COUNTRY OVERVIEW
Chief of State: Emperor Akihito (since 1/7/89)
Prime Minister: Yoshiro Mori (since 4/5/00)
Population (1999E): 126.1 million
Location/Size: Eastern Asia - island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan/145,882 square miles (slightly smaller than California)
Major Cities: Tokyo (capital), Osaka (Kansai), Nagoya, Fukuoka/Kitakyushu, Sapporo
Languages: Japanese
Ethnic Groups: Japanese (99.4%)
Religion: Shinto and Buddhist (84%), other (16%)
Defense (8/98): Army (151,800), Navy (43,800), Air Force (45,600), U.S. Forces in Japan (39,100)

Currency: Yen
Exchange Rate (4/27/00): US$1 =106.3 Yen

 Location:
Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean peninsula.

Climate:
varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north

Environment: current issues

Air pollution from power plant emissions results in acid rain; acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality and threatening aquatic life; Japan's appetite for fish and tropical timber is contributing to the depletion of these resources in Asia and elsewhere

 

This image is taken from a traditional Japanese fairy tale titled "Kachi Kachi Yama" in Japanese. All of us Japanese kids have read this story many times. It is the story of a sly tanuki (racoon dog) and a rabbit who tries to get even with him. In this picture the rabbit has just lit the racoon dog's back on fire.

Check it out!

 

This is a picture of Mount Fuji, Japan's highest mountain.
It is 11,253 feet (3,776 meters) tall.

Once upon a time there was a very angry boy named Kazu. Kazu left his country Japan and came to live in Lebanon. Kazu is studying at ACS. His friends are Mohit, Wolf, Ali and theo. Every day 4 Kazu plays American foot ball. Kazu is happy in Lebanon but he has to study Japanese and English. Two weeks ago, Kazu went to Faqra with his friends at school. He didn't have fun there because he doesn't know how to ski, and the food was bad so he got sick.