Gifu Entrance Social Studies flashcards

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

Fossa Magna

A large geological trench crossing Honshū in Chūbu that separates northeastern and southwestern Japan, explaining the sharp contrast in geology, plants, and animals between the two sides.

Setonaikai climate

The Inland Sea region of western Japan is the driest part of the country because mountains on both sides block monsoon rain, so it has many sunny days and mild winters.

Three major metropolitan areas

The Kantō, Chūkyō, and Kinki belts around Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka, which together hold over half of Japan's population and most of its industry and universities.

Food self-sufficiency rate

The share of calories consumed in Japan that domestic farming and fishing supply, about 38%, well below the rice-only near-100% figure because most wheat, soy, and feed are imported.

Taika Reform

A 645 reform that abolished private landholding, introduced the handen allotment and a centralized ritsuryō state, and followed Prince Shōtoku's earlier code and envoys to Sui China.

Sankin-kōtai

A Tokugawa rule requiring daimyō to live in Edo every other year and leave family there, which drained domain finances and strengthened bakufu control over the country.

Shōen

Private estates that grew in the Heian period as aristocrats and temples gained tax exemptions, weakening the ritsuryō state and helping samurai rise as estate managers.

Dejima

An artificial island in Nagasaki harbor where Dutch traders were confined during the Edo period's restrictions, keeping Japan linked to European goods and learning through a narrow channel.

Jōkyū War

A 1221 clash in which retired emperor Go-Toba tried to overthrow the Kamakura bakufu and lost, confirming warrior power over the imperial court for centuries.

Katanagari sword hunt

Toyotomi Hideyoshi's order that confiscated weapons from farmers and monks, separating warriors from peasants and freezing social classes during the unification of Japan.

Charter Oath

The 1868 five-article pledge by the Meiji emperor promising deliberative assemblies, an end to feudal customs, and knowledge sought worldwide to strengthen the new government.

Haihan-chiken

The 1871 abolition of domains replaced them with prefectures and moved former daimyō to Tokyo, centralizing power and ending feudal administration under the Meiji state.

Iwakura Mission

A 1871–73 delegation of Meiji leaders that toured the United States and Europe to study industry, law, and education, and to seek revision of unequal treaties.

Meiji Constitution

The 1889 charter that made the emperor sovereign, created a bicameral Diet with limited male suffrage, and gave the Cabinet and military independence from parliamentary control.

Manchurian Incident

The 1931 explosion staged by the Japanese army in Manchuria, used as a pretext to occupy the region and create Manchukuo, leading to Japan's 1933 exit from the League.

Potsdam Declaration

A July 1945 Allied statement demanding Japan's unconditional surrender and warning of destruction, which Japan first ignored before accepting after the atomic bombings.

San Francisco Peace Treaty

The 1951 treaty signed by Japan and 48 nations that ended the occupation in April 1952, restored sovereignty, and left territorial issues such as the Northern Territories unresolved.

Article 9

The constitutional clause renouncing war as a sovereign right and forbidding maintenance of armed forces with war potential, which Japan interprets as allowing self-defense forces.

Popular sovereignty

The principle that political authority belongs to the people rather than the emperor, expressed in the Constitution's preamble and Article 1's definition of the emperor as a symbol.

Public welfare clause

Articles 12 and 13 state that rights come with responsibility to use them for the public good, allowing laws to limit rights without destroying their essential content.

Judicial review

The Supreme Court's power to declare laws or official acts unconstitutional, a check on the Diet and Cabinet modeled on American practice and used sparingly in Japan.

Collective responsibility

The rule that the Cabinet as a whole must answer to the Diet, so a no-confidence vote in the Lower House forces resignation or dissolution within ten days.

Local autonomy

The 1947 law giving prefectures and municipalities elected assemblies and governors or mayors, plus residents' rights to petition, recall officials, and demand ordinances.

Parallel voting system

Japan's Lower House method that elects members from single-member districts and separately from proportional party lists, combining local representation with proportional seats.

Real GDP

The value of goods and services produced in a year adjusted for price changes, used to compare output over time because nominal GDP can rise from inflation alone.

Deflation

A sustained fall in the general price level that raises the real burden of debt and can delay spending, a problem Japan faced for years after the 1990s bubble burst.

Monetary policy

The Bank of Japan's tools, chiefly interest rates and money supply, used to influence prices and business activity, separate from the government's fiscal policy.

Deficit-financing bonds

Government bonds issued to cover spending not matched by tax revenue, which have pushed Japan's outstanding public debt above 200% of GDP, the highest among rich countries.

Progressive tax

A tax whose rate rises as income rises, such as Japan's income tax, which takes a larger share from high earners and is contrasted with the regressive consumption tax.

Current account

The balance-of-payments record of trade in goods and services plus investment income; Japan stays in surplus largely because of earnings from overseas investments.

ODA

Official Development Assistance, government aid to developing countries for infrastructure, education, and health, guided by Japan's charter and a major part of its diplomacy.

SDGs

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the UN for 2030, covering poverty, education, climate, and equality, which Japan has pledged to pursue at home and abroad.