Japan (Japanese: Nippon or Nihon; official: Nihon Koku) is an empire in East Asia. Japan is an island rich and consists of the four major islands, Hokkaido, the largest island (83,500 km2), Honshu or Hondo (231,000 km2), Shikoku (18,750 km2) and Kyushu (42,000 km), which together 98% of the territory, and yet almost 4,000 small islands. Okinawa is one of the Ryukyu islands 685 kilometers south of Kyushu, and because it is not at all on the rest of the country seems. Japan is from the island of Sakhalin off the coast of Siberia to South Korea, and through the Ryukyu Islands to Taiwan to continuously. To the west of Japan, the Japanese and the East China Sea and east lies the Pacific Ocean and Grand'Place. The Pacific Ocean has deep troughs of Japan in 8000 to 10,000 meters and the Japanese Sea has a depth of about 3000 meters. The distance from north to south is 2790 kilometers and the total coastline is approximately 29,000 kilometers.
The largest width of the Japanese islands is only 270 kilometers. The total land area of the country is 377,812 km2. The islands are part of three quarters often densely forested mountains and hills, but most of the mountains and mountain ridges is not above 2000 meters. An exception is the Hidagebergte either the Japanese Alps (more than twenty peaks over 3000 meters) in southern Honshu, which average 3,000 m high. As a cornerstone of the series of volcanoes Fossa Magna, a 200 km long tectonic Rift Valley, the 3776-meter-high Fuji-san in south-Honshu and the highest volcanic mountain of Japan. Other high mountains on Honshu still Ontake-san (3185 meters), the Norikuradake (3166 meters), the Tateyama (2936 meters) and the Washigadake (2880 meters). Flat land with slopes of less than 15 °, river deltas and valleys takes only about 25% of the total area in. Japan has more than 240 volcanoes, of which more than fifty operate. The three main volcanic zones are located in Hokkaido, in northern and central Honshu and Kyushu in southern. The Aso on Kyushu is the largest caldera (formed by the collapse funnel-shaped crater) in the world with a circumference of 114 kilometers. The tectonic and volcanic proportions will be in Japan next countless earthquakes for many seaquakes. The coastal plains are plagued by huge tidal waves (tsunamis), which can be 30 meters high.
Japan rests on an unstable surface because it lies at the intersection of the Eurasian plaice, the Pacific plaice and the Philippines Plaice. The Great Ocean-annual plaice moves a few centimeters under the continental plate on which Japan is located. It is clear that this inevitably leads to earthquakes. Per year on average, more than 1,000 earthquakes which for large earthquakes on average once every five year. Japan is seen as the most active seismic area in the world. On September 1, 1923 were Tokyo and distant environment destroyed by the heavy-Great Kanto earthquake with a force of 8.2 on the Richter scale which more than 100,000 people died.
The last major earthquake hit Kobe on January 17, 1995 with a force of 7.2 on the Richter scale. There were about 5,000 deaths and the great Hanshin earthquake-listed. Japan is by the geothermal activity particularly rich in mineral resources, including sulfur and radiumbronnen. The so-called RIA coasts by tectonic fracture zones and fall heavily cut. Plains are generally small and are almost non-existent. They are mostly along the coast as alluvial river plains, some occur in the interior. The short and often very wild rivers transport huge quantities of rocks to the estuaries. They are by the general decline can hardly be navigated by large shipping but they are of great importance for irrigation and electricity generation. The river beds are often in the plain above the surrounding land and through natural or artificial dikes in their place. The longest river is the Shinano, approximately 375 kilometers long. Other major rivers are the Ishikari (365 kilometers), and Tone (320 kilometers). From the few lakes is the largest (675 km2) and the best known in near Biwameer Kyoto. Extraordinary is the Muasu Lake where up to a depth of 40 meters can see.
In 2002, Japan had approximately 127 million inhabitants and is thus in terms of population the ninth country in the world. The population density rose an average of approximately 336 inhabitants per km2 and Japan making it one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Of the four major islands, Hokkaido has the lowest population density (68 inhabitants per km2) and the highest Honshu (421 inhabitants. Per km2). Shikoku has a population density of 225 inhabitants per km2 Kyushu and 317 inhabitants per km2. The urban conglomerates of Tokyo-Yokohama, Nagoya and Osaka-Kobe have an extremely high population density with more than 4,000 inhabitants per km2. In 1993, lived 65% of the population in these conglomerates. Although the population of Tokyo declines, growing metropolitan area of the city still. This trend is also noticeable in Osaka. Over 77% of the population lives in cities and the largest are: Tokyo (7.9 million inhabitants; agglomaratie: 11.8 million), Yokohama (3.3 million), Osaka (2.5 million), Nagoya (2 , 1 million), Sapporo (1.7 million), Kyoto (1.4 million) and Kobe (1.5 million). The mountain areas are sparsely populated. Of the total population is up 99% Japanese. Of the remaining, non-Japanese people are the Ainoe and the Koreans the most important. Very small immigrant minorities are formed by temporary staff from Southeast Asia, South America and Western countries. After the Second World War, Japan was faced with a population explosion, but by actions of the government (of contraceptives, access to abortions), this development in the fifties successfully contested, since 1960 the birth rate showed a declining trend (1993: 9 , 6 ‰). The population increased between 1985 and 1993 by an average of only 0.4% (2001: 0.17%), which, given the low birth rate is mainly due to the low mortality rate, which since 1951 is below the 10 ‰ (2001 : 8.34%). The mortality rate in 2001 was 8.34 per 1000 inhabitants. The Japanese have the highest life expectancy in the world: the men averaged 77.62 years in 2001 and for women 84.15 years.
The infant mortality rate is very low, about 3.88 per 1000 live births.
Some scientists assume that the Ainu are descendants of the first residents of Japan. They were originally nomadic tribes in central and northern Japan from hunting and fishing lived. They were ousted by the people after their foot on shore and had to retreat on the island of Hokkaido, where their culture was lost slowly. There are very few Ainu that the Ainu language may mean that their traditional culture or have managed to preserve. Only some time ago his old Epen or "yukars" in writing. The Ainu, is an animist religion, which people believe that animals, trees and stones possess a spirit or soul. One particular bear plays an important role in the Ainu religion and traditions. There is still only 22,000 Ainu live on the island of Hokkaido. They differ in appearance, culture and religion total of the rest of the Japanese population. They were long time to Caucasians included, but recent research has revealed that certain genes Caucasian completely missing. Siberia is now also known as a place called home. In any case, they had a white skin, light eyes and blond hair. The Ainu are usually present from a mixed marriage between a Japanese and an Ainu and these are barely distinguishable from real Japanese. Estimated that there are only about 200 true Ainu life.
The Burakumin are "real" Japanese who previously exerted professions as teaching editors, butchers and body-blowers. On most religious grounds if they were evil creatures (Eta) and lived outside the traditional communities in isolated hamlets, the so-called "buraku." They were even making them distinct names to this day can be recognized. Since the restoration of the monarchy in 1871, the discrimination of this population group but prohibited discriminatory practices still seem to exist. For example, a burakumin a marriage outside their own population nearly forgotten and we shall not in the business to burakumin, it is so superstitious that they believed that the entire company could negatively influence. Estimated that there are currently about 3 million people of Burakumin-descent living in Japan.
Japan lives in a group of about 650,000 Koreans (Zai-Nichi kankoku-jin). They are mainly descendants of forced laborers who between 1910 and 1945 voluntarily or were forced to Japan. Also this population group is discriminated against and mixed marriages are almost non-existent. In fact, they are still regarded as foreigners.