Shiga Public High School Entrance Examination - Social Studies study plan

Label all 47 prefectures and their capitals on a blank outline map of Japan from memory, scoring at least 90% on a self-check

Explain the difference between absolute location (latitude/longitude) and relative location, and use both to describe where Shiga Prefecture sits within Kansai and Japan

Identify Japan's main mountain ranges, plains, and rivers on a blank map and state one industry or settlement associated with each

Describe Japan's climate zones (Hokkaido, Sea of Japan side, Pacific side, Seto Inland Sea, Ryukyu) and match each to its seasonal precipitation pattern

Read population pyramids and interpret aging, birth-rate decline, and urbanization trends in Japan using at least three published statistics

Compare the population distribution of Shiga Prefecture with national averages and explain two reasons for the differences

Classify Japan's major industries by region (e.g., Keihin, Hanshin, Chukyo, Kitakyushu) and state the historical reason each cluster formed

Interpret a choropleth map and a flow-line map, and write one sentence on what each type of map shows and misleads about

Build a timeline from the Jomon and Yayoi periods through the Nara and Heian periods, placing at least 10 key events with dates

Explain how rice cultivation, bronze and iron tools, and the emergence of kofun changed Japanese society

Describe the political and cultural influence of China on early Japan (writing, Buddhism, the ritsuryo system) with two concrete examples

Identify the main figures and outcomes of the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, including the rise of the samurai and the Mongol invasions

Trace the Azuchi-Momoyama and Edo periods, explaining unification, the sankin kotai system, and the sakoku policy in your own words

Compare the political and social structures of Edo-period Japan with those of contemporary Europe

Sequence the major world civilizations (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus, Yellow River, Greece, Rome) and identify one lasting contribution from each

Explain how the Industrial Revolution and imperialism in the 18th-19th centuries pressured Japan toward the Meiji Restoration

Summarize the causes and consequences of the Meiji Restoration and the major reforms (conscription, land tax, education, industrialization)

Explain Japan's path from the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars through the interwar period to World War II, identifying at least four turning points

Describe the postwar occupation reforms and the 1947 Constitution's key principles in your own words

Explain Japan's high-growth era and the bubble economy, and identify two structural changes since the 1990s

State the three principles of the Japanese Constitution (popular sovereignty, fundamental human rights, pacifism) and give one concrete example of each in practice

Diagram the separation of powers among the Diet, Cabinet, and courts, and explain the role of the Emperor under the Constitution

Explain the difference between the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors, including term length, dissolution, and election systems

Describe how a bill becomes law in Japan and where the Diet can override a Cabinet decision

Explain how supply and demand set prices, and apply the model to one Japanese market (e.g., rice, housing, or labor)

Describe the roles of the Bank of Japan, the Ministry of Finance, and private banks in monetary and fiscal policy

Identify the main functions of the WTO, IMF, World Bank, and UN, and give one current issue each addresses

Explain Japan's trade structure and its dependence on imports of energy and food, using at least two statistics

Practice reading at least 15 charts, graphs, tables, and maps under timed conditions, and write down the inference each one supports

Analyze at least three historical sources (a document, a map, and a statistic) and distinguish evidence from interpretation

Complete two full-length timed practice sections and score them, recording error types by domain

Review your error log from weeks 1-7 and redo every missed item until you can explain it without notes