Japan has many sports. Some are like ours and some are not. Some Japanese practice martial arts. A few practice Aikido. Aikido is a practice of smooth movements. Aikido is practiced to clear your mind. Judo and Karate are practiced mainly for self defense. They require fast sharp movements. Other sports include baseball, basketball, golf and skiing. Japan’s schools are like any other school you would see here in the U. S. A. There is only one difference. They speak Japanese. In Japan, students go to year round school. Year round school is where they go the school all year long.
Japanese kids, as you can imagine are probably smarter than us. Japan has given the world many beautiful things. Their culture. , traditions and influence have touched nearly every aspect of our lives. The most admired, however, must be in their art, whether it is paintings, architecture, theaters, gardens or poetry. For hundreds of years, Japanese poets have written a special form of poetry called “Haiku”. A Haiku is a short verse about nature. There is always a special pattern in the number of verses. The first line contains five syllables, the second line contains three syllables and the third line has five.
Japan has a government just like ours. In Japan cities are like states. There is an Emperor and there is a governor. The cities vote for the government. The diet makes Japan’s laws. The diet consists of the House of Representatives and the House of Councilors. The House of Councillors is made up of five hundred and eleven members. The House of Counselors is made up of two hundred and fifty two member. Japan’s highest court is the Supreme Court. There is a Chief of Justice who the emperor appoints. Then there are the fourteen other judges who the cabinet votes in. Japan’s Armed Forces fight only if attacked first.
They maintain air to surface communication for self defense. They also maintain a number of aircraft, land vehicles, battleships and casualties. As you have read Japan’s government is much like ours. The Japanese get around like any other typical American. To go from country to country they get an airplane. When they want to go to a friends house they might walk, ride a bike or drive. The Japanese also use motorboats or ferry’s. They travel to a lot of different countries too. LANGUAGES Japan has many languages. Some of them are Korean, English and Japanese. Japanese is the main language. The Japanese have lived in Japan for many years.
Not long after they went to Japan they made their own language and called it Japanese. Japans Customs are very different from ours. They have religious ceremonies and we don’t have very many. For instance one ceremony is the New Years or Shogatsu. On January 1st families gather together to drink a special religious shake to ensure a long and pleasant life. The employment rate is 90% employed and 10% unemployed. The Japanese have jobs just like we do. Teenagers in Japan work in McDonalds and Burger King. Adults work in offices, at schools, in auto shops and in factories. Employment as you can see, was very good in 1998.
