10 Facts: Japan

from: rwrant.co.za/

Today’s 10 Facts topic on Running Wolf’s Rant is Japan. There’s a lot that can be said about this island nation in the Far East. This country is definately on the list of destinations that I want to visit one day. Japan is one of the old nations on this Earth and there’s far more to it than Samurai swords and Tokyo. For this reason I have chosen Japan as the 10 Facts topic on Running Wolf’s Rant for today.


Here are 10 Facts about Japan:

1. According to myth, the nation of Japan was founded in 660 BC, although some historians have claimed that it was actually founded in 25 BC. The Meiji Constitution was adopted in 1890 and the current Japanese constitution was adopted in 1947. In short Japan is a unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy today. The current Japanese emperor is Akihito and the current Japanese prime minister is Naoto Kan.
2. More than 70% of Japan consists of mountains, including more than 200 volcanoes. There are also around 1,500 earthquakes every year in Japan.
3. Vending machines in Japan sell beer, hot and cold canned coffee, cigarettes and other items. A little known fact is also that raw horse meat is a popular food in Japan. It is not uncommon to eat rice at every meal, even breakfast.
4. There are 4 different writing systems in Japan, romaji, katakana, hiragana, and kanji.
5. Japan is the largest automobile producer in the world. Toyota, Mazda, Daihatsu, Honda and Suzuki are all Japanese companies.
6. Tsukiji market in Tokyo is the world’s largest fish market.
7. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the capital city of Tokyo (which has over 8 million residents) and several surrounding prefectures is the largest metropolitan area in the world with over 30 million residents.
8. Sumo wrestling is Japan’s national sport, although baseball is also very popular.
9. Japan is the only country in the world that has been a victim of nuclear weapon attacks. In 1945 the United States bombed Hirosjima and Nagasaki. More than 100,000 people died after the atomic bomb detonated 2,000 feet above ground in Hirosjima and more than 40,000 died in the bombing of Nagasaki.
10. In Japan, the television show Ally Mc Beal was called “Ally My Love” because McBeal when said in a Japanese dialect sounds like McBeer.

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