Essay Sample on Culture Awareness in Japan

Japan is an island in the east of Asia with its geographical terrain consisting of mountains (Wigen, 1992). A great part of Japan's landscape consists of mountains which make most of its population to be concentrated in the low lying area on the belt of the Pacific coast. The capital city of Japan is Tokyo. It is located on the southeastern side of Honshu where all administration structures of government are settled. Despite its mountainous terrain, Japan also has poor soil which is not suitable for agriculture (Wigen, 1992). However, the poor soil does not discourage people from producing crops.

The population of people in urban centers is higher than that of rural areas. The concentration of people in the urban centers is a result of industrialization which has made many of the village towns to grow into big cities. The urban centers in Japan are always crowded with the people due to the trait of Japanese to live as a community. However, the cities are very clean, and there are messages everywhere reminding people of what to do for example on buses sub way and crosswalks. Major stores and departments are located in downtowns which make the sub urban to continue having successful operations. The large population in urban centers has made the housing to be costly. For example, Tokyo has been named as one of the expensive cities to live in. The high cost of living in Japan is as a result of industries which has placed Japan among the industrialized country in the world. Japan has many manufacturing industries which supply their products in the global market.

The infrastructure in Japan is well maintained and keeps on advancing and expanding. This ranges from the railway to roads and other social amenities which are kept and maintained by both the public and private sectors.

The roads are well paved with over 1.5 million kilometers of highway developed and well maintained (Mody, 1997). The improvement in roads has led to a high number of people owning cars to increase with a big margin, and as a result, the motor manufacturing industries has made major sales locally. Japan also has well-defined sea transport because of its nature of being surrounded by water. It has new harbors and ports which play a major role in the economy of Japan since it ensures that transportation of raw materials to their industries is kept constant (Mody,1997). This extensive marine transport ensures that transportation of products for global market and also for local industries is maintained. Air transport is also modern and serves both locally and internationally. The airport provides a means of transport for the people and goods with the major airports located in the big cities.

The communication system in Japan is very modern; it is provided and maintained by private and public companies. However, the public companies have a significant share where they control a greater population who use telephone lines and cellular phones. Japan offers its people internet connectivity, which is accessible to many people especially in big cities because the number of computer ownership is very high (Lockwood, 2015). Both private and public companies control the use of televisions and radio.

Power generation in Japan is very high and approximately every home in Japan is connected to electricity (Lockwood, 2015). After the Second World War Japanese government wanted to connect its people with electricity and as a result, many people were connected to electricity, and this is the reason why in Japan electricity cables are not underground like most of the developed countries. Use of poles was the cheapest way to connect power to people at that time.

The Japan military war can be traced in the early twentieth century when there were clan wars up to the time of Japanese military imperialism, which ended after the Second World War. These past wars have impacted significantly on Japan development. Japan was one of the countries in Asian history to defeat European countries through it powerful empire during imperialism. The strong military power made it conquer its neighbors and expand its territories. However, during and after the Second World War, the Japanese people suffered greatly especially the Hiroshima atomic bomb which left many people dead and those who were left experienced health problems. Besides, Japanese infrastructure was destroyed, and many of its cities were damaged (Minami, 1986). This resulted in the shortage of food which affected the country for some years before stabilizing.

Some of the Japanese islands were taken by the Soviet Union and the United States when it surrendered in the Second World War. The surrender also led to the suicide of some military soldier who had participated in the war. However, the war had some benefits since after the Second World War; Japan received a constitution that assisted its development to its present state. Education was also centralized during this time and contrary to the decentralized education that was there before. This focus on education has facilitated the present state of education in Japan. Japan is among the countries that have the best educational program in the world which has led to its advancement in technology. Not only was the education sector centralized but also the policing sector. The centralization of major department played an import role in ensuring that development was universal in the whole of Japan. The economy of Japan also shifted from other sectors, and it concentrated mainly on industries (Minami, 1986).

The weather in Japan follows seasons with high humidity during summer and low humidity during winter due to its geographical position in the Pacific. These weather seasons have facilitated the settlement of many people in the low-lying areas. Even in the rural areas, people still live in towns which make them very congested. Agriculture in Japan has declined significantly from post war period. This is because of the growth experienced in other sectors such as mining. The main crop that Japan produce in large quantities is rice which is produced both for the local and international market. The fact that the soil in Japan is not favorable for cultivation does not hinder the Japanese from producing crops. There is also the fishing industry which has played a major role in the growth of Japanese economy. It has the best and sophisticated fishing industry in the world. The industries provide employment both to a great number of people in Japan and also globally through its established industries in other countries.

After the World War II, there has been no insurgency in Japan since the Japanese people realized a new rule of self-expression and they were very comfortable with it (Minami, 1986). In addition, the defeat of the Japan in the war made them accept the fact that there was no need for war since it only leads to the destruction of people's lives and property. Rules that prohibited Japan from starting a war or glorifying its military power we enacted.

The development that Japan has undergone from the time that it centralized its administration is very substantial and has led to tremendous improvement regarding infrastructure. Location of essential services is done to ensure that each citizen in Japan can access them with ease. Government without discrimination provides public administration and safety. Public participation in development has also been encouraged.

References

Lockwood, W. W. (2015). Economic Development of Japan. Princeton University Press.Minami, R. (1986). The economic development of Japan: A quantitative study. Springer.

Mody, A. (Ed.). (1997). Infrastructure strategies in East Asia: The untold story. World Bank Publications.

Wigen, K. (1992). The geographic imagination in early modern Japanese history: retrospect and prospect. The Journal of Asian Studies, 51(1), 3-29.