1. JAPAN

2.  NIHON/NIPPON
( 日本国 )
 AnAn archipelagoarchipelago of
6,852 islands
Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū
and Shikoku (97%)(97%)
 CAPITALCAPITAL – Tokyo– Tokyo
The Greater Tokyo Area
is the largest metropolitan
area in the world – over
30 million residents.
HonshūHonshū
HokkaidōHokkaidō
ShikokuShikoku
KyūshūKyūshū
TOKYO
TOTAL AREA -
377,944 km2

3.  POPULATIONPOPULATION
over 127 million people
(The world's tenth-largest population)
 ETHNIC GROUPSETHNIC GROUPS
98.5%98.5% Japanese
 NATIONAL LANGUAGE – Japanese
(No official language – many regional dialects)
0.5%0.5% Korean
0.4%0.4% Chinese
0.6%0.6% other

4. LIFE EXPECTANSYLIFE EXPECTANSY
The longest of any country in the world (According
to both UN and WHO
MALE – 79 years
FEMALE – 86 years
Japan has the third lowest infant mortality rate
After Singapore, Japan has the lowest homicide
rate in the world.

5.  GOVERNMENTGOVERNMENT -- Unitary parliamentary
democracy and constitutional monarchy
PRIME MINISTER -PRIME MINISTER - Yoshihiko Noda
EMPEROR –EMPEROR – Akihito
Imperial seal of Japan -
- Japanese flag

6.  MONETARY UNIT –MONETARY UNIT – the Japanese yen ¥¥
(The 3rd
most traded currency in the foreign
exchange market after $$ and €€)

7. RELIGIONRELIGION SHINTO &/or BUDDHISM –SHINTO &/or BUDDHISM –
about 85 %about 85 %
 a very local religion
 Shinto teaches
important ethical principles but
has no commandments
 Shinto has no founder.
 Shinto has no God.
 Shinto Shinto is little
interested in missionary work
“Way of the Spirits”
 Shinto sees human beings as basically good and has
no concept of original sin, or of humanity as 'fallen'.
ToriiTorii

8.  91 million Japanese identify
themselves as Buddhist
 was given a role in supporting
the growing influence of
central government
 kami (God) now look after
Japan and its people.
 spiritual status of the emperor
as the descendant of the Sun
Goddess Amaterasu
first arrived in Japan in the 6th
century from the Southern part of
the kingdom of Baekje on the
Korean peninsula.

10. FAMILYFAMILY
Traditional extended family nuclear (after WW II )
 a strict gender-
based role
 the man is
always the head
of the household
 3-4 generations
living under one
roof.
 hierarchy by birth
 marriage of
convenience
The The ““ ie”ie” - ideal/traditional view of
the Japanese family

11.  woman produce children, man provided a monthly
income for the family
 man could keep a mistress
 Young people respect older people
MODERN (USUALLY NUCLEAR) FAMILIESMODERN (USUALLY NUCLEAR) FAMILIES
 Parents may share their
roles
 Till the age of 5/6 spoil
their children a lot
 They don’t hesitate to
invest large amounts of
money for their children’s
education

12. BREAKFASTBREAKFAST at 6-7 am
MEALSMEALS
Japanese style Western style

13. LAUNCHLAUNCH – bento at 12-1 pm

14. DINNERDINNER – kaiseki at 6-8 pm

15. ONIGIRIONIGIRI

16. TABLE MANNERSTABLE MANNERS
 it is considered good manners to empty your dishes to
the last grain of rice.
 unlike in some other parts of East Asia, it is considered
bad manner to burp.
 after eating, try to move all your dishes back to the
same position they were at the start of the meal.
 remove your shoes at the door
 do not motion, point, or wave with your chopsticks
 never ever leave chopsticks standing vertically in the
bowl of food
 itadakimasu” (”I gratefully receive”) - before starting to
eat
 do not leave tips in Japan

17.  serve one another than serve yourself.
 You should periodically check your friends' glasses, and
replenish them before they are empty.
ALCOCHOLALCOCHOL
Drinking plays an important role in Japanese society.
Drinking parties, typically held at restaurants are a
common activity that are used to strengthen both
social and business ties.
 if someone wants to serve you,
you should drink to make room
in your glass if it is full
 you should not start drinking
until everybody at the table is
served
 “KAMPAI!”

18. From Monday till Friday 9am to 5 pm
private shops may work on Saturday
Department stores: 10am to 7/8 pm (no break for lunch)
Convenience stores: 24 hours
Banks: 9am – 3 pm
Almost all museums and department stores keep opening
on national holidays
OPENING TIMESOPENING TIMES

19. PUBLIC TRANSPORTPUBLIC TRANSPORT

20. HIGH SPEEDHIGH SPEED
““BULLET TRAINS”BULLET TRAINS”

21. HOUSINGHOUSING
traditionaltraditional

23. GREETINGS:GREETINGS:
By bowing
When bowing to someone of higher social status, a
deeper, longer bow indicates respect.
Also to express thanks, to
apologize, to make a
request or to ask someone a
favor.

24.  san: the most neutral and famous title
 sama: a more polite form of san, commonly used
in formal situations
 kun: used for boys and men that are younger than
yourself.
 chan: used for young children and very close
friends or family members.
 sensei: This is a title used for teachers, doctors
and other people with a higher education and from
whom you receive a service or instructions.
TITLESTITLES

25.  It is considered impolite to go to someone's house
without a gift
 A gift is usually brought in a paper bag
GIFTSGIFTS
 Some items
prominently displaying
the number 4 and 9
should be avoided
 women to give men
chocolate
on Valentine's Day
 Men give presents on
White Day

26. TRADITIONNAL DRESSTRADITIONNAL DRESS::
Kimono & Yukata

27.  The common Japanese
are extremely punctual
for appointments
 Japanese take
appointment times quite
literally. If they say, “let’s
meet at 4:45,” they
literally expect you to be
there on the dot
TIME CONCEPTTIME CONCEPT

28.  the world's fourth-largest exporter
 2nd largest automobile manufacturing
country
 the largest electronics goods industry,
 Major exports: electronics, cars, consumer
and electronics goods, including cameras
and computers, automobiles, heavy
machinery, tools, precious metals
JAPAN’S ECONOMYJAPAN’S ECONOMY – 3rd
largest in the world

29. for your attention!