation is very high, and is affected by the rainy season, the islands beyond the Tokara Strait are characterized by their coral reefs. The Amami, Okinawa, Miyako, and Yaeyama Islands have a native population collectively called the Ryukyuan people, the varied Ryukyuan languages are traditionally spoken on these islands, and the major islands have their own distinct languages. In modern times, the Japanese language is the language of the islands. The northern islands are called the Satsunan Islands, while the southern part of the chain are called the Ryukyu Islands in Japanese. Following are the grouping and names used by the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department of the Japan Coast Guard, the islands are listed from north to south where possible. Nansei Islands Satsunan Islands Ōsumi Islands with, Tanegashima, Yaku, Kuchinoerabu, Mageshima in the North-Eastern Group and they agreed on February 15,2010, to use Amami-guntō for the Amami Islands, prior to that, Amami-shotō had also been used. The English and Japanese uses of the term Ryukyu differ, in English, the term Ryukyu may apply to the entire chain of islands, while in Japanese Ryukyu usually refers only to the islands that were previously part of the Ryūkyū Kingdom after 1624. Nansei-shotō is the name for the whole island chain in Japanese. Japan has used the name on nautical charts since 1907, based on the Japanese charts, the international chart series uses Nansei Shoto. Nansei literally means southwest, the direction of the chain from mainland Japan. Some humanities scholars prefer the uncommon term Ryūkyū-ko for the island chain. In geology, however, the Ryukyu Arc includes subsurface structures such as the Okinawa Trough, the name of Ryūkyū is strongly associated with the Ryūkyū Kingdom, a kingdom that originated from the Okinawa Islands and subjected the Sakishima and Amami Islands. The name is considered outdated in Japanese although some entities of Okinawa still bear the name. In Japanese, the Ryukyu Islands cover only the Okinawa, Miyako, the northern half of the island chain is referred to as the Satsunan Islands in Japanese, as opposed to Northern Ryukyu Islands in English. Humanities scholars generally agree that the Amami, Okinawa, Miyako, there is, however, no good name for the group. The native population do not have their own name, since they do not recognize themselves as a group this size, Ryukyu is the principal candidate because it roughly corresponds to the maximum extent of the Ryūkyū Kingdom
8.
Shinkansen
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The Shinkansen is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by five Japan Railways Group companies. The nickname bullet train is used in English for these high-speed trains. The maximum operating speed is 320 km/h, test runs have reached 443 km/h for conventional rail in 1996, and up to a world record 603 km/h for maglev trains in April 2015. Shinkansen literally means new trunk line, referring to the rail line network. The name Superexpress, initially used for Hikari trains, was retired in 1972 but is used in English-language announcements. The original Tōkaidō Shinkansen, connecting the largest cities of Tokyo, carrying 151 million passengers per year, and at over 5 billion total passengers it has transported more passengers than any other high-speed line in the world. The service on the line operates much larger trains and at higher frequency than most other high speed lines in the world. At peak times, the line carries up to thirteen trains per hour in direction with sixteen cars each with a minimum headway of three minutes between trains. While the Shinkansen network has been expanding, Japans declining population is expected to cause ridership to decline over time, the recent expansion in tourism has boosted ridership marginally. Japan was the first country to build dedicated railway lines for high-speed travel, because of the mountainous terrain, the existing network consisted of 1,067 mm narrow-gauge lines, which generally took indirect routes and could not be adapted to higher speeds. Consequently, Japan had a greater need for new high-speed lines than countries where the standard gauge or broad gauge rail system had more upgrade potential. Other significant people responsible for its development were Tadanao Miki, Tadashi Matsudaira. They were responsible for much of the development of the first line. All three had worked on aircraft design during World War II, the popular English name bullet train is a literal translation of the Japanese term dangan ressha, a nickname given to the project while it was initially being discussed in the 1930s. The name stuck because of the original 0 Series Shinkansens resemblance to a bullet and these plans were abandoned in 1943 as Japans position in World War II worsened. However, some construction did commence on the line, several tunnels on the present-day Shinkansen date to the war-era project, by the mid-1950s the Tōkaidō Line was operating at full capacity, and the Ministry of Railways decided to revisit the Shinkansen project. In 1957, Odakyu Electric Railway introduced its 3000 series SE Romancecar train and this train gave designers the confidence that they could safely build an even faster standard gauge train. Thus the first Shinkansen, the 0 series, was built on the success of the Romancecar, in the 1950s, the Japanese national attitude was that railways would soon be outdated and replaced by air travel and highways as in America and many countries in Europe
9.
High-speed rail
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High-speed rail is a type of rail transport that operates significantly faster than traditional rail traffic, using an integrated system of specialized rolling stock and dedicated tracks. The first such system began operations in Japan in 1964 and was known as the bullet train. High-speed trains normally operate on standard gauge tracks of continuously welded rail on grade-separated right-of-way that incorporates a large turning radius in its design, only in Europe does HSR cross international borders. China has 22,000 kilometres of HSR as of end December 2016, while high-speed rail is most often designed for passenger travel, some high-speed systems also offer freight service. Multiple definitions for high-speed rail are in use worldwide, the European Union Directive 96/48/EC, Annex 1 defines high-speed rail in terms of, Infrastructure, track built specially for high-speed travel or specially upgraded for high-speed travel. Minimum Speed Limit, Minimum speed of 250 km/h on lines built for high speed. This must apply to at least one section of the line, Rolling stock must be able to reach a speed of at least 200 km/h to be considered high speed. Operating conditions, Rolling stock must be designed alongside its infrastructure for complete compatibility, safety and quality of service, category II – Existing tracks specially upgraded for high speeds, allowing a maximum running speed of at least 200 km/h. Category III – Existing tracks specially upgraded for high speeds, allowing a maximum running speed of at least 200 km/h, the UIC prefers to use definitions because they consider that there is no single standard definition of high-speed rail, nor even standard usage of the terms. They make use of the European EC Directive 96/48, stating that high speed is a combination of all the elements which constitute the system, infrastructure, rolling stock and operating conditions. The International Union of Railways states that high-speed rail is a set of unique features, many conventionally hauled trains are able to reach 200 km/h in commercial service but are not considered to be high-speed trains. These include the French SNCF Intercités and German DB IC, National domestic standards may vary from the international ones. Railways were the first form of land transportation and had an effective monopoly on passenger traffic until the development of the motor car. Speed had always been an important factor for railroads and they tried to achieve higher speeds. The line used three-phase current at 10 kilovolts and 45 Hz, on 23 October 1903, the S&H-equipped railcar achieved a speed of 206.7 km/h and on 27 October the AEG-equipped railcar achieved 210.2 km/h. These trains demonstrated the feasibility of electric high-speed rail, however, after the breakthrough of electric railroads, it was clearly the infrastructure – especially the cost of it – which hampered the introduction of high-speed rail. Several disasters happened – derailments, head-on collisions on single-track lines, collisions with traffic at grade crossings. The physical laws were well-known, i. e. if the speed was doubled, the radius should be quadrupled
10.
JR Bus
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JR Bus collectively refers to the bus operations of Japan Railways Group companies in Japan. JR Bus is operated by eight companies, each owned by a JR railway company. JR Bus companies provide regional, long distance, and chartered bus services, the Ministry of Railways of Japan started its first bus operation in Aichi Prefecture in 1930 and gradually expanded bus routes. The Japanese National Railways, public corporation established in 1949, succeeded the bus operations, in 1987, JNR was divided into regional railway companies together with its bus operations. JR companies later separated their bus operations to subsidiaries in 1988,2000,2001 and 2004, JR Bus Tohoku, JR Bus Kanto, JR Tokai Bus and Chugoku JR Bus share a common livery based on the JNR Bus livery
11.
Shimonoseki Station
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Shimonoseki Station is a railway station on the Sanyo Main Line, operated by West Japan Railway Company in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Japan. Kyushu Railway Company and Japan Freight Railway Company services also use this station, the company boundary between JR West and JR Kyushu is at the west end of this station where there is an entrance signal from Moji. West Japan Railway Company Sanyo Main Line Sanin Main Line Next station Hatabu is the station of Sanin Line. All trains run to Shimonoseki through the Sanyo Main Line, Kyushu Railway Company Sanyo Main Line 27 May 1901, Opened as Bakan Station of Sanyō Railway. The station was located about 700m east from todays location,1 June 1902, Changed to Shimonoseki Station according to the change of the city name. 11 September 1905, Sanyō Railway started Kanfu Renrakusen,1 December 1906, Sanyō Railway was nationarized. 20 December 1930, Kawasaki Ship started Kanrei Renrakusen,27 November 1938, Sanyō Electric Tram Station was open in front of the station. 1 July 1942, Kanmon Tunnel was opened,15 November 1942, Station was moved to todays location. 25 December 1946, Tram station was moved in front of the new station,31 October 1964, Kanmon Renrakusen stopped. 1 April 1987, Privatization of JNR, the station part of the JR West network. 29 September 1999, Shimonoseki Station massacre, at least 5 deaths with 10 injuries,7 January 2006, A main station building fire with collapsed, and a 74-year-old man arrested of suspiction of arson. The Orient ferry to Qingdao in China regularly, the Orient ferry to Shanghai in China regularly. Shimonoseki Station Bus Terminal, Intercity bus services go to the destinations, Osaka, Kobe, Fukuoka, Kitakyushu Airport
12.
Shimonoseki
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Shimonoseki is a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. It is at the tip of Honshu, facing the Tsushima Strait. Nicknamed the Fugu Capital, it is known for the locally caught pufferfish and is the largest harvester of the pufferfish in Japan, as of October 1,2016, the city has an estimated population of 265,684 and a population density of 370 persons per km². The total area is 716.14 km², the Heike and Genji fought at Dan-no-ura near the present Kanmonkyo Bridge. The city prior to 1902 was commonly known as Bakan and formally Akamagaseki, on February 13,2005, Shimonoseki absorbed the towns of Hōhoku, Kikugawa, Toyota and Toyoura to create the new and expanded city of Shimonseki. Since October 1,2005, the city has designated as a core city by the Japanese Government. An Imperial decree in July 1899 established Shimonoseki as a port for trading with the United States. On January 7,2006, the station building at Shimonoseki station, which had dated back to 1942, was destroyed in a fire. Shimonoseki has a subtropical climate with hot summers and cool winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is heavier in summer, Shimonoseki Shipyard and Machinery Works Yamaguchi Financial Group, Inc. Yamaguchi Shimbun Minato Shimbun The Kanpu ferry to Pusan in South Korea regularly, the Gwangyang Beech to Gwangyang in South Korea regularly. The Orient ferry to Shanghai in China regularly, the Orient ferry to Qingdao in China was suspended in November 2015. Shin-Shimonoseki Station - Shin-Shimonoseki Station is a station on the Sanyō Shinkansen Line. Intercity bus services go to the destinations, Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Fukuoka Airport. It formerly housed two other North Korean schools, Yamaguchi Korean High School and Shimonoseki Korean Elementary and Junior High School, Fugu uni Sea urchin Whale Anko Goosefish Kawara Soba Ganryu Yaki Mentaiko Roe Fuku Chochin Akamagaseki Suzuri Jourou Ningyo Shimonoseki is home to many festivals that are held throughout the year. Of these, the most famous are Shimonoseki Kaikyo Festival and Shimonoseki Bakan Festival, a designated yakuza group, the Goda-ikka is the largest yakuza syndicate in Yamaguchi Prefecture. S. Shimonoseki City Tourism Promotion Film Shimonoseki City Official Channel
13.
Kitakyushu
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Kitakyushu is one of two designated cities in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, together with Fukuoka, with a population of over 1 million people. Kokura Prefecture was founded separately from Fukuoka Prefecture in 1871 when the system was abolished. The old wooden-built Kokura Prefectural Office is still standing and is being restored, in 1876, Kokura Prefecture was absorbed by Fukuoka Prefecture. The city of Kokura was founded in 1900, Yahata in Kitakyushu was the target for the beginning of the US bombing raids on the home islands on June 16,1944, when 75 Boeing B-29 Superfortresses flew out from mainland China. Kokura was the target of the nuclear weapon Fat Man on August 9,1945. Major Charles Sweeney had orders to drop the bomb visually, all three attempts failed due to clouds and smoke from Yahata, which is only 7 km west of Kokura and had air raids on the previous day, preventing him from identifying the target clearly. Additionally, a screen was created by industrial workers burning barrels of coal tar and/or electric plant workers releasing steam. The bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki, the secondary target. The city of Kitakyushu was founded on February 10,1963 and was designated on April 1,1963 by government ordinance, the city was born from the merger of five municipalities centered around the ancient feudal city of Kokura. The citys symbol mark is a flower with the north in the middle. Kitakyushu has seven wards, The city of Nakama, Fukuoka was to become the ward of Kitakyushu in 2005. However, the merger was rejected on December 24,2004 by Nakamas city council, as of April 1,2014, the city had an estimated population of 963,267 and a total area of 489.60 km². The average population density is thus 1,967 persons per km² and it is now the countrys 15th most populated city. It has a larger total area than that of Fukuoka which is only 340.03 km². The 1986 family movie Koneko Monogatari was filmed here, the English version of the film, which is the story of the friendship of a kitten and a pug dog, was released in America in 1989 as The Adventures of Milo and Otis. The 1958 comedy Rickshaw Man is based on a folk hero of Kokura called Muhomatsu or Wild Pine and has been called the Japanese Desperado. He is celebrated in the Kokura Gion Yamagasa festival, toshiro Mifune plays the taiko drum in this movie. There are festivals held in the summer in the city, including the Tobata Gion Yamagasa festival in Tobata-ku, kurosaki Gion It has been designated as an intangible cultural asset of Fukuoka Prefecture
14.
JR Miyajima Ferry
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JR Miyajima Ferry is the ferry route between Miyajimaguchi, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima and Miyajima. JR Miyajima Ferries are operated by JR West Miyajima Ferry Co. Ltd. a wholly owned subsidiary of West Japan Railway Company, there are three ferries called Miyajima-maru, Nanaura-maru and Misen-maru. Between Miyajima-guchi and Miyajima, it takes ten minutes, the private boat route was founded in 1897. The ferry route was placed to the company in 1899. The ferry route was bought by Sanyo Railway in 1903, Sanyo Railway was nationalized as part of the Japanese Government Railways in 1906. Japanese National Railways were privatized in 1987, operation in Hiroshima area was assigned to JR West. JR West transferred the business to its new subsidiary JR West Miyajima Ferry Co. Ltd. on April 1,2009. The route, commonly called Miyajima Renrakusen, was one of those classified as tetsudō renrakusen, all other JR renrakusen routes were closed by 1990 and the JR Miyajima Ferry was the last one of that kind until its separation in 2009. Miyajima-guchi Miyajima Miyajima Matsudai Kisen - operates a similar route JR Miyajima Ferry
15.
Miyajimaguchi Station
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Miyajimaguchi Station is a JR station on JR Sanyō Main Line in Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima. From the pier near the station there are services for Miyajima by JR Miyajima Ferry. Opened on September 25,1897 as a station of Sanyo Railway called Miyajima Station, renamed as Miyajimaguchi Station on April 1,1942. Privatized as JR West on April 1,1987, anago-meshi, a box lunch, rice with kabayaki of congridae JR West
16.
Miyajima, Hiroshima
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Miyajima was a town located on the island of Itsukushima in Saeki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the town had an population of 2,018. The total area was 30.39 km², on November 3,2005, Miyajima, along with the town of Ōno, was merged into the expanded city of Hatsukaichi. In August 2004, both Hatsukaichi and the city of Hiroshima expressed an interest in annexing the town, the people in Miyajima supported Hatsukaichi. A committee for discussing the merger was created as soon as possible and the town was amalgamated with the city of Hatsukaichi on November 3,2005
17.
Kure, Hiroshima
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Kure is a port and major shipbuilding city situated on the Seto Inland Sea in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. With a strong industrial heritage Kure hosts the second oldest naval dockyard in Japan, as of May 1,2015, the city has an estimated population of 228,030 and a population density of 646 persons per km². The total area is 352.80 km², the Kure Naval District was first established in 1889, leading to the construction of the Kure Naval Arsenal and the rapid growth of both steel production and shipbuilding in the city. The city itself was incorporated on October 1,1902. From 1889 until the end of World War II, the city served as the headquarters of the Kure Naval District, during the Pacific War, Kure acted as Japans single largest naval base and arsenal. Most of the industry and workforce were employed in the service of the naval installations, munitions factories. In the later stages of the conflict Kure came under sustained aerial bombardment culminating in the Bombing of Kure in June, from February 1946 until the end of Japans postwar occupation in 1952, military establishments in Kure served at the operational headquarters for the British Commonwealth Occupation Force. July 1,1889 — Kure Naval District established,1895 — Kure naval shipyard established, initially as a subsidiary of the Onohama Shipyards in Kobe. October 1,1902 — The towns of Washō and Futagawa, november 10,1903 — Kure Naval Arsenal established. December 27,1903 Kure rail line opens providing direct access to Hiroshima April 1,1928 — The towns of Kegoya, Yoshiura. April 21,1941 — The town of Nigata and the village of Hiro incorporated into Kure, may 5,1945 — Bombing of Hiro Naval Arsenal. June 22,1945 — Bombing of Kure Naval Arsenal, July 1,1945 — Kure Air Raid. July 24–28,1945 — Battle of Kure, American bombers attack the fleet in Kure Naval Base. July 1,1954 — Japan Maritime Self Defense Forces founded, October 1,1956 — The town of Tennō and the village of Shōwa in Aki District, and the village of Gōhara in Kamo District merge into Kure. November 1,2000 — Kure becomes a Special City April 1,2003 — The town of Shimokamagari was merged into Kure, April 1,2004 —The town of Kawajiri was merged into Kure. March 20,2005 — The towns of Ondo, Kurahashi and Kamagari, the city continues as a major maritime center hosting both the dockyards of Japan Marine United and numerous shore based facilities of the JMSDF including training centers and a major hospital. The city serves as the port of an Escort Flotilla, a Submarine Flotilla. Since 2005 Kure has also attracted attention as a center with the Yamato Museum hosting a 1,10 scale model of the battleship Yamato alongside a waterfront JMSDF museum of naval history
18.
Matsuyama, Ehime
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Matsuyama is the capital city of Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku in Japan and also Shikokus largest city, with a population of 516,459 as of December 1,2014. It is located on the portion of the Dōgo Plain. The city was founded on December 15,1889, the city is known for its hot springs, among the oldest in Japan, and is home to the Dōgo Onsen Honkan, a Meiji Period wooden public bathhouse dating from 1894. A second favorite tourist spot is Matsuyama Castle, eight of the eighty-eight temples in the Shikoku Pilgrimage are in Matsuyama. Matsuyama was in medieval times part of the Iyo-Matsuyama Domain, a fiefdom of Iyo Province consisting mainly of a castle town, supporting Matsuyama Castle. There was a village at Dōgo Onsen to the east. Dōgo Onsen was already famous in the Asuka period, as Shotoku Taishi visited the spa in the year 596 and it is also mentioned in passing in The Tale of Genji. The site of the former Yuzuki Castle is nearby, famous shrines of the city include Isaniwa Jinja, built in 1667. The haiku poet Masaoka Shiki lived in Matsuyama and his house, now known as the Shiki-do, and a museum, the Shiki Memorial Museum, are popular attractions, and the centerpieces of the citys claim as a center of the international haiku movement. Other famous haiku poets associated with Matsuyama include Kurita Chodō, whose Kōshin-an was visited by Kobayashi Issa, Shikis followers, Takahama Kyoshi and Kawahigashi Hekigoto, santokas house, known as Isso-an, is also a tourist attraction and is periodically open to the public. The Matsuyama Declaration of 1999 proposed the formation of International Haiku Research Center, recipients have included Yves Bonnefoy, Cor van den Heuvel and Gary Snyder. The famed novel Botchan by Natsume Sōseki is set in Matsuyama, as a result, there are numerous sites and locales named after the main character, including Botchan Stadium, the Botchan Ressha, and Botchan dango. Matsuyama also figures in works by Shiba Ryōtarō, notably his popular novel. In anticipation of the upcoming NHK Taiga drama adaptation of Saka no ue no kumo, Matsuyama was also the setting of a 1907 novel about the Russo-Japanese War, As the Hague Ordains, by American writer Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore. Matsuyama figures in the novel because the city housed a camp for Russian prisoners during the war, a Russian cemetery commemorates this important episode in Matsuyama history. As of the most recent merger, on January 1,2005, absorbing the city of Hōjō, and town of Nakajima, the city had an population of 512,982. The total area is 428.86 km², Matsuyama is home to several universities including Ehime University and several private colleges, including Matsuyama University and Matsuyama Shinonome College. The Museum of Art, Ehime is the main art museum
19.
Yanai
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Yanai is a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on March 31,1954, the interchange and the expressway is located in the east. As of October 1,2016, the city has an population of 32,490. The total area is 139.90 km², on February 21,2005, the town of Ōbatake was merged into Yanai
20.
Aomori, Aomori
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Aomori is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in the northern Tōhoku region of northern Japan. As of September 2015, the city had an population of 288,029. The total area of the city was 824.61 square kilometres, Aomori literally means blue forest, although it could possibly be translated as green forest. The name is considered to refer to a small forest on a hill which existed near the town. This forest was used by fishermen as a landmark. A different theory suggests the name might have derived from the Ainu language. The large scale of these settlements revolutionized theories on Jōmon period civilization, during the Heian period, the area was part of the holdings of the Northern Fujiwara clan, but remained inhabited by the Emishi people well into the historic period. After the start of the Edo period, Aomori was a port settlement for Hirosaki Domain called Utō. The town was rebuilt in 1626 by Moriyama Yashichirō, under orders of the daimyō, Tsugaru Nobuhira and renamed Aomori, after the Meiji Restoration the various domains were abolished and replaced with prefectures, a total of six in the territory of modern Aomori Prefecture. These were merged into the short-lived Hirosaki Prefecture in July 1871, however, Aomori was not given town status within Higashitsugaru District until April 1,1889, and was not designated a city until April 1,1898. The Hokkaidō Colonization Office began operations of a service from Aomori to Hakodate in Hokkaido from 1872. In September 1891, Aomori was connected with Tokyo by rail with the opening of the Tōhoku Main Line, the Ōu Main Line running along the Sea of Japan coast opened in December 1894. The 8th Division of the Imperial Japanese Army were stationed in Aomori from 1896, much of the town burned down in a large fire on May 3,1910. The port facilities were expanded in 1924, and the city received its first bus services in 1926, Japan Air Transport began scheduled air services from 1937. The July 28–29 bombing claimed 1,767 lives and destroyed 88% of the city, in the post war period, Aomori rebuilt as the local political and commercial center. The Tsugaru Line railway opened in 1951, and Aomori Airport in 1964, the city was connected to Tokyo by highway in 1979 with the opening of the Tōhoku Expressway. Aomori’s landmark pyramidal Aomori Prefectural Tourist Center opened in 1986, on October 1,2002, Aomori was proclaimed a core city with increased autonomy from the central government. On April 1,2005, the town of Namioka was merged into Aomori, Aomori is located in central Aomori Prefecture, between the southern end of Mutsu Bay, which it faces to the north and the Hakkōda Mountains to the south
21.
Hakodate Station
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Hakodate Station is a railway station on the Hakodate Main Line in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan, operated by the Hokkaido Railway Company. In addition to services, the following long-distance trains serve Hakodate Station. Hakodate station first opened on 10 December 1902, the current station building was opened on 21 June 2003. Shinkansen services stop at Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station, approximately 18 km away from Hakodate Station since 26 March 2016, relay shuttle services using three-car 733 series electric trains operate between Hakodate and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station
22.
Hakodate, Hokkaido
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Hakodate is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of July 31,2011, the city has an population of 279,851 with 143,221 households. The total area is 677.77 km2, the city is now the third biggest in Hokkaido after Sapporo and Asahikawa. Hakodate was Japans first city whose port was opened to trade in 1854 as a result of Convention of Kanagawa. Also, the city had been the biggest city in Hokkaido before the Great Hakodate Fire of 1934, Hakodate was founded in 1454, when Kono Kaganokami Masamichi constructed a large manor house in the Ainu fishing village of Usukeshi. There was constant low level conflict in the Oshima peninsula at the time with the Ainu as armed merchants like the Kono family established bases to trade in the region. This conflict culminated in an uprising from 1669 to 1672, led by Ainu warrior Shakushain after which the Ainu in the region were suppressed, Hakodate flourished during the Hoei period and many new temples were founded in the area. In 1779, the Tokugawa shogunate took direct control over Hakodate, merchant Takadaya Kahei, who is honoured as the founder of Hakodate port, set up trading operations, which included opening the northern Etorofu sea route to the Kuril island fisheries. He is credited with turning Hakodate from a trading outpost into a thriving city, a Hakodate magistracy was established in 1802. The port of Hakodate was surveyed by a fleet of five U. S. ships in 1854 under the conditions of the Convention of Kanagawa, as negotiated by Commodore Matthew Perry. S. A mariner in Perrys fleet died during a visit to the area and he stayed in Hakodate until 1884, during which time he documented the local natural environment, equipped the local meteorological station and ran guns to the Boshin War rebels. As one of few points of Japanese contact with the outside world, the Russian consulate included a chapel from where Nicholas of Japan is credited with introducing Eastern Orthodox Christianity to Japan in 1861. The Orthodox church is neighbored by several other historical missionary churches, including Anglican, Hakodate also played a central role in the Boshin War between the Tokugawa shogunate and the Meiji Emperor which followed Perrys opening of Japan. Shogunate rebel Enomoto Takeaki fled to Hakodate with the remnants of his navy and his handful of French advisers in winter 1868 and they formally established the Republic of Ezo on December 25. The republic tried unsuccessfully to gather international recognition to foreign legations in Hakodate, including the Americans, French, the rebels occupied Hakodates famous European-style Goryōkaku fort and used it as the centre of their defences in southern Hokkaido. Government forces defeated the secessionists in the Battle of Hakodate in 1869, military leader, Hijikata Toshizō, was one of those slain in the fighting. In 1878, Isabella Bird reported of the city in her travelogue, The streets are wide and clean
23.
Tamano
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Tamano is a city located in southern Okayama Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on August 3,1940. As of May 1,2011, the city has an population of 64,980, with 27,933 households. The total area is 103.61 km², JR Uno Line connects it to Okayama. Before the Great Seto Bridge was opened, there was a ferry between Uno Port in Tamano and Takamatsu on Shikoku and Tamano was the major entrance to Shikoku. Still today there are many ferry lines between Uno port and Takamatsu, Shodoshima and Naoshima Islands and its major industry is ship construction and metal refining. Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding has a shipbuilding yard Tamano and it is one of the major shipbuilding yards in Japan. Tamano has three international Sister Cities and they are, Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Media related to Tamano, Okayama at Wikimedia Commons Tamano City official website
24.
Takamatsu Station (Kagawa)
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Takamatsu Station is a railway station on the Yosan and Kōtoku lines in Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan. It is operated by Shikoku Railway Company, the station is the terminus of the Yosan Line and the Kōtoku Line. The station opened on 21 February 1897, with the privatization of JNR on 1 April 1987, the station came under the control of JR Shikoku. National Route 30 List of railway stations in Japan Takamatsu Station
25.
Takamatsu, Kagawa
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Takamatsu is a city located in central Kagawa Prefecture on the island of Shikoku in Japan, and is the capital city of the prefectural government. It is designated a city by the Japanese Government. It is a city located on the Seto Inland Sea. For this reason it flourished under the Daimyo as a town in the fiefdom of Takamatsu. The castle tower formerly used as the symbol of the city was destroyed during the Meiji Period, in 2004, construction of the Symbol Tower, the new symbol of Takamatsu, was completed. The Symbol Tower is located in the Sunport area of the city, the Symbol Tower is the tallest building in Takamatsu, and is right next to another tall building The JR Clement Hotel, which is also part of the Sunport complex. The Sunport Takamatsu covers the area of the Symbol Tower, the JR Clement Hotel, the Takamatsu Bus station is also located right next to Maritime Plaza. Various Buses including the Kotoden Bus run through town, to Ritsurin Park, Sunport Takamatsu is also connected to the ports of Takamatsu. The Takamatsu metropolitan region has a population of 838,788, Takamatsu Airport is located in Takamatsu. On September 26,2005, the town of Shionoe was merged into Takamatsu, on January 10,2006, Takamatsu absorbed the towns of Aji and Mure, the towns of Kagawa and Kōnan, and the town of Kokubunji to create the new and expanded city of Takamatsu. As of October 1,2010, the city has an population of 419,429 with a population density of 1,118 persons per km². The total area is 375.11 square kilometres following the September 26,2005, the city was officially founded on February 15,1890. It had been a political and economic center in this area since the Edo period when the Matsudaira clan made Takamatsu the capital of their han. On July 3,1945 towards the end of World War II, over 800 tons of incendiary bombs were dropped on Takamatsu, destroying 78% of the built up areas of the city. The citys major tourist attraction is Ritsurin Garden, a feudal lord garden created in the Edo period, Takamatsu Castle is known for using seawater in its moat and recently the old keep of the castle was successfully restored and opened for public viewing. In the east of Takamatsu City lies the Yashima lava plateau which is home to various sightseing spots, at the base of the mountain is the open air museum Shikoku Mura where aspects of regional history and culture are exhibited. On the mountain itself is Yashima-ji, number 84 of the Shikoku 88 temple pilgrimage, at the top of the mountain there is also an observation deck which offers views across the Seto Inland Sea. Takamatsu also acts as a hub to various islands of the Seto Inland Sea
26.
History of rail transport in Japan
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This article is part of the history of rail transport by country series. The history of transport in Japan began in the late Edo period. The British also demonstrated a steam locomotive in Nagasaki, saga Domain, a Japanese feudal domain, made a working model and planned to construct a line. Bodies such as the Satsuma Domain and the Tokugawa shogunate reviewed railway construction from Edo to Kyoto via an inland route, but a line did not come to reality before the Meiji Restoration. Whilst the Emperor of Japan, based in Kyoto, was the ruler of the country, since circa 1600 Japan had been effectively ruled by the Tokugawa Shogunate. Just prior to the fall of the Shogunate, the Tokugawa regime issued a grant to the American diplomat Anton L. C, portman to construct a line from Yokohama to Edo, but this grant was not continued by the new regime. On September 12,1872, the first railway, between Shimbashi and Yokohama opened, a one-way trip took 53 minutes in comparison to 40 minutes for a modern electric train. Service started with nine round trips daily, British engineer Edmund Morel supervised construction of the first railway on Honshu during the last year of his life, American engineer Joseph U. Crowford supervised construction of a mine railway on Hokkaidō in 1880. All three trained Japanese engineers to undertake railway projects, two men trained by Crowford later became presidents of Japan National Railways. A bronze bust of Morel in Yokohama, a statue of Crowford in the Temiya Railway Memorial Museum. The precise reason why a track gauge of 3 ft 6 in came to be selected remains uncertain. It seems most likely, however, that Morels previous experience building Cape gauge railways in similar New Zealand terrain was a significant influence, and Cape gauge became the de facto standard. The next line constructed was from another port, Kobe, to the commercial city of Osaka. Linking Tokyo to Nagoya and Kyoto became the next priority, initially the proposed route was inland, from Tokyo north to Takasaki, then west through the Usui Pass to Karuizawa and the Kiso River valley. At this time the Nippon Railway Co. became the first to be granted a concession to operate what became the Tohoku Main Line from Ueno to Aomori, with a branch line from Omiya to Takasaki. Construction of both lines was undertaken by the Government at the expense, with the government having running rights on the Takasaki-Ueno section. The line to Takasaki opened in 1884, as did the Tohoku line as far as Utsunomiya, the NRC also financed a new line linking to the Yokohama line which was built from Akabane via Shinjuku to Shinagawa
27.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
28.
Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers
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The Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the Allied occupation of Japan following World War II. In Japan, the position was referred to as GHQ, as SCAP also referred to the offices of the occupation. Some of these personnel effectively wrote a first draft of the Japanese Constitution, australian, British, Indian, and New Zealand forces under SCAP were organized into a sub-command known as British Commonwealth Occupation Force. Biographer William Manchester argues that without MacArthurs leadership, Japan would not have been able to make the move from an imperial, totalitarian state, at his appointment, MacArthur announced that he sought to restore security, dignity and self-respect to the Japanese people. As soon as November 26,1945, MacArthur confirmed to admiral Mitsumasa Yonai that the abdication would not be necessary. The deal was concluded in 1948, patrick Lennox Tierney had an intimate perspective on events which unfolded in SCAP headquarters. Tierneys office was on the floor of the Dai-Ichi Insurance Building in Tokyo. He was there on the day the Emperor came to offer this apology, many years later, Tierney made an effort to explain his understanding of the significance of what he had personally witnessed, Apology is a very important thing in Japan. Issues which might have been addressed were allowed to remain open, the CCD eventually banned a total of 31 topics from all forms of media. These topics included, Criticism of SCAP, Criticism of Allied policy pre- and post-war. Praise of “undemocratic” forms of government, though praise of SCAP itself was permitted, open discussion of allied diplomatic relations. Although some of the CCD censorship laws considerably relaxed towards the end of SCAP, some topics, MacArthur was succeeded as SCAP by General Matthew Ridgway when MacArthur was relieved by President Harry S. Truman during the Korean War in April 1951. With the Treaty of San Francisco, the post of SCAP lapsed, bix, Herbert P. Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan. ISBN 978-0-06-019314-0, OCLC247018161 Dower, John W. Embracing Defeat, ISBN 978-0-393-04686-1, OCLC39143090 Gold, Hal. Japans Wartime Human Experimentation and the Post-War Cover-up, ISBN 978-4-900737-39-6, OCLC422879915 Lind, Jennifer. Sorry States, Apologies in International Politics Ithaca, Cornell University Press, ISBN 978-0-8014-4625-2, OCLC214322850 Manchester, William. New York, Little, Brown and Company, pp 459-544, ISBN 0-316-54498-1 Yoshida, Yukihiko, Jane Barlow and Witaly Osins, ballet teachers who worked in postwar Japan, and their students, Pan-Asian Journal of Sports & Physical Education, Vol.3,2012. Japanese Press Translations Collection from Dartmouth College Library
29.
National Diet
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The National Diet is Japans bicameral legislature. It is composed of a house called the House of Representatives. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under parallel voting systems, in addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally responsible for selecting the Prime Minister. The Diet was first convened as the Imperial Diet in 1889 as a result of adopting the Meiji Constitution, the Diet took its current form in 1947 upon the adoption of the post-war constitution and is considered by the Constitution to be the highest organ of state power. The National Diet Building is located in Nagatachō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, the houses of the Diet are both elected under parallel voting systems. Voters are also asked to cast two votes, one for a candidate in a constituency, and one for a party list. Any national of Japan at least 18 years of age may vote in these elections, Japans parallel voting system is not to be confused with the Additional Member System used in many other nations. House of Councillors, Of 242 members,146 are elected from 47 prefectural constituencies by means of the Single Non-Transferable Vote, the remaining 96 are elected by open list PR from a single national list. However it does guarantee universal adult suffrage and a secret ballot and it also insists that the electoral law must not discriminate in terms of race, creed, sex, social status, family origin, education, property or income. Generally, the election of Diet members is controlled by statutes passed by the Diet and this is a source of contention concerning re-apportionment of prefectures seats in response to changes of population distribution. For example, the Liberal Democratic Party had controlled Japan for most of its post-war history, in recent elections the malapportionment ratio amounted to 4.8 in the House of Councillors and 2.3 in the House of Representatives. Candidates for the house must be 25 years old or older and 30 years or older for the upper house. All candidates must be Japanese nationals, under Article 49 of Japans Constitution, Diet members are paid about ¥1.3 million a month in salary. Article 41 of the Constitution describes the National Diet as the highest organ of State power and this statement is in forceful contrast to the Meiji Constitution, which described the Emperor as the one who exercised legislative power with the consent of the Diet. The Diets responsibilities include not only the making of laws but also the approval of the national budget that the government submits. It can also initiate draft constitutional amendments, which, if approved, the Diet may conduct investigations in relation to government. The Prime Minister must be designated by Diet resolution, establishing the principle of legislative supremacy over executive government agencies, the government can also be dissolved by the Diet if it passes a motion of no confidence introduced by fifty members of the House of Representatives. Government officials, including the Prime Minister and Cabinet members, are required to appear before Diet investigative committees, the Diet also has the power to impeach judges convicted of criminal or irregular conduct
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