JAPAN OVERVIEW

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JAPAN OVERVIEW 

1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION

2. ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS

      Japan has 10 largest cities namely Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Sapporo, Naha, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Yokohama and Nikko. In addition, Japan has 47 To–Dou–Fu–Ken (Do–Dou–Pu–District), of which there are 1 capital (Tokyo), 1 ward (Hokkaido), 2 prefectures (Kyoto and Osaka) and 43 district.

Divided into 8 regions:

     ✦ Hokkaido region includes: Hokkaido Prefecture

     ✦ The Tohoku region includes: Akita Prefecture, Aomori Prefecture, Fukushima Prefecture, Iwate Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture, and Yamagata Prefecture

     ✦ Chubu Region includes: Aichi Prefecture, Fukui Prefecture, Gifu Prefecture, Ishikawa Prefecture, Nagano Prefecture, Niigata Prefecture, Shizuoka Prefecture, Toyama Prefecture, Yamanashi Prefecture

     ✦ The Kanto region includes: Chiba Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture, Ibaraki Prefecture, Kanagawa Prefecture, Saitama Prefecture, Tochigi Prefecture, and Tokyo Prefecture.

     ✦ Kinki Region includes: Hyogo Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, Mie Prefecture, Nara Prefecture, Osaka Prefecture, Shiga Prefecture, Wakayama Prefecture

     ✦ The Chugoku region includes: Hiroshima Prefecture, Okayama Prefecture, Shimane Prefecture, Tottori Prefecture, Yamaguchi Prefecture

     ✦ Vùng Shinkoku bao gồm: tỉnh Ehime, tỉnh Kagawa, tỉnh Kochi, tỉnh Tokushima

     ✦ Khu vực Kyushu bao gồm: tỉnh Fukuoka, tỉnh Kagoshima, tỉnh Kumamoto, tỉnh Miyazaki, tỉnh Nagasaki, tỉnh Oita, tỉnh Saga, tỉnh Okinawa

3. ECONOMY

     Japan is a country with the third most developed market economy in the world. Although poor in natural resources, this country is a leading country in the production and development of iron and steel, shipbuilding, weapons manufacturing, automobile manufacturing, etc.

     In 1940, Japan's total economic output (GDP) reached 192 billion USD (converted in USD price in 1990) compared to the UK's 316 billion USD, France was 163 billion USD, Germany was 387 billion USD, the Union The bucket is $417 billion…

     The currency of Japan is JPY (Japanese Yen), the exchange rate is 1 JPY = 206 VND, 1 Man = 10,000 Yen (equivalent to 2,000,000 VND), 1 Sen = 1,000 Yen (equivalent to 200,000 VND).

4. WEATHER & CLIMATE

     Japan is located in a temperate climate zone with four distinct seasons: Spring - Summer - Autumn - Winter.

In the summer, the temperature falls around 30-35^oC, the relative humidity is high and the rainfall is quite abundant, so it often suffers from natural disasters such as storms and floods. There are also: tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, snowfall.... In contrast, in winter the temperature drops on average from 10-12^oC, can reach -30^oC in Hokkaido and heavy snowfall. .

5. JAPANESE PEOPLE

     The Japanese are very healthy and resilient, even women can stand to work all day, even 70-80 year olds are still enthusiastic about working because they love working.

     The Japanese personality is very special, perhaps thanks to this character, the Japanese have turned their country poor in natural resources and harsh climate into an advanced power ranked 3rd in the world. Examples are as follows:

     ➳ The Japanese are curious and sensitive to foreign cultures, always searching and learning to catch up with that trend, but always keeping their national identity.

     ➳ For the Japanese, family status, social status and income are not important, what matters is education level.

     ➳ Team spirit is very high. At work, the Japanese often put aside their own ego and appreciate the common. They can compete fiercely, but also sometimes work together to achieve a common goal.

     ➳ The nature of the Japanese does not like antagonism, especially personal confrontation, they always preserve harmony to the point of ignoring the truth. For them, they preserve unity, peace, face and prestige. Trust is the key issue.

     ➳ The Japanese have the virtue of being very hardworking and loyal, which is reflected in the martial spirit of Samurai since ancient times.

     ➳ The thrifty character is expressed by the Japanese in small daily actions. We can easily see Japanese people sitting and picking up each grain of rice that falls in an automatic rice milling machine with the thought "Don't waste any pearls".

    ➳ The Japanese are very serious about keeping time and they are never late for meetings, even arriving 5-10 minutes earlier. If there is a need to be late, we will contact you in advance to let you know the exact time of arrival.

6. RELIGION

     Religion in Japan is dominated by 2 main religions: Shintoism - Shinto and Buddhism with related organizations. According to social statistics surveys carried out in 2006 and 2008, less than 40% of the Japanese population identifies themselves with an organized religion, 35% as Buddhist, 3-4% as followers of Shinto and other religions. sectarian religion Shinto, 2.3% Christianity.

     The Japanese also attach great importance to Confucianism, but in fact, for them Confucianism is more of a moral standard than a religion.

7. EDUCATION SYSTEM

     The Japanese education system was adopted in Japan as one of the Meiji era reforms. Since 1947, Japan has introduced a compulsory education system consisting of primary and secondary schools for nine years for students between the ages of six and fifteen.

      ❧ Elementary school: From grade 1 to grade 6

      ❧ Middle School: From 6th grade to 9th grade

      ❧ High School: From 10th grade to 12th grade

     Most then go on to high school and according to MEXT, about 75.9% of high school graduates go on to study at university, college or other educational exchange programs.

     The OECD Collaborative International Student Assessment Program currently ranks Japan sixth in the world.

8. WELCOME CULTURE

     In daily life or in work, study, party... at the beginning as well as at the end, all Japanese greetings are usually accompanied by a bow. The Japanese always follow the rule:

     ☣ Whoever sees first greets first.

     ☣ Young people, subordinates salute first.

     ☣ The Japanese do not have the habit of shaking hands, but shaking hands is not considered rude.

    When walking on the street, Japanese people often greet each other cordially with some sentences such as: Konnichiwa, Doumo..., Ohisashiburi,...

9. APOLOGETIC CULTURE

    In Japan, sorry and thanks go hand in hand. Apologizing sometimes it's not that we're wrong to apologize, but it's simply to show respect and humility to the other party.

    Apologies are used quite often by the people of this country, can be heard everywhere, even as an expression of thanks. The Japanese think that this is an act of showing the minimum politeness, etiquette and politeness in the communication culture of "the land of Phu Tang".

10. JAPANESE CUISINE

     Japanese cuisine is famous around the world not only because of its sophistication and sophistication in the way it prepares and arranges dishes, but also because of its quality, safety and ethereal and gentle taste. bring.

11. TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

     The transportation system in Japan is very modern with many world-class constructions, including the Shinkansen, also known as the very modern bullet train, with a speed of up to 300km/h (average motorbike is 50km). /H). In big cities, the most popular means of transport are trams and subways, which are very convenient and punctual to the minute. Besides, there are also buses, taxis, shinkansen trains, bicycles,...

     ↪ Buses are not very convenient due to their limited availability and the possibility of not being on time during peak hours.

     ↪ Taxi services in Japan are relatively expensive. The fare is calculated by km and varies by the hour; Evening prices are more expensive than daytime prices.

     ↪ Shinkansen trains are a means of long-distance travel equivalent to an airplane.

     ↪ In addition, bicycles are quite convenient and economical means.

The main means of transportation is the car. In Japan, motorbikes are rarely used, only the post office or some transportation units are used for mail delivery, delivery,... Large displacement motorcycles are quite common.

12. SOME PROHIBITIONS OF JAPANESE PEOPLE

Japan is a country with a special culture with many different rituals and customs, if you want to travel to Japan you need to note:

     ⚜ When dining in Japan, you absolutely must not stick chopsticks into the rice bowl.

     ⚜ You should avoid cutting fingernails and toenails at night.

     ⚜ The Japanese are very taboo on the number 4 and the word is pronounced "death", you should not give gifts or do anything to the Japanese related to this unlucky number 4. Also, the comb is pronounced "Kushi", so it's also classified as something that shouldn't be given

     ⚜ You should not eat while walking.

     ⚜ You should not whistle at night, because bad guys often whistle while walking.

     ⚜ If giving gifts to Japanese people, you should avoid giving handkerchiefs. It shows that you want to cut ties with them, so you do.

     ⚜ You must not pass food with chopsticks, or pick up food for others.

     ⚜ In Japanese communication culture, you should bow your head and use both hands to give or take something from them, especially adults.

     ⚜ You should not give tips to the service staff, for the Japanese, the fact that guests give tips means that they themselves are not serving properly and the guests are not satisfied with their service.

     ⚜ You are not allowed to litter the street, if you do not want to be fined.

     ⚜ You should not talk on the phone on the train, as it is rude, especially if you speak too loudly.