Akita Entrance Social Studies flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Omote-Nihon climate

The Pacific side of Japan. It receives summer rain from the southeast monsoon and typhoons, with relatively dry, sunny winters because the mountains block northwest winter winds.

Ura-Nihon climate

The Sea of Japan side. Northwest winter monsoons pick up moisture over the warm Tsushima Current and drop heavy snow on the mountains, making this one of the world's snowiest populated regions.

Pacific Belt

Japan's industrial corridor from the Kanto region through Chukyo and Hanshin to Kitakyushu, favored by flat coastal land, deep ports, and easy import of raw materials.

Ring of Fire

A volcanic and earthquake belt around the Pacific Ocean where tectonic plates subduct. Japan lies on it, so it has many volcanoes, hot springs, and frequent earthquakes.

Contour interval

The fixed elevation difference between adjacent contour lines on a topographic map. Closely spaced lines mean a steep slope; hachured lines indicate a depression.

Japan's population peak

Japan's population peaked around 2008 at roughly 128 million and has declined since, with a very high median age and about 30% of people in the Tokyo area.

Taika Reform

A 645 reform that strengthened imperial central control, introduced land and tax systems modeled on Tang China, and established era names and a more unified state.

Kamakura shogunate

Japan's first warrior government, founded when Minamoto no Yoritomo was appointed shogun in 1192. It repelled the Mongol invasions of 1274 and 1281 with storms later called kamikaze.

Sakoku policy

Edo-period restrictions on foreign contact, tightened in 1639. Trade was limited mainly to Nagasaki with the Dutch and Chinese, while travel abroad was banned.

Meiji Restoration

The 1868 overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate and restoration of imperial rule, followed by rapid modernization, the 1889 Constitution, and industrialization.

Treaty of Portsmouth

The 1905 treaty ending the Russo-Japanese War. Mediated by US President Theodore Roosevelt, it recognized Japanese interests in Korea and southern Manchuria.

San Francisco Peace Treaty

Signed in 1951 and effective 1952, it formally ended the war between Japan and the Allies, restored sovereignty, and set the framework for later security arrangements.

Kojiki and Nihon Shoki

Japan's oldest official chronicles, compiled in 712 and 720. They blend myth with history to legitimize the imperial line, so historians read them critically.

Peace of Westphalia

The 1648 treaties ending the Thirty Years' War. They are conventionally cited as establishing sovereign territorial states and the modern European state system.

Article 9

The Japanese Constitution clause renouncing war and prohibiting maintenance of war potential. The government interprets it as permitting force only for self-defense.

Popular sovereignty

The principle that political authority derives from the people. Japan's 1947 Constitution adopts it, replacing the earlier idea that sovereignty rested with the emperor.

Collective cabinet responsibility

The Cabinet must hold the confidence of the Diet, especially the House of Representatives, and resign collectively if it loses a confidence vote and does not dissolve the chamber.

Judicial review

Courts' power to rule laws or official acts unconstitutional. Japan's Supreme Court holds this power under the 1947 Constitution, though it has rarely struck down legislation.

House of Representatives

The lower chamber of the Diet. It has more power than the upper house: it can override upper-house budget and treaty decisions and pass a no-confidence vote.

Gini coefficient

A measure of income or wealth inequality from 0 to 1. Zero means perfect equality; higher values mean more unequal distribution.

Bank of Japan

Japan's central bank. It issues banknotes, sets monetary policy such as interest rates and bond purchases, and aims for price stability.

Real versus nominal GDP

Nominal GDP uses current prices; real GDP adjusts for price changes using a deflator, so it reflects actual output growth rather than inflation.

Population pyramid

A graph of age and sex structure. A narrow base with a wide top shows low birth rates and an aging population, as in present-day Japan.

Index number

A value expressed relative to a base year set at 100. It shows percentage change from the base; a value of 130 means a 30% increase.

Population density formula

Population density equals total population divided by land area. Comparing Japan's figure with its habitable-land density reveals how mountainous terrain concentrates settlement.

Choropleth map

A map shading entire regions by data value. It is useful for regional comparisons but can mislead when regions differ greatly in area or population.

Map scale 1:50,000

One centimeter on the map equals 50,000 centimeters, or 500 meters, on the ground. Area shrinks by the square of the scale ratio.

Correlation versus causation

Two variables moving together on a scatter plot are correlated. Causation requires a plausible mechanism and control of confounding factors, which graphs alone cannot prove.

Natural increase

Births minus deaths in a population. Combined with net migration, it determines overall population change and shapes population pyramids over time.

Isoline map

A map connecting points of equal value, such as contour lines for elevation or isotherms for temperature. Line spacing shows the steepness of the gradient.

Labor force definition

People aged 15 and over who are employed or actively seeking work. The unemployment rate divides the unemployed by this labor force, excluding those not seeking work.

Data deflation

Converting nominal values to real values by dividing by a price index, allowing fair comparison of output or wages across years despite inflation.