Japanese Social, Political and Economic Development Research Paper

Japanese Social, Political and Economic Development - Research Paper Example Background According to the discussion by Roman A Cybriwsky, Japanese legend reaffirms that Japan was founded in the 600 BC by the Emperor Jimmu, who was a first ruler and direct descendant of the goddess of the sun and ancestor of the currently ruling imperial family (Cybriwsky, 1994). In AD 405, the Japanese court officially agreed to implement the Chinese writing system. Hand in hand with the introduction of Buddhism in the 6th century, these two events revolutionized Japanese culture and marked the start of a long period of Chinese cultural influence. The history was written down around 400 AD. With the establishment of the first fixed capital at Nara in 710 until 1867, the emperors of the Yamato dynasty were the nominal rulers, but actual power was usually held by influential court nobles, and the military governor’s. Japan, is comprised of islands, which extends along to Pacific coast of Asia (Flath, 2000). There are four main islands, extending from north to south, thes e are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu and Okinawa Island, which in size measures about 380 miles and lies southwest of Kyushu. In total, there are about 3,000 smaller islands are part of Japan. The total land area of Japan is slightly smaller compared to California. More than 70% of the country is hilly, with a many mountains cutting across the main islands. The country has its highest mountain which is well known as Mt. Fuji (12,388 feet). Because of this, little flat area exists and many hills and valleys are cultivated all in most regions. Japan is located in a volcanic zone along the Pacific depth where low-intensity earth tremors, volcanic activity are felt within the islands. Therefore, harmful earthquakes are bound to occur severally. It is recorded in history that massive earthquake of about magnitude 9.0 in scales and tsunami hit northeastern Japan's Tohoku region on March 11, 2011. This causes hot springs of water to arise, which are many and have been formed as a result . All of these factors make Japan a historically and geographically interesting country. This makes it appealing to tourists, and makes it very noticeable worldwide. People Japan's population is currently about 127 million, this growth rate from the 20th century has emerged as a result of scientific, industrialization, and sociological changes experienced within the country (Broadbent, 1990). However, the birth rates have decreased significantly from the 1970s. In 2005, Japan's population had declined for once, than earlier predicted and in the year 2010, the population growth rate was 1.0%. However, it was observed that better sanitary and health standards produced a life expectancy exceeding by far that of the United States. Japan has developed to an urban society, where we have only about 1% of the labor force engaged in agriculture. Many of the peasant farmers supplement their income with part-time jobs in nearby towns and cities (Broadbent, 1990). Study shows about 80 million o f the urban population is heavily concentrated on the Pacific shore of Honshu and in northern Kyushu. The majority of the population centers include: Metropolitan Tokyo with a population of about 8.9 million; Yokohama with 3.6 million; Osaka with 2.6 million; Nagoya with 2.2 million; Sapporo with 1.8 million; Kyoto and Kobe with 1.5 million each; Kawasaki and Fukuoka with 1.4 million each, and Saitama with 1.2 million (Cybriwsky, 1994).