Toyama Prefectural Public High School Entrance Examination - Social Studies cheat sheet

Japan's 47 prefectures: 43 prefectures (to-dō-fu-ken), 1 metropolis (Tōkyō-to), 1 territory (Hokkaidō), 2 urban prefectures (Ōsaka-fu, Kyōto-fu).

Latitude/longitude: Japan lies roughly 20°N–46°N and 122°E–154°E; the 135°E meridian (Japan Standard Time) passes near Kōbe/Ōsaka.

Climate zones: Pacific side (summer rain, winter dry), Sea of Japan side (winter snow from northwest monsoon), Seto Inland Sea (mild, low rainfall), Hokkaidō (subarctic).

Population: Japan's population peaked around 2008 at ~128 million and has declined since; Tōkyō-to is the only prefecture with sustained growth in recent decades.

Land use: about two-thirds of Japan is forest; plains (Kantō, Nōbi, Kansai) hold most farmland and population; cultivated land has been shrinking.

Industry: Pacific Belt (Taiheiyō Belt) from Kantō through Chūkyō to Kansai concentrates heavy industry; Chūkyō leads in automobiles; Silicon Island (Kyūshū) in ICs.

Map skills: large-scale maps show small areas in detail; contour lines close together indicate steep slopes; a scale of 1:25,000 means 1 cm = 250 m.

Agriculture: rice is the staple; Japan's food self-sufficiency ratio on a calorie basis is about 38%, among the lowest of major developed countries.

Jōmon (c. 14,000 BCE–300 BCE): pottery, hunting-gathering; Yayoi (c. 300 BCE–250 CE): wet-rice farming, metal tools, social stratification.

Kofun period: large keyhole-shaped tombs; Yamato state consolidated; Prince Shōtoku's Seventeen-Article Constitution (604) and embassies to Sui China.

Taika Reform (645): land and people placed under imperial control; ritsuryō codes (Taihō Code 701) established a centralized state.

Heian (794–1185): Fujiwara regency, aristocratic culture (The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu); later warrior clans rose.

Kamakura shogunate (1185–1333): Hōjō regents; repelled Mongol invasions (1274, 1281); Muromachi (1336–1573) followed.

Edo period (1603–1868): Tokugawa shogunate, sakoku (closed-country) policy, sankin-kōtai, flourishing merchant culture; Perry's arrival 1853.

Meiji Restoration (1868): abolition of domains (1871), conscription (1873), land-tax reform (1873); Constitution of 1889 (Emperor-centered).

Modern era: Sino-Japanese War (1894–95), Russo-Japanese War (1904–05), annexation of Korea (1910), WWII defeat (1945), postwar Constitution (1947).

Silk Road and maritime trade linked Japan to Tang China; envoys (kentōshi) brought Buddhism, writing, and institutions.

Age of Exploration (15th–16th c.): Portuguese and Spanish reached Japan; firearms and Christianity introduced mid-16th century.

National seclusion (sakoku) from the 1630s: trade limited to Dutch and Chinese at Nagasaki, plus Korea and Ryūkyū channels.

Western imperialism in Asia: Opium War (1840–42), unequal treaties; Japan's Treaty of Kanagawa (1854) opened ports.

Japan's expansion: First Sino-Japanese War (1894–95, Treaty of Shimonoseki), Russo-Japanese War (1904–05, Treaty of Portsmouth).

World Wars: WWI (Japan joined Allies), Washington Naval Treaty (1922), Manchurian Incident (1931), WWII (1941–45).

Postwar order: San Francisco Peace Treaty (1951) and U.S.–Japan Security Treaty (1960); Japan joined the UN in 1956.

Cold War and after: Japan–China normalization (1972), Japan–South Korea basic treaty (1965), and later G7/UN diplomacy.

Constitution of Japan (promulgated 1946, effective 1947): three principles - popular sovereignty, fundamental human rights, pacifism (Article 9).

Human rights: equality under law (Art. 14), freedom of thought/conscience (Art. 19), and the right to life and liberty (Art. 13).

Separation of powers: Diet (legislative), Cabinet (executive, responsible to the Diet), courts (judicial); the Emperor is a symbol.

Elections: universal suffrage for citizens 18 and over; House of Councillors members serve 6 years, House of Representatives 4 years.

Economy: market economy with government regulation; GDP, business cycles, and the role of the Bank of Japan in monetary policy.

Public finance: taxes (income, corporate, consumption), national debt, and the budget process; social security spending is a major share.

International community: UN (Security Council, General Assembly), IMF/World Bank, WTO, and regional bodies (EU, ASEAN, APEC).

Contemporary issues: aging population and low birth rate, globalization, environmental problems, and information society/IT.