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JAPAN
OFFICIAL NAME: Japan (Nippon) CAPITAL: Tokyo
SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT: Constitutional Monarchy
AREA: 377,576 Sq Km (145,783 Sq Mi)
ESTIMATED 2010 POPULATION 127,360,000
LOCATION & GEOGRAPHY: Japan is an island state comprising a group of four principal islands and several smaller ones, off the east coast of Asia. It is bound by the Sea of Japan, the Korea Strait and the East China Sea to the west, the Pacific Ocean to the east and the La Perouse Strait to the north. The four principal islands are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. The islands of Japan are extremely mountainous with the plains and intermontane basins only accounting for 25% of the national territory. Central Japan is marked by the convergence of three mountain chains that form the Hida Mountains or Japanese Alps. The dormant volcano of Mt. Fuji is the country's highest point and the territory has 265 known volcanoes, of which around 20 are still active. Major Cities (pop. est.); Tokyo 8,021,900, Yokohama 3,300,500, Osaka 2,575,000, Nagoya 2,153,300
CLIMATE: The climate of Japan is quite distinct for each region, but it is generally of two major types. (1.) A marine or oceanic climate that is influenced by the Kuroshio or Black Current and the Oyashio or Parent Current. (2.) A tropical climate that is regulated by the Asian monsoons while the Asian mainland climate also controls the temperature and precipitation in Japan. Two periods of heavy rains occur, the Plum Rains in June and the other in September. Between these two periods the country is hot, humid and rainless with typhoons occurring from the end of summer through to October. The cycle and length of the seasons also varies depending on each region. Average temperature ranges in Tokyo are from -2 to 8 degrees Celsius (28 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit) in January to 22 to 30 degrees Celsius (72 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit) in August.
PEOPLE: The principal ethnic majority are the Japanese who account for 99.2% of the population while the remainder are the Burakumin, the Ainu and the Koreans.
RELIGIONS: The majority of Japanese have beliefs shared from Shintoism and Buddhism with 79% of the population Shinto, 81% Buddhist and 1% Christian.
LANGUAGES: The official language is Japanese with two chief dialects, Hondo and Nanto while it also has three forms of writing, Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana.
EDUCATION: Aged 15 or over and having attained: no formal schooling 0.3%, primary and lower secondary 38.5%, upper secondary 38.0%, college and vocational 5.7%, university 8.0% (1980). Literacy; literate population aged 15 or over virtually 100% (1990).
(JORDI CORTINA)
INDIA:
FLAG:
SHIELD:
Geography:
India´s capital Delhi. Its area is 3.287.590 square kilometers, is the seventh country in the world in terms of extension, while the second in population behind China. About the coasts bordering the Indian Ocean on the south by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Bay of Bengal to the east in terms of limited land borders with Pakistan to the west; People's Republic of China, Nepal and Bhutan to the north-east and Bangladesh and Burma to the east. India is very close to Sri Lanka and the Maldives in the Indian Ocean.
One of the possible classifications would be to divide the territory into four zones: the northern mountains, plains and then desert to the west and south tropical zone. India is represented by groups of islands, Andaman and Nicobar in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep Islands in the Arabian Sea. The rivers of India are generally divided into the Himalayan and peninsula rivers, and the principal rivers include the Ganges with its tributaries, the Jumna, Yamuna, Ghaghra, Gandak, Kosi, Chambi, Betwa, Son, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery, Narbada and Tapti.
Economy:The economy of India is the fourth largest in the world in terms of purchasing power parity, with a gross national product of $ 3.61 billion.
The economy shows high diversity encompassing agriculture, handicrafts, textile manufacturing and many services. Although the support of two thirds of the working population still depends directly or indirectly on agriculture.
Moreover, India is the largest exporter of highly skilled IT and financial services.
Poverty remains a delicate issue, despite its decline since independence, mainly because the green revolution and economic reform.
Around 83% of the population are Hindu, 11.4% are Muslim, 3% are Christian, 2% are Sikh while just under 1% are Buddhist and .5% are Jain.
It is the holy land of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, is home to important spiritual gurus and various spiritual organizations.
(CRISTINA GRANADOS)INDIA- CRISTINA GRANADOS
JAPAN- JORDI CORTINA
SOUTH KOREA- FERNANDO ADELANTADO
CHINA- LAURA SÁNCHEZ
IRAN- LAURA FARRÉS
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