terry


 * //japan//**
 * //Report Criteria://**
 * **Major Government:**
 * Form of government:** Parliamentary democracy with ceremonial emperor
 * **Major Religions**
 * Major religions:** Shinto, the native religion of Japan, and Buddhism. Not many Japanese strictly practice either religion, but almost everyone engages in some practices or rituals based on these two religious traditions. Small percentage of population is Christian.
 * **Languages Spoken**
 * Official language:** Japanese
 * **Current leader or president**
 * Naoto Kan**
 * **Brief history of the country including any important people and major wars**

The **history of Japan** comprises the history of the [|islands of Japan] and the [|Japanese people], spanning the [|ancient history] of the region to the [|modern history] of [|Japan] as a [|nation state]. The first known [|written reference] to Japan is in the brief information given in //[|Twenty-Four Histories]//, a collection of Chinese historical texts, in the 1st century AD. However, there is evidence that suggests people were living on the islands of Japan since the [|upper Paleolithic] period.[|[1]] Following the last [|ice-age], around 12,000 BC, the rich [|ecosystem] of the [|Japanese Archipelago] fostered human development. The earliest-known [|pottery] belongs to the [|Jōmon period].

**Koike Mariko,** **Mizuki Shigeru** **Matsumura Kunihiro**

The Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905
WORLD __WAR__ II
 * **Currency**
 * Money:** //Basic unit//—yen.
 * **Major cultural traditions and (holidays/foods etc..)**
 * rice, fish, vegetables,**
 * **Climate**

//Current estimate//—127,669,000. //2005 census//—127,767,994. Japan lies in the North Pacific Ocean off the east coast of mainland Asia. It lies across from Russia, Korea, and China. Japan has four main islands—Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku—and thousands of smaller ones. Mountains and hills cover most of the country. Narrow plains lie along the coasts. Most of the Japanese people live on the coastal lumber, hydroelectric power and fish The average household income in Japan in 2007 was about 5.5 million yen
 * **:** Central and southern Japan have hot summers, mild winters, and moderate precipitation in all seasons. Daytime high temperatures average about 86 °F (30 °C) in the hottest month, August, and about 46 °F (8 °C) in January, the coldest month. Hokkaido, northern Honshu, and high mountain areas are much colder than the rest of the country in winter and cooler in summer. ||
 * Population:**
 * Population:**
 * **Geography**
 * **Major Resources**
 * **Major tourist attractions and or historical sights**
 * sadako the A bomb dome statue of Budda**
 * **Median Family Income**
 * **Must inlude a __Work Cited Page__ with a minimum of 4 resources (1 book 3 websites)**
 * []**
 * []**
 * Whyte, Harlinah. Japan. Milwaukee: Gareth Stevens Publishing, 1998.**
 * []**
 * A-Bomb Dome Picture**
 * []**
 * []**
 * []**
 * []**