Practice

Prepare a presentation on any topic related to the Russian-American partnership you have chosen yourself (e. g. the Russian-American partnership in different spheres: culture / education / economy, etc).

UNIT 2. JAPAN

Section 1. LOCATION

Reading

Scan the text below and do the assignment that follows.

Japan, a country of islands, extends along the eastern or Pacific coast of Asia. The main islands, running from north to south, are Hokkaido, Honshu (or the mainland), Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa, which is about 380 miles southwest of Kyushu. About 3,000 smaller islands are included in the archipelago.

Japan's closest neighbors are Korea, Russia and China. The Sea of Japan separates the Asian continent from the Japanese archipelago.

Japan's area is comparable to that of Germany or California. Japan's northernmost islands are located on a similar geographical latitude as Milan or Portland, while its southernmost islands are on a similar latitude as the Bahamas. More than 50% of the country is mountainous and covered by forests. Japan is politically structured into 8 regionsand 47prefectures.

About 73 % of the country is mountainous, with a mountain chain running through each of the main islands. Japan's highest mountain is world-famous Mt. Fuji (12,385 ft.). Since so little flat area exists, many hills and mountainsides are cultivated all the way to the top. As Japan is situated in a volcanic zone along the Pacific deeps, frequent low-intensity earth tremors and occasional volcanic activity are felt throughout the islands. Destructive earthquakes occur several times a century.

Due to the large North South extension of the country, the climate varies strongly in different regions. The climate in most of the major cities, including Tokyo, is temperate to subtropics and consists of four seasons. The winter is mild and the summer is hot and humid. There is a rainy seasonin early summer, andtyphoonshit parts of the country every year during late summer. The climate of the northern island of Hokkaido and the Sea of Japan coast is colder, andsnowfalls in large amounts. In Okinawa, on the other hand, the mean temperature of January is warm (about 17 degrees Celsius).

The population of Japan is about 125,000,000, including approximately two million foreign residents. More than half of the non Japanese population is of Korean descent.

(from http://www.japan-guide.com; http://www.japan-101.com)

Assignment

Using the map, describe the main features of the physical geography of Japan.

Section 2. SOME POINTS OF JAPANESE HISTORY

Getting Started

Consider the basic events and the names of periods of Japanese history and say which of them were familiar and which were new to you.

Period	Name	Description
–300 BC	Jomon	The early Japanese were gatherers, hunters and fishers.
300BC–300	Yayoi	The introduction of riceagriculture begins the development of a social hierarchy and hundreds of small countries that started to unify into larger countries.
300–538	Kofun	300 Japan is for the first time more or less united. Large tombs (kofun) were built for the deceased leaders.
538–710	Asuka	538–552 Introduction of Buddhism. 604 Prince Shotoku's Constitution of seventeen articles is promulgated. 645 The Taika reform is introduced. The Fujiwara era starts.

Period	Name	Description
710–784	Nara	710 Narabecomes the first permanent capital. 784 The capital moves to Nagaoka.
794–1185	Heian	794 The capital moves to Heian (Kyoto). 1016 Fujiwara Michinaga becomes regent. 1159 The Taira clan under Taira Kiyomori takes over the power after the Heiji war. 1175 The Buddhist Jodo sect(Pure land sect) is introduced. 1180–1185 In the Gempei War, the Minamoto clan puts an end to Taira supremacy.
1192–1333	Kamakura	1191 The Zen sectis intoduced. 1192 Minamoto Yoritomo is appointed shogun and establishes the Kamakura government. 1221 The Jokyu Disturbance ends a struggle between Kamakura and Kyoto resulting in the supremacy of the Hojo regents in Kamakura. 1232 A legal code, the Joei Shikimoku, is promulgated. 1274 and 1281 The Mongols try to invade Japan twice, but fail mainly because of bad weather conditions. 1333 The Kamakura Bakufu falls.
1338–1573	Muromachi	1334 Kemmu restoration: the emperor restores power over Japan. 1336 Ashikaga Takauji captures Kyoto. 1337 The emperor flees and establishes the Southern court in Yoshino. 1338 Takauji establishes the Muromachi government and a second emperor in Kyoto (Northern court). 1392 Unification of the Southern and Northern courts. 1542 Portuguese introduce firearms and Christianityto Japan. 1573 The Muromachi Bakufu falls.
1573–1603	Azuchi Momoyama	1590 Japan is reunited after the fall of Odawara (Hojo). 1592–1598 Unsuccessful invasion of Korea. 1598 Death of Hideyoshi.

Period	Name	Description
1603–1867	Edo	1639 Almost complete isolation of Japan from the rest of the world. 1688–1703 Genroku era: popular culture flourishes. 1792 The Russians unsuccessfuly try to establish trade relations with Japan. 1854 Commodore Matthew Perry forces the Japanese government to open a limited number of ports for trade.
1868–1912	Meiji	1868 Meiji restoration. 1872 First railwayline between Tokyo and Yokohama.1889 The Meiji Constitution is promulgated. 1894–1895 Sino-Japanese War. 1904–1905 Russo-Japanese War. 1910 Annexation of Korea. 1912 Death of emperor Meiji.
1912–1926	Taisho	1914–1918 Japan joins allied forces in WW1. 1923 The Great Kanto Earthquakedevastates Tokyo and Yokohama.
1926–1989	Showa	1931 Manchurian Incident. 1937 Second Sino-Japanese War starts. 1941 Pacific War starts. 1945 Japan surrenders after two atomic bombsare dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 1946 The new constitutionis promulgated. 1952 The Allied Occupation of Japan ends. 1956 Japan becomes member of the UN. 1972 Normalization of relations to China. 1973 Oil crisis.
1989–	Heisei	1993 The LDP loses its majority in the Diet. 1995 The Great Hanshin Earthquakehits Kobe. Gas attack in the Tokyo subway by AUM sect.