Kumamoto Entrance Social Studies cheat sheet

Japan's four main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu; Honshu is the largest and most populous, containing the Kanto Plain and major cities such as Tokyo and Osaka.

About 73% of Japan is mountainous; the Japanese Alps (Hida, Kiso, Akaishi) and Mount Fuji (3,776 m) are prominent; plains are small and densely settled, especially the Kanto, Nobi, and Osaka plains.

Japan lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire; subduction of the Pacific and Philippine Sea plates causes frequent earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic activity; the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami led to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident.

Climate: most of Japan is humid subtropical or humid continental; winters bring heavy snow to the Sea of Japan side, while the Pacific side is drier and sunnier; the rainy season (tsuyu) occurs in June–July; typhoons peak in August–September.

Regional industry: Keihin (Tokyo–Yokohama) and Hanshin (Osaka–Kobe) are major industrial belts; Chukyo (Nagoya) centers on automobiles; Kitakyushu and Setouchi focus on steel and chemicals; Hokkaido and Tohoku emphasize agriculture and fisheries.

Agriculture: rice is the staple crop, with Niigata (Koshihikari) famous for quality; terraced paddies and small-scale farms dominate; Japan relies on imports for much of its food and energy.

Population: about 125 million, highly urbanized; Tokyo metropolitan area exceeds 37 million; Japan faces a declining birth rate, aging population, and rural depopulation (kaso).

Transport and trade: Japan depends on maritime trade; major ports include Yokohama, Kobe, and Nagoya; the Shinkansen network links major cities; land reclamation created port and industrial zones.

Map reading: use latitude/longitude to locate Japan (approx. 24°–46°N, 123°–146°E); scale bars convert map distance to real distance; contour lines show elevation; topographic maps distinguish plains, plateaus, and mountains.

Major climate zones: tropical rainforest (Amazon, Congo), savanna, desert (Sahara, Arabian), Mediterranean, humid subtropical, humid continental, tundra, and polar; climate is influenced by latitude, altitude, ocean currents, and prevailing winds.

World regions: Asia (East, Southeast, South, West/Central), Europe, Africa, North America, South America, Oceania, and Antarctica; each has distinct cultural and economic characteristics.

Resources: oil and natural gas are concentrated in the Middle East (Persian Gulf); coal in China, the US, and Australia; iron ore in Brazil and Australia; rare earths in China; Japan imports most raw materials.

International organizations: the United Nations (UN) with Security Council permanent members (US, UK, France, Russia, China); WTO regulates trade; IMF and World Bank address finance and development; regional bodies include the EU, ASEAN, and APEC.

Global issues: climate change (Paris Agreement), desertification, deforestation, water scarcity, refugees, and income inequality; the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set 17 targets for 2030.

Population distribution: dense in East and South Asia and Europe; sparse in deserts, polar regions, and rainforests; population pyramids show age structure and development level.

Time zones: Earth rotates 360° in 24 hours, so 15° of longitude equals one hour; the International Date Line roughly follows 180° longitude.

Map projections distort area, shape, distance, or direction; Mercator preserves direction but exaggerates high-latitude areas; equal-area projections preserve area but distort shape.

Jomon period (c. 14,000–300 BCE): hunter-gatherer culture with cord-marked pottery; Yayoi period (c. 300 BCE–250 CE): wet-rice agriculture, bronze and iron tools, and social stratification.

Kofun period (c. 250–538): keyhole-shaped burial mounds; Yamato state emerged; Prince Shotoku (574–622) promoted Buddhism and the Seventeen-Article Constitution; Taika Reform (645) centralized land and taxation under the ritsuryo system.

Nara period (710–794): capital at Heijo-kyo (Nara); the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki compiled; Todai-ji temple and Great Buddha built; Man'yoshu poetry anthology.

Heian period (794–1185): capital at Heian-kyo (Kyoto); aristocratic Fujiwara regency; kokufu culture; The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu; The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon; Buddhism sects Tendai and Shingon.

Kamakura period (1185–1333): Minamoto no Yoritomo established the shogunate; samurai rule; Mongol invasions repelled (1274, 1281) with typhoons (kamikaze); Hojo regency.

Muromachi period (1336–1573): Ashikaga shogunate; Northern and Southern Courts; Onin War (1467–1477) began the Sengoku period; Zen Buddhism and Noh theater flourished; trade with Ming China.

Medieval society: shoen (manors) and the rise of warrior lords; the kokujin and daimyo; peasant uprisings; the ikki leagues; the arrival of firearms from Portugal in 1543.

Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582) began unification: defeated rivals, ended Ashikaga shogunate (1573), promoted free markets (rakuichi-rakuza), and encouraged Christianity; he was assassinated at Honno-ji.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598) completed unification: Sword Hunt (1588), land survey (kenchi), and the separation of warriors and peasants (heino bunri); he invaded Korea (1592, 1597).

Tokugawa Ieyasu won the Battle of Sekigahara (1600) and established the Edo shogunate (1603); the Tokugawa family ruled until 1868.

Edo society: strict class hierarchy (shi-no-ko-sho: samurai, farmers, artisans, merchants); the alternate attendance system (sankin-kotai) kept daimyo under control; the country was closed (sakoku) except for limited trade with the Dutch and Chinese at Nagasaki and with Korea and Ryukyu.

Economy and culture: Genroku culture (late 17th century) featured Kabuki, ukiyo-e, and haiku (Matsuo Basho); later Edo culture included literature by Ihara Saikaku and Chikamatsu Monzaemon; agricultural productivity rose, and commerce expanded.

Late Edo: famines and peasant uprisings; the arrival of Commodore Perry's fleet in 1853 led to the Treaty of Kanagawa (1854) and unequal treaties; the sonno-joi movement and the Satsuma-Choshu alliance pushed toward the Meiji Restoration of 1868.

Meiji Restoration (1868): end of the shogunate; Emperor Meiji moved capital to Tokyo; the Charter Oath (1868) and the Meiji Constitution (1889) established a constitutional monarchy; the Iwakura Mission (1871–73) studied Western systems.

Industrialization: government-led model factories (tomidashi) and zaibatsu; the first railway (1872) and silk exports; the Sino-Japanese War (1894–95) and Russo-Japanese War (1904–05) expanded Japan's empire (Taiwan, Korea, Manchuria).

Taisho democracy (1912–1926): party politics and universal male suffrage (1925); the Great Kanto Earthquake (1923); the Washington Naval Treaty (1922) and the London Naval Treaty (1930).

Militarism and war: Manchurian Incident (1931), Second Sino-Japanese War (1937), Tripartite Pact (1940), Pearl Harbor (1941), and the Pacific War; atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (1945); Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945.

Postwar occupation (1945–52): GHQ reforms under General MacArthur; new Constitution (1946, effective 1947); land reform, dissolution of zaibatsu, and women's suffrage; the San Francisco Peace Treaty (1951) restored sovereignty in 1952.

High economic growth (1955–73): the 1960 Income Doubling Plan; Shinkansen opened in 1964; Tokyo Olympics (1964); Japan became the world's second-largest economy by 1968; oil crises in 1973 and 1979 slowed growth.

Contemporary issues: the 1990s 'lost decade' after the bubble economy burst; the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and Fukushima disaster; aging population and low birth rate; the 2020 Tokyo Olympics postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19; Japan's reliance on the US-Japan security alliance and trade partnerships (CPTPP, RCEP).

The Constitution of Japan (promulgated 1946, effective 1947) has three principles: popular sovereignty, fundamental human rights, and pacifism (Article 9 renounces war and maintains self-defense forces).

The Emperor is the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people; his status derives from the will of the people, not sovereignty (Article 1).

Fundamental human rights include equality before the law (Article 14), freedom of thought and conscience (Article 19), freedom of expression (Article 21), and the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (Article 13).

The Diet is the highest organ of state power and the sole law-making body; it consists of the House of Representatives (lower house, 465 members) and the House of Councillors (upper house, 248 members); the lower house can override the upper house on budget and treaties with a two-thirds majority.

The Cabinet is headed by the Prime Minister, chosen by the Diet; the Cabinet exercises executive power and is collectively responsible to the Diet; the Prime Minister can dissolve the House of Representatives.

The judiciary is independent; the Supreme Court is the final court of appeal and has the power of judicial review; lower courts include high courts, district courts, family courts, and summary courts.

Local government: the Local Autonomy Law (1947) establishes prefectures and municipalities; residents elect governors, mayors, and assembly members; local governments have limited taxation and administrative powers.

Elections: universal suffrage for citizens aged 18 and over (since 2016); the House of Representatives uses a mixed system of single-member districts and proportional representation; the House of Councillors uses a similar mixed system.

Political parties: major parties include the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP), and Komeito; the LDP has dominated politics since 1955, with brief interruptions.

Market economy: prices coordinate supply and demand; competition promotes efficiency; market failures (externalities, public goods, monopolies) justify government intervention.

GDP measures the total value of goods and services produced domestically; GNP includes income from abroad; Japan's GDP is about $5 trillion, the third largest after the US and China.

Public finance: national revenue comes mainly from taxes (income, corporate, consumption) and government bonds; Japan's public debt exceeds 250% of GDP, one of the highest among developed countries.

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) issues currency and conducts monetary policy; it sets interest rates and uses quantitative easing; the BOJ is independent of the government.

Social security: Japan's system includes pensions (kokumin nenkin, kosei nenkin), health insurance, and long-term care insurance; an aging population strains the system.

International trade: Japan is a major exporter of automobiles, machinery, and electronics; it imports energy, food, and raw materials; trade friction with the US in the 1980s led to voluntary export restraints.

International organizations: Japan is a member of the UN, OECD, G7, and APEC; it contributes to UN peacekeeping operations (PKO) and official development assistance (ODA).

Global issues: Japan participates in the Paris Agreement on climate change and the SDGs; it faces challenges in energy security and regional tensions with China and North Korea.

Map scale: a representative fraction (e.g., 1:50,000) means 1 cm on the map equals 0.5 km on the ground; use a scale bar to measure distances.

Contour lines connect points of equal elevation; closely spaced lines indicate steep slopes; hachures show depressions; topographic maps use colors: blue for water, green for vegetation, brown for elevation.

Graph types: line graphs show trends over time; bar graphs compare categories; pie charts show proportions; scatter plots show correlation; population pyramids show age and sex distribution.

Statistical reading: distinguish absolute numbers from rates (per capita, percentage); check the source, year, and units; correlation does not imply causation.

Historical sources: primary sources (diaries, official documents, artifacts) are created at the time; secondary sources interpret primary sources; evaluate bias, purpose, and context.

Chronology: use timelines and periodization (e.g., Jomon, Yayoi, Kofun, Nara, Heian, Kamakura, Muromachi, Azuchi-Momoyama, Edo, Meiji, Taisho, Showa, Heisei, Reiwa).

Map symbols: conventional signs for roads, railways, boundaries, and cities; legends explain symbols; grid references locate features.

Data interpretation: calculate averages, percentages, and rates of change; use tables to compare countries or regions; be aware of rounding and missing data.