### affluent country:

Japan
* Describes the history, geography, economy and people of Japan.
* Japanese version of the famous web directory.
* abounds in volcanoes, including about one tenth of the world's active ones.
* accounts for about two thirds of the entire Asian economy
  - only about one percent of Kazakhstan's trade
  - two thirds of the entire economy of Asia
* actually has a rich tradition of leadership.
* alone is second only to the United States in number of Internet users
  - represents two thirds of the gross national product of East Asia
* already has one of the world's oldest populations.
* also has a much lower breast cancer and prostate cancer death rate than any other country
  - thriving folk tradition
  - tradition of corporate racketeers, the sokaiya, who hold companies to ransom
  - issues with animals originally imported as pets
  - much higher rainfall
  - one of the most efficient transportation systems in the world
  - swift punishment for criminals, as do other Asian nations
  - the highest incidence of stomach cancer in the world
  - three levels of education
  - traditions which can serve as an example to other people and nations
  - imports a considerable amount of Icelandic horse meat each year
* arguably has the most reciprocal relationship in the world with the United States.
* big economy country.
* bigger fish to fry.
* boasts some of the oldest musical instruments in the world.
* bow-shaped archipelago lying to the east of the Asian Continent.
* can get very wet at times
  - produce nuclear weapons in three months
* cash-based society.
* chain of islands off the eastern coast of Asia.
* claims whales are plentiful, responsible for low fish catches.
* comes next to China as a pheasant country and there are some in India.
* complex market that defies penetration by outsiders.
* consistently has crime levels which are much lower and hold steady over time.
* consists of an archipelago extending approximately from northeast to southwest
  - four islands
  - many islands
  - thousands of islands, many of which are too small for people to live
* constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government
* consumes almost as much paper as China, a country with nearly ten times as many people
  - nearly all tortoiseshell in international trade
* continues to be key source of foreign investment
  - fascinate
* controls the prices of prescription drugs and also their availability.
* country built on skill
  - governed by law
  - lying off the east coast of Asia
  - of rocks and stones
  - often shaken by earthquakes
  - rich with history, customs and tradition
* country that has seen much famine and wasting food serious offense
  - is made up of several islands
* country where female college graduates have very few career women as role models
  - religions place an accent on the raising of one's spiritual ability
  - with relatively little overt hostile persecution of religion
* currently represents a quarter of Hawaii's tourism industry.
* developed market with relatively mature markets and large, global companies.
* direct marketing distributor of electronic components and computer products.
* disappears from the face of the earth due to violent tectonic activity.
* does have a complex street layout, especially in the big cities
  - large and growing nursing-care industry
* emerges from feudalism.
* extends in an elongated shape from north to south and has complicated geographical features.
* free-market economy.
* great country, where they like old traditions with an ancient culture.
* group of islands in the Western Pacific, off the coast of China.
* happens to be the third largest defense in the world.
* has a deeply artistic culture that dates back for thousands of years
  - firefighting squirrel
  - great tradition of storytelling and hence a plethora of mythical creatures
  - hydrogen highway , as part of the Japan hydrogen fuel cell project
  - large trade surplus and capital surplus country
* has a long history of beliefs that foreign religions seek to undermine Japan
  - defying international whaling laws
  - trading with China, which in turn sent ships as far as Africa
* has a long tradition of gardens inspired by Chinese and Korean models
  - producing quality animation
  - spider-fighting, dating back hundreds of years
  - much higher cancer death rate for men than for women
* has a parliamentary cabinet system of government like Britain and Canada
  - system, in which executive power is vested in the cabinet
  - population of one hundred million concentrated on several large islands
  - prosperous and well-developed economy largely based on manufacturing and services
  - rapidly aging population, along with the longest life expectancy in the world
  - rich tradition of ethological research on primates
  - strong economic interest in utilizing fast-breeder reactors
* has an aggression culture
  - ancient culture with a celebrated theater in which actors play female roles
  - efficient transport system linking the major cities and the separate islands
  - official list of non-harmful organisms
* has few natural resources of their own, but they had a great army and navy
* has four distinct seasons
  - main islands running from north to south
  - great wealth, unparalleled public safety, and high levels of technology and education
  - high culture, popular culture, revival culture, export and import culture
  - huge foreign reserves and a current-account surplus
  - hundreds of ski resorts
  - little domestic coal and no oil
  - lowest teen birth rate
* has many inlets
  - landraces, and fewer cultivars produced by plant breeding
  - nuclear plants
  - rice fields
* has many traditional sports such as sumo , judo , karate , and kendo
  - sumo, judo, karate, taido and kendo
* has no diplomatic relations with North Korea
  - Taiwan
  - domestic coal or oil
  - manufacturing free trade zones
  - statute to specifically criminalize sexual slavery
  - numerous volcanoes, about two hundred, and many earthquakes
  - one of the highest percentages of single people in the world
* has one of the largest and most-open pornography industries in the world
  - economies in the world
  - nuclear power industries in the world
  - systems of private higher education in the world
  - lowest criminal rates in the world
* has one of the most accepted cultures in America
  - developed and lucrative mobile markets in the world
  - oldest societies on earth - and is trying to encourage parenthood
  - smallest tax rates in the developed world
  - strongest business economies on the world trade scene
* has one of the world's highest suicide rates
  - most highly developed transportation systems
  - narrowest gaps between the rich and the poor
  - one-fifth the population of the United States
  - only one-twentieth as many lawyers per capita as the United States
  - over four hundred varieties of cherry trees
  - policies in place that aim at reducing the country's stocks over time
  - relatively minor numbers of livestock and net importer of beef and pork
  - seven types of visa, including two types of visa for short-term stays
* has some of the finest Buddhist temple architecture in East Asia, especially in Kyoto
  - most advanced technologies for developing deep sectors of the Caspian Sea
  - world's toughest gun control laws, and shootings are relatively rare
  - strict drug laws, and marijuana use is relatively uncommon
  - territorial claims to Russia
* has the Peace Constitution based on extinction of war
  - dubious distinction of being one of the most seismically active regions of the world
  - fastest growing proportion of elderly citizens in the world
  - highest rate of egg consumption and one of the lowest rates of heart disease
  - lamest holidays in the world
  - largest number of marathon runners per capita in the world
* has the most efficient magnetic rail system in the world
  - rapidly ageing population in the world
* has the most rapidly aging population in the industrial world
  - second highest per capita income in the world after Switzerland
* has the second largest economy in the world
  - glass market in the world
  - world s lowest infant mortality and the longest life expectancy
* has the world's highest proportion of elderly people, and most have high spending power
  - rate of automatic door use
* has the world's second largest economy - an economy in deep recession
  - second-largest economy
  - three to four thousand islands
  - trade deficits with Switzerland according to Japanese statistics
  - unique voltage when it comes to electricity and electrical appliances
* has very few active guide dogs
  - of the natural resources needed for manufacturing
  - strict laws concerning importation of firearms
  - virtually no recoverable industrial raw materials
* heads the list of individual countries that import U.S. farm products.
* heavily rely on judo, a strictly amateur sport, for much of their Olympic gold medal hauls.
* hierarchical society.
* high context culture, where small gestures convey great meaning
  - cost producer of both paper and wood products
* highly urbanised country, with approximately three in every four people living in cities.
* holds a number of geothermal plants.
* homogeneous market where everyone speaks Japanese.
* hotbed of bass fishing.
* huge economy, the world's second largest.
* hunts whales for what it calls research purposes.
* imports large quantities from the United States, South Korea , and other producers
  - more than half of the state's hay, beef, rice and lemon exports
* insists on calculating absorption of carbon dioxide by all forests, including natural forests.
* invades Indonesia.
* is Alberta's largest export market for metallurgical coal
  - most important trading partner after the United States
  - Australia's largest export market
  - Canada s second largest trading partner after the United States
* is Canada's main export market for canola seed
  - second largest foreign market for agri-food and seafood products
  - second-largest market for agriculture and food products after the United States
  - South Korea's largest export market for pork products
  - about the same latitude as Central California
  - affected by earthquakes, typhoons and tsunamis
* is also a major buyer of elephant tusks, used primarily for ivory carvings
  - export market for Southern California
  - world leader in telecommunications
  - an important source of imports
  - at the edge of the neoarctic, palearctic and oriental biological region
* is also the only major consumer in the world where sale of tiger parts is still legal
  - vending machine capital of the world
  - world's largest producer of VCRs and video recorders
  - vulnerable to tsunami, a large sea wave that originates from a quake
  - where scorned American wrestlers begin their second careers
* is an affluent country
  - eminent forest nation also in the world
  - exporter of food grade octopus
* is an extremely safe country and most people carry large amounts of cash around all the time
  - with no worries or fears about allowing one's children to roam
  - important part of Asia-Pacific dynamism
* is an island country in the Pacific
  - lacking in natural resources
  - surrounded by the sea
  - that lies of the east coast of Asia
* is an island nation and thus the connection of the people with the sea is very strong
  - in the North Pacific Ocean off the coast of the Asian continent
  - located in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean
  - which is extremely poor in natural resources
  - nation, surrounded by the sea
* is another country that protects the status quo
  - state that has similarly tough citizenship laws
  - approximately the same as California in area
  - as dependent on oil as Brazil was
  - awash in flowers
  - based on a culture of shame
  - blessed with a variety of climates ranging from subarctic to subtropical
  - both and economic powerhouse and a financial giant
* is by far the United States' biggest customer for corn
  - largest importer of U.S. logs along with Australia and South Korea
  - close to Hawaii both geographically and historically
* is considered the most disaster-prepared country in the world
  - to be the world's foremost financial and economic power
  - consists of four main islands
  - currently the only export market for Chinese broken rice
  - dependent on importing many agricultural products
  - different from the other Asian countries in being less dependent upon imported capital
* is divided into forty-seven prefectures, which are similar to Canada's provinces
  - east of China, Saudi Arabia is east of Egypt, and Sweden is east of Norway
  - familiar with Asian giant hornet stings, too
* is famous for plastic displays of food in restaurant windows
  - that Japanese businessmen are eager to work
  - fourth in the world in per capita fish consumption
  - geographically remote from Europe
  - half the size of Pakistan with roughly the same population
* is heavily dependent on foreign trade and needs maritime protection
  - urbanized, heavily dependent on imported energy, food and raw materials
  - highly dependent on imported energy and raw materials from abroad
* is home to almost one-fifth of all married condom users worldwide
  - eight bear parks, in which bears are confined to concrete pits
  - many impressive castles
  - one of the world's top wrestlers
  - some of the world's fastest passenger trains
  - ten percent of the world's active volcanoes
  - the largest number of American troops in the Asia-Pacific region
  - hot and humid and makes a perfect breeding ground for fast-growing mold
* is in effect the world's most successful socialistic planned economy
  - fact a land of limestone
  - one of the world's most active seismic zones
* is in the continent of China and in the sea around China
  - grips of a deflationary spiral
  - state of stagnation, with unprecedented levels of unemployment
  - incomparable in land mass to that of the United States
  - just across the East Sea
  - largely dependent on Gulf oil
* is located in a subduction zone
  - far east of Eurasian Continent
* is located in the most seismically active zone in the world
  - region that experiences the most earthquakes in the world
* is located on the Western edge of the Pacific coast
  - continent of Asia
  - primarily in the Northern Temperate Zone
  - longevity country in the world
  - made up of four main islands in the Pacific Ocean
  - most developed country in Asia
  - mountainous, with little amounts of field areas
  - much more densely populated than Africa, and Japan has almost no natural resources
  - no exception, having seen the creation of second-generation somatically cloned cattle
* is now an economic superpower that exerts major influence over the world's economic activity
  - the largest importer of U.S. beef and pork
* is now the world's largest net importer of agricultural products
  - second-ranking economic power
  - now, in dollar terms, the world's biggest donor of foreign aid
  - of special interest because it was the first non-western nation to industrialise
* is on much the same longitude as Australia but is in the northern hemisphere
  - the other side of the world
  - one of Australia s most important bilateral partners
* is one of a few countries that has succeeded in controlling endemic parasitic diseases
  - very small number of countries of vital importance to Australia
* is one of the United States' fastest growing and most critical trade partners
  - closest neighbors from Korea at least geographically
  - countries most subject to earthquakes
* is one of the few countries where peopledrive on the left
  - places in the world where groups of people bathe together
  - larg-est pharmaceutical markets in the world
  - largest importers of the Alaskan salmon
  - mainland's biggest export markets
* is one of the major English-producing nations of the world
  - global coal consumers and is the world's largest importer of coal
  - world importers of all kinds of fish and also tropical hardwoods
* is one of the most advanced countries in the world
  - automated countries in the world
  - crime-free and nonviolent countries in the world
  - crisscrossed railway nations in the world
  - densely populated countries in the world
  - developed countries on Earth, and Mongolia is one of the least developed
  - earthquake prone countries in the world
  - earthquake-prone countries in the world
  - homogenous and intolerant societies in the world
  - industrialized nations in the world
  - intolerant countries with respect to accepting refugees and immigrants
  - powerful nations in the world
  - places where it is consumed
  - region's top blackspots for women forced into sexual slavery
  - safest places in the world for women, probably the safest anywhere
  - snowiest places in the world at sea level
  - strongest economies in the world and it democracy
  - top three countries to which Delaware exports
  - world s most earthquake-prone countries
* is one of the world's biggest donors of economic aid
  - epicenters for the development and early adoption of embedded devices
  - leading fishing nations
* is one of the world's most earthquake-prone nations
  - homogeneous modern nations
  - seismically active countries
  - seismically active nations
  - poor in natural resources, though
* is probably the most powerful nation in the world today because it's the richest
  - sophisticated Internet market, particularly in the area of wireless
  - only country in the world where a person can write poetry as a paying career
  - prone to unpredictable natural disasters
  - racked by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions
  - regarded as a high-income country with a large domestic market
  - reported to be the world's second largest prescription antihistamine market
  - responsible for almost half of the recent increase in steel imports
* is said to be the world's largest producer and distributor of commercial pornography
  - have half the potential investment capital in the world
  - second only to Canada as the largest U.S. export market
  - separated from the Asian continent by the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea
  - shown as a trapezium shape
* is situated in Asia
  - the Asian monsoon zone where meteorological change are greatest
  - slightly smaller than the state of California
  - smaller than France or Spain but bigger than Italy or Britain
* is still a leading market for agricultural and beverage exports
  - male-dominated society
  - society dominated by men
* is still the largest consumer of silk and silk products
  - second largest pharmaceutical market in the world after the United States
  - world's number two economy and the world's largest creditor
  - subject to numerous earthquakes, typhoons, and monsoons
* is surrounded by the ocean and has an enormous and complex coastline
  - sea, it plays a significant role in the lives of Japan's people
  - water on all sides
  - synonymous to 'electronics' in the minds of many of the world's consumers
* is the B.C.'s largest overseas market for lumber
  - Kingdom's second trade, economic and investment partner after the United States
  - U.S.'s largest export market in the agriculture and commercial aircraft sectors
  - United States' second largest overseas market
* is the biggest export market for Danish pork
  - foreign direct investor in most regional economies
  - tuna consuming nation and is also the leader in tuna farming research
* is the country of gods, but has been receiving false teachings from Christian countries
  - that has a lot of wild animal consumption
* is the economic leader of the Pacific Basin countries
  - powerhouse of Asia
* is the first country in the world making a stable functioning device
  - developed country to set a numerical target for food self-sufficiency
  - non-Western country to reach first world status
  - fourth largest export destination for Ohio products
  - highest consumer of paper products per capita, followed by Singapore and Malaysia
  - hub of the world s most economically dynamic and heavily populated region, East Asia
  - incinerator hub of the world
  - internet giant in the region
  - land of fun video games
* is the largest American supplier of semiconductors to the Japanese market
  - U.S. market, accounting for half of U.S. shipments
  - buyer of platinum in the world
  - consumer of whale meat in the world
  - economy in Asia
* is the largest export market for Canadian buckwheat
  - U.S. agricultural products
  - U.S. pork
  - the U.S. pork industry, followed by Mexico and Canada
  - fluorescent lamp consuming country in the world
  - foreign buyer of U.S. corn
* is the largest importer of U.S. farm products
  - corn in the world
  - food products and animal feeds in the world
  - logs from Sarawak
  - tropical woods
  - logger overseas and holds the largest share in the hardwood trade
* is the largest market for U.S. agricultural exports
  - producer of kiddie porn
  - roe market
  - trading partner of many countries in the Asia-Pacific region
* is the leading producer of loquats, followed by Israel and Brazil
  - pearls today
  - tamari
  - main market for Australian woodchips, most of which comes from Tasmania
* is the major consumer of bekko, but there is significant trade within the Caribbean as well
  - market for matsutake
  - producer and consumer of maitake
* is the most affluent and influential country in Southeast Asia
  - brand-conscious market in the world
  - difficult first world economy in which to start a new business
  - important export market for U.S. beef and pork products
  - pro-patent country on earth, at least in numbers
  - nation which is presently and massively benefiting from foreign markets
* is the nation with people who have suffered the effects of the atomic bomb
  - the massive trade surplus
  - nearest country that has a long and rich history of new media art development
  - number one export market for the United States
  - one financial market that has been around long enough to be considered mature
* is the one of the largest markets in the world for products made from plant extracts
  - most expensive countries on earth
  - only country against which atomic bombs have been used
* is the only country in the world to prohibit tandem riding
  - world with which the United States has a trade deficit
* is the only country that currently conducts whaling for research purposes
  - still conducts 'scientific' whaling
  - to have the atomic bomb used against it
  - developed nation that still bans the pill
  - industrialised nation which prohibits use of the pill for contraceptive purposes
  - major consumer nation where internal trade in tiger products is still legal
  - nation to condone orca captures
  - other country with observer status that practices capital punishment
  - reason karaoke bars haunt our society
  - region's biggest market and largest source of capital
  - root of All religion
  - second biggest telecommunications market in the world
* is the second largest economy in the world after the United States
  - the world and an economic superpower
  - the world at present
  - the world following the United States
  - the world, vastly overshadowing any other Asian nation
* is the second largest market economy
  - for U.S. exports
  - in the world for telecommunications services
  - national economy in the world today
  - producer, as well as the number one consumer of silk
  - provider of economic assistance to Peru behind only the United States
  - single country importer with about five per cent of world oat imports
  - source of merchandise imports for Australia
  - trading partner of the United States and Korea is the eighth
  - leading market for American products, trailing only Canada
  - most powerful economy in the world
  - ski-jumping capital of the world
* is the source for a majority of cultured saltwater pearls
  - of many plums cultivated in America
  - survival of The Mu Kingdom
  - third biggest producer of automobiles in the world
  - third-largest market for U.S. merchandise
* is the top country in the world for direct sales
  - donor to Tonga and the largest export market for Tongan products
* is the world s largest grain importer
  - importer of woodchips
  - second largest market for networking and telecommunications technologies
* is the world's biggest consumer of whale meat
  - greatest exporter, or was
* is the world's largest contributor of foreign aid
  - corn importer in most years
* is the world's largest donor of aid to developing countries
  - food importer
  - importer of grains and oilseeds
  - net importer of agrifood, fish and beverage products
  - surplus and creditor country
* is the world's leading importer of iron ore
  - silk consumer
* is the world's second largest consumer of PCs
  - economy and by far Asia's biggest
* is the world's second largest economy, after the United States
  - and it is Queensland s most important trading partner
  - second largest trader, and largest net creditor
  - market for telecommunications products
* is the world's second-largest building materials market
  - market for laser vision correction
  - toy market after the United States
  - second-ranking economic power with a limited but potent military
  - third largest importer after the United States and Germany
  - youngest of the nations
  - used to seeing volcanic eruptions
  - very famous of earthquakes country
* is well known as country of cherry blossoms
  - for their pottery making and the tradition is over ten thousand years old
  - well-known as having the biggest stock of public debt in the industrial world
  - where the battlefield is
* is, after all, the world's largest creditor and second largest economy
  - potentially, the biggest and most lucrative market for Norwegian whale meat and blubber
* key market for Canada.
* land of marked beauty and colorful festivals
  - the old and the new, a blending of traditional culture and modern life styles
* large group of islands located off of the continental mainland of Asia.
* leads all the other countries in terms of optical fiber network.
* lies east of the peninsula across the Sea of Japan.
* lies in a zone of tectonic and volcanic activities and it has much precipitation every year
  - one of the most earthquake active regions of the world
  - the East Asia of North Pacific
  - to the east of the Eurasian continent, and beyond Japan lies the Pacific Ocean
* locates in east of the Eurasian Continent.
* main export market for U.S. manufactured products.
* major export market of New England
  - exporter of fish and specialty crops such as mandarin oranges
  - potential market for whisky, cognac, vodka and other European spirits
* market that is just always changing
  - where it is crucial to build long term business relationships
* mecca of historical places and religious artifacts.
* mixture of culture, religion, the new and the old.
* more environmentally sensitive country than most of the developed nations.
* mountainous country with beautiful forests, numerous volcanoes and hot springs.
* mountainous, steep-sloped geologically young, earthquake prone with volcanoes.
* multiparty democracy that has experienced remarkable stability in the postwar period.
* narrow chain of islands along the Asia stretching from eastern Siberia down to Taiwan.
* nation in which the guarantor system is part of various sectors of the society.
* nation of engineers and producers
  - gourmands
  - islands off the coast of Asia
  - that has relatively few natural resources
* now has a great deal of excess plutonium.
* occupies most of the Southeast Asia.
* orthodox Jewish country.
* part of an island chain in the Pacific ocean.
* plans to burn plutonium in both conventional and fast breeder reactors.
* plays a big role in world wood products trade
  - an important role among the world's travel and tourism industries
* possesses a rich cultural tradition dating back many centuries.
* probably has a higher number of archaeologists per capita than any other country in the world.
* produces more cultured pearls than any other country
  - only about half the food required by the population
* protests United States embargo on aviation gasoline and scrap metal
  - States' takeover of Hawaii
* provides all citizens with access to primary and tertiary health care.
* rather difficult place to grow temperate-zone fruit.
* relatively advanced country in mathematics education and research.
* relies heavily on nuclear power because it is poor in natural resources
  - overseas sources of raw materials
  - on U.S. imports of soybeans and corn
* remains a massive net exporter of goods to the rest of the world
  - society segregated according to gender
* remains the only Asian country that still allows the sale of tiger parts
  - industrialized country without an environment impact assessment law
  - major country in the world which bans the pill for contraceptive purposes
* removes barriers to import of vitamins.
* resource-rich country.
* says that whales consume five times as much fish as humans
  - whale meat is only eaten to avoid waste after scientific tests have been completed
* sells whales caught in the research hunting on the market for consumption.
* sits on the intersection of four tectonic plates thatgenerate a constant seismic risk.
* small country in size, probably smaller than America's state of Minnesota
  - island to the east of China, an enormous expanse of land
* society based on the guarantor system.
* southern country.
* sovereign nation.
* stable, highly developed parliamentary democracy with a modern economy.
* stands out from other developed countries regarding disparity between men and women.
* staunch ally of the United States in the Pacific.
* still stockpiles rice.
* stretches north to south in the shape of an arc.
* suffers from a high suicide rate.
* supplies the bulk of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.
* trades with most of the countries in the world.
* unique culture.
* uses fish as a major source of food and is willing to pay higher prices for it
  - horses for military purposes as well as in agriculture and transportation
  - nickel for semiconductors and for alloys for electronic components
* uses the international metric system except when measuring the size of rooms
  - metric system for scientific values
* very densely populated country in which land is extremely expensive
  - traditional and culture oriented country
* volcanic country
  - nation and so underneath the surface flows hot, sometimes boiling, water
* wants to increase the number of whales it can harvest each year.
  * defeats China in the Battle of Pyongyang.
* war criminal state which plunged Asia into disasters.
+ Japan, Geography: Current monarchies :: G8 nations
  * Japan is a group of islands in the Western Pacific, off the coast of China. The four biggest islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku, and Kyushu, and there are about 6,000 smaller islands there. Japan is separated from the Asian continent by the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. Honshu, which means 'Mainland' in the Japanese language, is the biggest island. Hokkaido is the island north of Honshu. Kyushu is the island west of Honshu.
  * Japan is a group of islands in the Western Pacific, off the coast of China. The four biggest islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku, and Kyushu, and there are about 6,000 smaller islands there. Japan is separated from the Asian continent by the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. Honshu, which means 'Mainland' in the Japanese language, is the biggest island. Hokkaido is the island north of Honshu. Kyushu is the island west of Honshu. Shikoku is the island to the south-west of Honshu
  * Japan has many traditional sports such as sumo, judo, karate, taido and kendo. Also, there are sports which were imported from the West such as baseball, soccer, golf and skiing.
  * East' is one of the 4 main directions on a compass. East is normally to the right on most maps. Japan is east of China, Saudi Arabia is east of Egypt, and Sweden is east of Norway. The sun and moon rise in the east
+ List of islands of Japan, Main islands: Japan lists
  * Japan has four main islands running from north to south. The general shape of the island grouping looks like the body of a dragon with its head erect. Imperial Japanese Commission to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition.
+ Nôm, Language issues: Vietnam :: Writing systems
  * Chinese characters are used to write various languages in China and elsewhere, including Mandarin, the most widely spoken language in China, Cantonese, spoken in Hong Kong and southern China, and Classical Chinese, traditionally used for formal writing. The characters were formerly used in Korea and in Vietnam. Japan uses a mix of Chinese characters and native phonetic script. Even characters that retain their original meaning in all languages may be read in various ways.
+ Singapore strategy: British Empire :: History of Singapore
  * The fleet could also  impose a blockade on the Japanese home islands, which would force the Japanese to accept terms. The planners did not think it was practical to invade Japan. The planners also thought that the Japanese would fight a naval battle. Japan consists of many islands. The planners therefore thought that economic pressure would be enough.
+ Sino-Vietnamese characters, Language issues: Writing systems :: Vietnam
+ Sport in Japan
  * Sports in Japan' are a part of Japanese culture. Japan has many traditional sports such as sumo, judo, karate, and kendo. Also, there are sports which were imported from the West such as baseball, soccer, golf and skiing. Sports are popular with both participants and onlookers.
+ Tatami, 'Tatami': Japanese culture :: Furniture
  * Japan has etiquette about 'tatamiberi'. Japanese are taught not to step on the 'tatamiberi'. It is easy to tear 'tatamiberi' when stepping in the weakest part. Stepping on 'tatamiberi' fades the color on the edge of cotton and hemp in the 'tatami'. Also, family crests were embroidered on the 'tatamiberi' in old times, too. Stepping on the family crest was taboo.
  * Japan formally surrenders to China.
+ The Day After Tomorrow: 2004 movies :: American science fiction movies :: Disaster movies :: English language movies :: Movies directed by Roland Emmerich
  * Japan is hit by a large hail storm.
+ Timeline of World War II, Timeline, 1939
  * Japan announces the capture of Nanning, the Chinese capital at the time.
  * Japan changes emperors.
+ Yu-Gi-Oh!: Anime :: Yu-Gi-Oh!
  * The series follows the adventures of Yugi Mutou, a high schooler who plays a game called Duel Monsters. Japan has an exclusive anime based on the first seven volumes of the manga.