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.
Philippine Sea
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The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea east and northeast of the Philippines occupying an estimated surface area of 5 million km². of the western part of the North Pacific Ocean. The sea has a complex and diverse undersea relief, the floor is formed into a structural basin by a series of geologic faults and fracture zones. Island arcs, which are actually extended ridges protruding above the surface due to plate tectonic activity in the area, enclose the Philippine Sea to the north, east. The Philippine archipelago, Ryukyu Islands, and the Marianas are examples, another prominent feature of the Philippine Sea is the presence of deep sea trenches, among them the Philippine Trench and the Mariana Trench, containing the deepest point on the planet. The Philippine Sea is by the Philippines and Taiwan to the west, Japan to the north, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the Philippine Sea as that area of the North Pacific Ocean off the Eastern coasts of the Philippine Islands, bounded as follows, On the West. By the Eastern limits of the East Indian Archipelago, South China Sea, by the Southeast coast of Kyushu, the Southern and Eastern limits of the Inland Sea and the South coast of Honshu Island. By the ridge joining Japan to the Bonin, Volcano and Ladrone Islands, by a line joining Guam, Yap, Pelew and Halmahera Islands. The Philippine Sea Plate forms the floor of the Philippine Sea and it subducts under the Philippine Mobile Belt which carries most of the Philippine archipelago and eastern Taiwan. Between the two plates is the Philippine Trench, the Philippine Sea hosts an exotic marine ecosystem. About five hundred species of hard and soft corals occur in the waters and 20 per cent of the worldwide known shellfish species are found in Philippine waters. Sea turtles, sharks, moray eels, octopuses and sea snakes along with species of fish such as tuna can commonly be observed. Additionally, the Philippine Sea serves as spawning ground for Japanese eel, tuna, later it was discovered by other Spanish explorers from 1522 to 1565 and the site of the famous galleon trade route. Between June 19 and 20,1944, the Battle of the Philippine Sea took place in the eastern Philippine Sea, the aircraft carriers Taihō, Shōkaku, Junyō, Hiyō and Ryuho were bombed, torpedoed and sunk by American carrier-based planes and assaulted from other naval vessels. The aerial part of the Battle of the Philippine Sea was nicknamed the “Great Marianas Turkey Shoot” due to losses of Japanese aircraft. The battle facilitated the Allied conquests of Saipan, Guam and Tinian in the Marianas, Palau in the Southwest, following an escalation of the Spratly Islands dispute in 2011, various Philippine government agencies started using the neologism West Philippine Sea to refer to the South China Sea. However, a PAGASA spokesperson said that the sea to the east of the Philippines will continue to be called the Philippine Sea, Philippine Trench Philippine Sea Plate Benham Rise Devils Sea
3.
Ryukyu Islands
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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
4.
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
5.
Geography of Japan
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Japan is an island nation in East Asia comprising a stratovolcanic archipelago extending along the continents Pacific coast. It lies between 24° to 46° north latitude and from 123° to 146° east longitude, the closest neighboring country to Japan is the Russian Federation. The major islands, sometimes called the Home Islands, are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, there are 6,852 islands in total, including the Nansei Islands, the Nanpo Islands and islets, with 430 islands being inhabited and others uninhabited. In total, as of 2006, Japans territory is 377,923.1 km2, location, Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula. Ownership of the Senkaku Islands and Liancourt Rocks is in dispute, natural resources, small deposits of coal, oil, iron, and minerals. Japans highest mountain is Mount Fuji, with an elevation of 3,776 m, Japans forest cover rate is 68. 55% since the mountains are heavily forested. The only other developed nations with such a high forest cover percentage are Finland, since there is little level ground, many hills and mountainsides at lower elevations around towns and cities are often cultivated. As Japan is situated in a zone along the Pacific deeps, frequent low-intensity earth tremors. Destructive earthquakes occur several times a century, hot springs are numerous and have been exploited as an economic capital by the leisure industry. The mountainous islands of the Japanese archipelago form a crescent off the eastern coast of Asia and they are separated from the mainland by the Sea of Japan, which historically served as a protective barrier. The national territory also includes the Volcano Islands such as Iwo Jima, excluding disputed territory, the archipelago covers about 377,000 square kilometers. No point in Japan is more than 150 kilometers from the sea, the four major islands are separated by narrow straits and form a natural entity. The Ryukyu Islands curve 970 kilometers southward from Kyūshū, the distance between Japan and the Korean Peninsula, the nearest point on the Asian continent, is about 200 kilometers at the Korea Strait. The Japanese islands are the summits of mountain ridges uplifted near the edge of the continental shelf. About 73 percent of Japans area is mountainous, and scattered plains, a long chain of mountains runs down the middle of the archipelago, dividing it into two halves, the face, fronting on the Pacific Ocean, and the back, toward the Sea of Japan. On the Pacific side are steep mountains 1,500 to 3,000 meters high, with deep valleys and gorges. Central Japan is marked by the convergence of the three mountain chains—the Hida, Kiso, and Akaishi mountains—that form the Japanese Alps, several of whose peaks are higher than 3,000 meters, the highest point in the Japanese Alps is Mount Kita at 3,193 meters. The highest point in the country is Mount Fuji, a volcano dormant since 1707 that rises to 3,776 meters above sea level in Shizuoka Prefecture, on the Sea of Japan side are plateaus and low mountain districts, with altitudes of 500 to 1,500 meters
6.
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
7.
Sakhalin
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Sakhalin is a large Russian island in the North Pacific Ocean, lying between 45°50 and 54°24 N. It is Russias largest island, and is administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast, Sakhalin, which is similar in shape to and about one third the size of Honshu, is just off the east coast of Russia, and just north of Japan. The population was 497,973 as of the 2010 census, made up of mostly ethnic Russians, the indigenous peoples of the island are the Ainu, Oroks and Nivkhs. Sakhalin was claimed by both Russia and Japan over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries and these disputes sometimes involved military conflict and divisions of the island between the two powers. Most Ainu on Sakhalin moved to Hokkaido, only 43 kilometres to the south, the island is known in Russian as Сахалин. In Chinese, it is known as Kuye, in Japanese, it is known as Karafuto or, borrowing the Russian appellation, as Saharin. The spelling Saghalien may be found in historical texts, the European names derive from misinterpretation of a Manchu name ᠰ᠊ᠠᡴᡥᠠᠯᡳᡟᠠ᠊ᠠ ᡠ᠊ᠯᠠ ᠠ᠊ᠩᡤᠠ ᡥ᠊ᠠᡩᡩᠠ sahaliyan ula angga hada. Sahaliyan, the word that has borrowed in the form of Sakhalin. Its Japanese name, Karafuto, supposedly comes from Ainu kamuy kar put ya mosir, the name was used by the Japanese during their possession of its southern part. Sakhalin was inhabited in the Neolithic Stone Age, a later population familiar with bronze left traces in earthen walls and kitchen-middens on Aniva Bay. Among the indigenous people of Sakhalin are the Ainu in the half, the Oroks in the central region. Chinese chronicled the Xianbei and Hezhe tribes, who had a way of life based on fishing, the Mongol Empire made some efforts to subjugate the native people of Sakhalin starting in about 1264 CE. According to Yuanshi, the history of the Yuan dynasty, the Mongols militarily subdued the Guwei. The Nivkhs and the Oroks were subjugated earlier, whereas the Ainu people submitted to the Mongols later, following their subjugation, Gǔwéi elders made tributary visits to Yuan posts located at Wuleihe, Nanghar, and Boluohe until the end of the Mongol Yuan dynasty in China. In the early Ming dynasty, the relationship was re-established. Chinese of the Ming dynasty knew the island as Kuyi or Kuwu, there is some evidence that the Ming eunuch Admiral Yishiha reached Sakhalin in 1413 during one of his expeditions to the lower Amur, and granted Ming titles to a local chieftain. Under the Ming dynasty, commerce in Northeast Asia and Sakhalin was placed under the system for subjugated peoples, a Ming boundary stone still exists on the island. In an early attempt, a Japanese settlement was established at Ootomari on Sakhalins southern end in 1679
8.
Izu Peninsula
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The Izu peninsula is a large mountainous peninsula with deeply indented coasts to the west of Tokyo on the Pacific coast of the island of Honshū, Japan. Formerly the eponymous Izu Province, Izu peninsula is now a part of Shizuoka Prefecture, the peninsula has an area of 1,421.24 km² and its estimated population in 2005 was 473,942 people. Tectonically, the Izu peninsula results from the Philippine Sea Plate colliding with the Okhotsk Plate at the Nankai Trough, the Philippine Sea Plate, the Amurian Plate, and the Okhotsk Plate meet at Mount Fuji, a triple junction. The peninsula itself lies on the Philippine Sea Plate, the southern portion of the peninsula is composed largely of breccia, and the central and northern portions consist of numerous highly eroded volcanos. The peninsulas major river, the Kano River in the north, as a result of its underlying geology, the peninsula is prone to frequent earthquake swarms and tsunamis, and it abounds in hot springs. All of Izu Peninsula is within Shizuoka Prefecture, the peninsula abuts Mount Fuji and is a part of Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. The area is popular for sea bathing, surfing, golfing. Aside from tourism, agriculture and fishing are the mainstays of the local economy, Izu is one of the biggest producers of wasabi in Japan, and the local cuisine offers dishes flavored with wasabi. The Izu peninsula is accessible from Tokyo and points west via the Tōkaidō Shinkansen. JR Itō Line and the Izu Kyūkō Line provides service along the east coast of the peninsula to Shimoda, central Izu is served by the Sunzu Line as far as Shuzenji. The west coast of the peninsula is less developed, and has no train service, Izu Peninsula is served by numerous expressways. By car, it is 103.3 km from the Yōga Interchange on the Tokyo end of the Tōmei Expressway to Numazu. To get to the side, a branch at Atsugi leads to the Odawara-Atsugi Road, which continues past Odawara to Yugawara, Atami. Izu Peninsula is also served by Japan National Route 135, Japan National Route 136, Izu also offers two scenic roads, called Izu Skyline and Western Izu Skyline (西伊豆スカイライン）that offer beautiful views on nature and Mt. Fuji. Both skyline roads are favorite spots of car and motorcycle enthusiasts, the Odakyu Electric Railway runs local bus services from Odawara and Hakone, and there is an extensive internal bus network. Izu Peninsula Geopark Izu Peninsula - Encyclopædia Britannica Online Eastern Area - Shizuoka Guide Izu Peninsula
9.
Izu-Bonin-Mariana Arc
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The Izu-Bonin-Mariana arc system is a tectonic-plate convergent boundary. The IBM arc system lies along the margin of the Philippine Sea Plate in the Western Pacific Ocean. It is most famous for being the site of the deepest gash in Earths solid surface, the IBM arc system formed as a result of subduction of the western Pacific plate. The IBM arc system now subducts mid-Jurassic to Early Cretaceous lithosphere, with younger lithosphere in the north and older lithosphere in the south, Subduction rates vary from ~2 cm per year in the south to 6 cm in the north. The IBM arc system is an excellent example of a convergent margin. IOCMs are built on oceanic crust and contrast fundamentally with island arc built on continental crust, because IOCMs are far removed from continents they are not affected by the large volume of alluvial and glacial sediments. The consequent thin sedimentary cover makes it easier to study arc infrastructure and determine the mass. Active hydrothermal systems found on the parts of IOCMs give us a chance to study how many of earths important ore deposits formed. Crust and lithosphere produced by the IBM arc system during its ~50 Ma history are found today as far west as the Kyushu-Palau Ridge, the IBM arc system is the surficial expression of the operation of a subduction zone and this defines its vertical extent. The intersection of the IBM, Japan, and Sagami trenches at the Boso Triple Junction is the only trench-trench-trench triple junction on Earth. The IBM arc system is bounded on the east by a deep trench. The southern boundary is found where the IBM Trench meets the Kyushu-Palau Ridge near Belau, thus defined, the IBM arc system spans over 25° of latitude, from 11°N to 35°20’N The IBM arc system is part of the Philippine Sea Plate, at least to the first approximation. The Philippine Sea Plate has four neighboring plates, Pacific, Eurasian, North American, there is minor relative motion between PH and CR, furthermore, CR does not feed the IBM Subduction Factory, so it is not discussed further. The North American plate includes northern Japan, but relative motion between it and Eurasia is sufficiently small that relative motion between PH and EU explains the motion of interest. The Euler pole for PH-PA as inferred from the NUVEL-1A model for current plate motions lies about 8°N137. 3°E, PA rotates around this pole CCW ~1°/Ma with respect to PH. This means that relative to the southernmost IBM, PA is moving NW and being subducted at about 20–30 mm/y, whereas relative to the northernmost IBM, PA is moving WNW and twice as fast. At the south end of IBM, there is almost now convergence between the Caroline Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate and it should be noted that the IBM arc is not experiencing trench ‘roll-back’, that is, the migration of the oceanic trench towards the ocean. The trench is moving towards Eurasia, although a strongly extensional regime is maintained in the IBM arc system because of rapid PH-EU convergence, the nearly vertical orientation of the subducted plate beneath southern IBM exerts a strong “sea-anchor” force that strongly resists its lateral motion
10.
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
11.
Kagoshima Prefecture
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Kagoshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Kagoshima, Kagoshima Prefecture corresponds to the ancient Japanese provinces Ōsumi and Satsuma, including the northern part of the Ryukyu Islands. This region played a key role in the Meiji Restoration, and the city of Kagoshima was an important naval base during Japans 20th century wars and this became known only recently under the Koizumi administration. Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu on the Satsuma Peninsula and this prefecture also includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest of Kyushu for a few hundred kilometers. The most important group is the Amami Islands, surrounded by the East China Sea to the west, Okinawa Prefecture in the south, Kumamoto Prefecture to the north, and Miyazaki Prefecture to the east, it has 2,632 km of coastline. It has a bay called Kagoshima Bay, which is sandwiched by two peninsulas, Satsuma and Ōsumi and its position made it a gateway to Japan at various times in history. While Kyushu has about 13 million people, there are less than 2 million in this prefecture, the prefecture boasts a chain of active and dormant volcanoes, including the great Sakurajima, which towers out of the Kagoshima bay opposite Kagoshima city. A steady trickle of smoke and ash emerges from the caldera, on active days in Kagoshima city an umbrella is advisable to ward off the ash. Sakurajima is one of Japans most active volcanoes, major eruptions occurred in 1914, when the island mountain spilled enough material to become permanently connected to the mainland, and a lesser eruption in 1960. Volcanic materials in the soil make Sakurajima a source for record daikon radishes, many beaches around the Kagoshima Bay are littered with well-worn pumice stones. A crater lake in the tip of the prefecture, near the spa town of Ibusuki, is home to a rare species of giant eel. Most of the sector is focused in Kagoshima City and the surrounding area. The eastern part of the prefecture, the former Ōsumi Province, is mostly rural, the prefecture has strong agricultural roots, which are reflected in its most well-known exports, green tea, sweet potato, radish, Pongee rice, Satsuma ware and Berkshire pork. Kagoshima prefectures production of bonito flakes is second only to that of Shizuoka, in addition it produces Japans largest volume of unagi eels. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has several facilities within the prefecture, including the main launch facility on Tanegashima. The prefectures gross domestic product is approximately 4.834 trillion yen. League, Kagoshima United FC, a soccer team, was founded in 2014 and competes in the J3 League. High-speed craft route to Ibusuki, Tanegashima and Yakushima, ISBN 0-674-01753-6, ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5, OCLC58053128. Kagoshima travel guide from Wikivoyage Official Kagoshima Prefecture website National Archives of Japan
12.
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
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Japanese archipelago at the Last Glacial Maximum about 20,000 years ago, thin black line indicates present-day shorelinesVegetated landUnvegetated landOcean
Hokkaido
