1. GROUP 2
JAZMINE MAY L. DE VILLA
EARL JUDE L. SACDALAN
RONALD P. QUINTOS
RYAN AQUINO
2.
3. JAPAN is an island country in East Asia. It is
situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is
bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan,
while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in
the north toward the East China Sea, Philippine
Sea, and Taiwan in the south.
4. The Sea of Okhotsk is a marginal sea of the western Pacific
Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on
the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, Japan's island of
Hokkaido on the south, the island of Sakhalin along the west, and
a stretch of eastern Siberian coast along the west and north
5. Few nations on Earth have had a more colorful
history than Japan.
Settled by migrants from the Asian mainland back in
the mists of prehistory, Japan has seen the rise and
fall of emperors, rule by samurai warriors, isolation
from the outside world, expansion over most of Asia,
defeat, and rebirth. One of the most war-like of
nations in the early 20th century, Japan today often
serves as a voice of pacifism and restraint on the
international stage.
6. Capital and Major Cities
Capital: Tokyo
Major Cities: Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo,
Kobe, Kyoto, Fukuoka
Government
Japan has a constitutional monarchy, headed by an
emperor. The current emperor is Akihito; he wields
very little political power, serving primarily as the
symbolic and diplomatic leader of the country.
7. The political leader of Japan is the Prime Minister, who heads the
Cabinet. Japan's bicameral legislature is made up of a 465-seat House
of Representatives and a 242-seat House of Councillors.
Japan has a four-tier court system, headed by the 15-member
Supreme Court. The country has a European-style civil law system.
Shinzō Abe is the current Prime Minister of Japan.
Population
Japan is home to about 126,672,000 people. Today, the country
suffers from a very low birth rate, making it one of the most rapidly
aging societies in the world.
8. Languages
The vast majority of Japan's citizens (99 percent) speak
Japanese as their primary language.
Japanese is in the Japonic language family, and seems to be
unrelated to Chinese and Korean. However, Japanese has
borrowed heavily from Chinese, English, and other languages.
In fact, 49 percent of Japanese words are loanwords from
Chinese, and 9 percent come from English.
9. Three writing systems coexist in Japan: hiragana, which
is used for native Japanese words, inflected verbs, etc.;
katakana, which is used for non-Japanese loanwords,
emphasis, and onomatopoeia; and kanji, which is used to
express the large number of Chinese loanwords in the
Japanese language.
10. Religion
Most Japanese citizens practice a syncretic blend of Shintoism and Buddhism.
Very small minorities practice Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Sikhism.
The native religion of Japan is Shinto, which developed in prehistoric times. It is a
polytheistic faith, emphasizing the divinity of the natural world. Shintoism does
not have a holy book or founder. Most Japanese Buddhists belong to the
Mahayana school, which came to Japan from Baekje Korea in the sixth century.
In Japan, Shinto and Buddhist practices are combined into a single religion, with
Buddhist temples being built at the sites of important Shinto shrines.
11. Economy
Japan is one of the most technologically advanced societies on
Earth; as a result, it has the world's third largest economy by GDP
(after the U.S. and China). Japanese exports include automobiles,
consumer and office electronics, steel, and transportation equipment.
Imports include food, oil, lumber, and metal ores.
Economic growth stalled in the 1990s, but since has rebounded to a
quietly respectable 2 percent per year. Per capita GDP in Japan is
$38,440; 16.1 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.
13. Japan is famous for natural sights like cherry
blossoms and Mount Fuji, cutting-edge technology like
Japanese cars and bullet trains, wacky inventions like
karaoke and vending machines, cultural values like
politeness and punctuality, popular anime and manga,
and mouth-watering food like ramen and sushi.
15. Cherry blossoms are a symbolic flower of the spring,
a time of renewal, and the fleeting nature of life.
Their life is very short. After their beauty peaks
around two weeks, the blossoms start to fall. During
this season in Japan, people like to have cherry
blossom parties with colleagues, friends, and family.
17. Rising to 12,388 feet (3,776 meters), Mount
Fuji is the tallest mountain in Japan and
is known for its graceful conical form. It is
the country's sacred symbol, and temples and
shrines are located around and on the volcano.
19. •The bullet train, or “Shinkansen”, is a type of
passenger train which operates on Japan's
high-speed railway network. Capable of
reaching a maximum speed of 320kms per
hour, the bullet train offers riders an
exceptionally unique and efficient travel
experience.
21. •Japan has some of the most competitive new
vehicle costs in Asia and the rest of the globe.
This is due to Japan's vast economy, which
allows for "scale economies," as well as the
fact that automobiles made locally do not
need to be shipped as far for sale.
23. •In Japan, karaoke is usually sung in private
rooms with friends, at establishments
called karaoke boxes. A typical karaoke box
has multiple floors with dozens of rooms of
varying sizes. All major cities have them, in
entertainment districts or around major train
stations.
25. 1. SUSHI
SUSHI IS THE MOST FAMOUS JAPANESE DISH AND THE FIRST THING PEOPLE
THINK OF WHEN THEY THINK OF JAPANESE CUISINE. FOR SUSHI CONNOISSEURS,
IT’S MORE THAN JUST FOOD. IT’S AN ART FORM.
SUSHI REFERS TO A FAMILY OF ARTFULLY PRESENTED DISHES MADE WITH
VINEGARED SUSHI RICE AND A VARIETY OF INGREDIENTS, MOSTLY RAW FISH AND
OTHER TYPES OF SEAFOOD. IT CAN BE MADE WITH ANY TYPE OF FRESH RAW
SOME OF THE MOST POPULAR BEING MAGURO (TUNA), SHAKE (SALMON),
HAMACHI (YELLOWTAIL), SABA (MACKEREL), AND UNAGI (FRESHWATER EEL).
SUSHI IS COMMONLY EATEN WITH PICKLED GINGER AND DIPPED IN SOY SAUCE
MIXED WITH WASABI.
26. 2. Sashimi
Sashimi refers to thinly sliced raw fish or seafood. It can even refer to
different types of raw meat. It’s basically sushi minus the vinegared rice. Like
sushi, it’s usually eaten with soy sauce mixed with wasabi.
It isn’t fish but pictured below is one of my favorite types of sashimi – uni or
sea urchin sashimi. Often served in its own shell, I had this golden glistening
bowl at Kuromon Ichiba Market in Osaka but you can pretty much find uni
sushi and sashimi at any seafood market in Japan.
27. 3. Ramen
Like sushi, ramen is a Japanese food favorite and one of the
best dishes you can eat in Japan. It refers to a noodle soup
made with four basic components – the broth, tare
(seasoning), wheat noodles, and toppings.
28. 4. Tempura
Tempura is a traditional Japanese cooking method that involves deep-frying
seafood or vegetables coated in a light batter made with cold water and soft
cake flour. The tempura batter is lightly mixed and kept cold with lumps to
create a crisp and fluffy texture when fried.
Most tempura is cooked for just a few seconds before being served with grated
daikon radish and a dipping sauce, most often tentsuyu which is made with
dashi (soup stock), mirin (rice wine), and shoyu (soy sauce). Alternatively, it can
be sprinkled with sea salt or mixtures of powdered green tea, salt, and yuzu
before eating.
30. In Japan, some of the core values are thinking of others, doing your
best, not giving up, respecting your elders, knowing your role, and
working in a group. These concepts are taught explicitly and implicitly
from nursery school into the working world.
31. 1. Polite
Weighing in at number one was polite, or in Japanese “reigi tadashii.”
Everyone has heard of the traditional Japanese bow used as a greeting
during any given exchange. Though handshakes are perfectly common in
Japan now, they more often than not come with a bow as well (or two or
three). To the Western mindset, this style of address already seems much
more polite than a simple handshake, high-five, or shoulder clap. Of
course, the term “polite” in and of itself doesn’t only have a positive
connotation. It’s possible to remain too polite and distant from a person,
even if you’ve known them for quite a while.
32. 2. Punctual
Japan takes its time management very seriously. The Japan
Railway (JR) and other connecting subways and train systems are
well-known for their incredibly punctual schedules. As such,
when there is a delay of even a minute, the whole system gets
thrown off. Trains often issue late slips for passengers to take to
their employers if their trains get delayed. After all, it leaves a
very bad impression if you’re late to work.
33. 3. Kind
Unlike polite, which can have its downsides, kind is a genuinely
positive word. In Japanese, words with similar connotations to
the English phrase are “yasashii” or “omoyari no aru,” meaning
“thoughtful of others.” One sterling example of this is the
custom of bringing a gift (usually food) when you visit another
person’s house in Japan. This praiseworthy adjective was the
third-most repeated term in the thread. That’s a winning score
on anyone’s report card.
34. 4. Hard-working
A hard-worker or “hataraki-mono” is definitely a common word that
classifies a Japanese mindset. In a culture where your job is supposed
to take precedence over even your family at times, it’s unsurprising that
foreign nationals would latch on to this particular description. There is
even a word for “death by overwork” in Japanese (“karoshi”). It’s not
uncommon for people to work several more hours after their
contractual quitting time and, if you’re not a contract worker, that
means that you aren’t paid for that overtime. Even if you have a “haken”
(contracted job), it’s still considered rude to leave right on schedule.
35. 5. Respectful
Another tie-in with polite, respectful or
“tanin ni taishite keii wo hyo suru” to loosely describe it in Japanese, is
a mainly positive word. However, it can sometimes be associated with
distance. With the epidemic of idolization in Japan, it’s also possible to
take respect just a bit too far. Many Westerners find the concept of being
so respectful to their elders a bit outside the norm. But in Japan, the
older you get, the wiser you are considered and the more respectfully
you’re treated. You’ll get in big trouble if you use informal language with
a person older than you unless they’re family. Even then, some relatives
still expect proper formal language befitting of their senior status.
36. 6. Shy
An overall impression of the citizens of Japan is that they’re very shy
people, or “hazukashigariya”. This might be linked to their focus on
politeness and respect. It is true that you don’t always hear a lot of
outspoken Japanese people, especially tourists in foreign countries,
but this might be for a different reason altogether. Many Japanese
people worry about their foreign language skills and fear saying
something incorrectly in English when they talk to native speakers.
Conversation practice has only recently become a staple of English
classes in Japan.
37. 7. Intelligent
There’s a definite stereotype of people from Asian countries being
the brainy cream of the crop. Whether this is factually correct or
not wasn’t technically relevant to the survey thread, but it
certainly was a nice compliment. The Japanese word for intelligent
is “kashikoi.” Incidentally, if you tried to say the katakana
pronunciation of smart, “sumato,” that actually means to be thin
and attractive in Japanese. Not that they’re mutually exclusive
adjectives, but be careful of confusing your Japanese friends by
trying to call someone intelligent and accidentally calling them
slim and sexy.
38. 8. Grouping
You know how girls are always said to travel in packs? Same goes for
Japanese people, apparently. A word of advice to any aspiring English
teachers in Japan is to make lots of group activities. Unlike America,
where group work is often disliked because sharing the workload with
other students inevitably means that it gets divided unequally, Japanese
students thrive off of it. They prefer not to have to voice their opinions
alone, but would rather share ideas with their peers and make a group
decision. In a class of thirty Japanese kids, not many people want to stand
up by themselves and read out of an English textbook. But put everyone
in groups of three and make them read it in turns and you’ve got yourself
an engaged classroom.
39. 9. Formal
Tying in with polite, Japan has a reputation for being very formal. This
manifests itself in both manner and language. Japanese has many different
formality levels depending on who you’re addressing. This can be tiresome for
people attempting to learn the language, and it can also lead to crossed wires
between friends, especially in the case of foreigners and Japanese people. An
American might wonder why their friend still calls them “David-san” when
they’ve known each other for a few years. Far from wanting to keep distance
between them, the Japanese friend might just be waiting for David to mention
that they don’t really need to keep titles between them. After all, without
checking first, it can be considered rude to suddenly stop using formal
language (an act called “yobisute” or “dropping the name honorific”).
40. 10. Clean
Many Internet users have seen Japanese tourists pick up trash from
around campsites and rest stops even when they didn’t make the mess
themselves. This habit and others added the description of clean to the
list. Did you know that Japanese students clean their schools by
themselves? No janitors, just students hauling trash bags, sweeping the
steps, and wiping down the halls with washcloths for a good 30 minutes
each day. Most storefront owners sweep up the sidewalks and streets
outside their stores, too. Making it your business to keep communal
space clean is a distinctly different mindset from some Western
countries. Just think of all the gum-strewn, littered streets of big cities in
America.
41. Overall, the impression of Japan from a Westerner’s eyes is pretty darn good,
though perhaps a bit lacking in the relaxed and fun-loving department. My
personal word pick for Japan would be focused. Whether it’s staying after school
for 3 hours practicing with the baseball club, going to cram schools to get into
good colleges, or clocking in extra hours of unpaid work at their jobs, Japanese
people seem to find a goal and stick with it. Even in more fun pursuits, Japanese
people throw themselves into their hobbies and work with a zeal that is truly
commendable, in my humble opinion.
