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

Latitude ranges from 0° at the equator to 90° at the poles; longitude ranges from 0° at the Prime Meridian to 180° east or west. Japan Standard Time uses 135°E.

Map scale 1:25,000 means 1 cm on the map equals 250 m on the ground; a smaller denominator indicates a larger scale and more detail.

Japan is an island archipelago off East Asia; its four largest islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku, and its EEZ extends 200 nautical miles from the baseline.

Japan has a temperate monsoon climate: Pacific-side regions receive summer rain and typhoons, Sea of Japan-side regions receive winter snow, and the Seto Inland Sea area has relatively low rainfall.

The Pacific Belt is the continuous industrial and urban zone from Kantō through Chūkyō to Hanshin, supported by ports, flat land, and transport links.

Yamagata Prefecture is a major producer of cherries, La France pears, and rice; its inland basins have large temperature differences between day and night and between summer and winter.

Japan's population is declining and aging; rural prefectures such as Yamagata face depopulation, labor shortages, and reduced local services.

Japan lies near plate boundaries, so earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions are frequent; typhoons also bring heavy rain and wind in summer and autumn.

World climate zones include tropical, dry, temperate, continental, and polar zones; Japan lies in the temperate zone and has four distinct seasons.

Jōmon culture used cord-marked pottery and hunting-gathering; Yayoi culture introduced wet-rice farming, metal tools, and social stratification.

The Taika Reform of 645 centralized land and people under the emperor and created a ritsuryō state modeled on Tang China.

In the Heian period, aristocrats developed kokufu culture; the Fujiwara family gained influence through marriage and regency.

The Kamakura shogunate was Japan's first warrior government; it defeated Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281 with storms later called kamikaze.

The Tokugawa shogunate enforced sakoku, limiting foreign contact mainly to Nagasaki; Edo society had a status hierarchy and Genroku culture flourished.

The Meiji Restoration of 1868 ended the shogunate and promoted industrialization, military modernization, and Western-style institutions.

The Industrial Revolution began in Britain in the late 18th century with machines and steam power, transforming factories, transport, and cities.

The French Revolution of 1789 proclaimed liberty, equality, and popular sovereignty and influenced nationalism and democracy in Europe.

After World War II, Japan adopted the 1947 Constitution, regained sovereignty under the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty, and joined the UN in 1956.

The Constitution rests on popular sovereignty, fundamental human rights, and pacifism; the Emperor is a symbol with no political power.

The Diet is the legislative branch, the Cabinet is the executive, and courts are the judicial branch; each checks the others.

The voting age is 18; the House of Representatives uses single-member districts and proportional representation, and the House of Councillors also combines both.

Article 9 renounces war; Japan maintains the Self-Defense Forces and interprets the Constitution as permitting force only for self-defense.

In a market economy, prices coordinate supply and demand; when demand exceeds supply, prices tend to rise, and when supply exceeds demand, prices tend to fall.

Income tax is progressive, with higher rates on higher incomes; consumption tax is indirect and regressive in its impact on lower-income households.

Social security covers pensions, medical care, long-term care, and public assistance, funded by taxes and insurance premiums.

The UN Security Council has five permanent members with veto power; Japan is a major ODA provider and participates in peacekeeping operations.

Local governments have elected governors, mayors, and assemblies; the Local Autonomy Act grants them authority over local affairs and finances.