Shiga Public High School Entrance Examination - Social Studies flashcards

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

Pacific Belt

Japan's densely populated and industrialized corridor running from Tokyo through Nagoya and Osaka to Fukuoka, where most of the population and manufacturing are concentrated.

Baiu rainy season

The early-summer front that brings prolonged rain to Japan in June and July as warm, moist air meets cooler air, before the hot, humid summer arrives.

Ring of Fire

The belt around the Pacific Ocean where tectonic plates subduct, causing frequent earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis, including in Japan.

Map scale 1:25,000

A ratio meaning one unit on the map equals 25,000 of the same units on the ground; 1 cm represents 250 meters, or 4 cm represents 1 kilometer.

Yayoi period

A period from roughly 300 BCE to 250 CE when wet-rice farming, bronze and iron tools, and more stratified settlements spread across the Japanese archipelago.

Taika Reform

A 645 reform that aimed to centralize government under the emperor, establish the ritsuryo system, and redistribute land and taxation along Chinese models.

Kamakura shogunate

The military government established by Minamoto no Yoritomo around 1185, marking the start of samurai rule and the shift of political power away from Kyoto.

Sakoku policy

The Tokugawa policy restricting foreign contact and trade, limiting Dutch and Chinese access mainly to Nagasaki, and banning most overseas travel.

Meiji Restoration

The 1868 overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate that restored imperial rule and launched rapid modernization, industrialization, and legal and military reform.

Article 9

The constitutional clause renouncing war as a sovereign right and forbidding maintenance of armed forces with war potential, though Japan maintains Self-Defense Forces.

Code of Hammurabi

A Babylonian legal code from around 1750 BCE inscribed on a stone stele, notable for its detailed rules and the principle of retaliation.

Pax Romana

A period of relative peace and stability across the Roman Empire from about 27 BCE to 180 CE, supporting trade, roads, and the spread of Roman law.

Columbian Exchange

The transfer of crops, animals, people, and diseases between the Americas and Eurasia after 1492, reshaping diets and populations worldwide.

Industrial Revolution

The late-eighteenth-century shift in Britain from hand production to machine and factory manufacturing, driven by steam power, coal, and new transport.

Cold War

The post-1945 geopolitical rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, marked by nuclear arms races, proxy wars, and alliances such as NATO and the Warsaw Pact.

Sovereignty of the people

The constitutional principle that political authority ultimately belongs to the citizens, who exercise it through elections and representatives in the Diet.

House of Councillors

The upper house of Japan's Diet with 248 members serving six-year terms, half elected every three years, and not subject to dissolution.

Judicial review

The power of courts, with the Supreme Court as final arbiter, to examine laws and government acts and declare them unconstitutional when they violate the Constitution.

Cabinet responsibility

The principle that the Cabinet must retain the confidence of the House of Representatives and resign collectively if it loses a no-confidence vote.

Constitutional amendment

A change to Japan's Constitution requiring approval by two-thirds of both Diet houses and a majority of votes in a national referendum.

Opportunity cost

The value of the next-best alternative given up when a choice is made, central to understanding scarcity and the trade-offs shown on production possibility frontiers.

Market equilibrium

The price at which quantity demanded equals quantity supplied, clearing the market; above it surpluses appear, below it shortages appear.

Real versus nominal GDP

Nominal GDP values output at current prices, while real GDP adjusts for inflation so changes reflect actual output growth rather than price changes.

Comparative advantage

The ability to produce a good at a lower opportunity cost than another country, the basis for gains from specialization and international trade.

Bank of Japan

Japan's central bank, which issues currency and conducts monetary policy, adjusting interest rates and money supply to pursue price stability and economic growth.

IMF

The International Monetary Fund, established in 1944, which lends to countries with balance-of-payments problems and promotes exchange-rate and financial stability.

Contour lines

Lines on a topographic map joining points of equal elevation; their spacing shows slope steepness, and their shapes reveal valleys, ridges, and peaks.

Primary source

A document, artifact, or record created at the time of an event by a participant or witness, used as direct evidence in historical interpretation.

Pie chart reading

A circular graph where each sector's angle represents a share of the whole; sectors sum to 100 percent, and labels or a legend identify categories.

Bar versus line graph

Bar graphs compare quantities across categories, while line graphs show how a variable changes over time or another continuous axis.

Per-capita statistic

A total divided by population, allowing fair comparison between countries of different sizes, such as GDP per person or energy use per person.

BCE and CE ordering

Before Common Era dates count backward toward year 1, so a larger BCE number is earlier; CE dates count forward, so larger numbers are later.