Just like the temperatures in Maine and Florida are very different, the temperatures in different parts of Japan are very different. Many parts of Japan get heavy snow during the winter. In general, the summers tend to be very hot and humid and many types of plants and flowers flourish. A great deal of rain falls throughout the Spring, Summer, and Fall. In September and October, the country experiences very destructive storms called typhoons.
Education is very important in the Japanese culture.
In the 7th century, Osaka was named as the first capital of Japan. Though the capital is now Tokyo, Osaka has continued to grow and become an important center for business and culture. Even today, the city has a great retail community and a large industrial center, including fabric factories and chemical plants. At the beginning of the 16th century, the individual islands of Japan were not yet united to make one country. In 1583, Toyotomi Hideyoshi managed to unify the country and chose Osaka as his home base.